Notes: Where are my reviews? *cries* I would really love some reviews. Reviews lift us up where we belong, all we need are reviews etc and so forth.
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Over the next two weeks Snape made it his personal mission to study The Five. He would trust Dumbledore with his life but the awful feeling in the pit of his stomach made him think that the Headmaster wasn't taking the return of Voldemort very seriously. It pained him to not be able to put his trust in Dumbledore completely, Snape felt he had to take it upon himself to know The Five, to know their strengths and weaknesses so that when it came time to train them he would be well prepared.
During class, he would test them discreetly, calling on them for difficult questions. He took page after page of notes on their behaviour and their attitudes toward one another. It would reward him to know where the strongest bonds would be formed.
It soon became apparent to Snape that the brains of the group lay within Hermione. When the group would need answers, she would be the one to lead them there. Harry and Ron were the strength behind the group though Snape noticed right away that no one gave Ron any credit for his contributions. He was as strong willed as Harry, yet his temperament tended to get him in a bit more trouble. Kendra and Parvati were more difficult to understand because they rarely spent any time with the rest of the group. They both had incredible talents of clairvoyance that neither really understood, but Snape felt that in time they would learn to use those talents.
There was something else about The Five that Snape yearned to understand. They were all young, their faces and bodies attractive enough to other people, but not one of them, with the exception of Parvati, would be considered beautiful or gorgeous. Harry and Ron were swept aside by girls in the pursuit of the more attractive boys, Hermione and Kendra were never even considered as potential dates yet most of the students Snape had asked had said that they thought the four students were incredibly appealing. There was something about them that drew people in, even if they didn't understand why.
In short, Snape felt that of The Five, Hermione was the brains, Ron and Harry were the strength and Parvati and Kendra were the spirit. Together, he knew, they would be unstoppable. Their strength would be beyond anything the magical world had ever seen before and they would come together to same them all . . . or so Snape hoped. Despite his worries he would trust in Dumbledore and let him tell The Five when the time came. Until then Snape would just have to ignore the dark battle that was brewing around them.
* * * *
The weeks passed quietly at Hogwarts and before the students knew it, Halloween was little more than a week away. Ron dreaded the coming holiday because everyone knew that Snape always had a test on the day before their extra long weekend and Ron needed all the time in the world to prepare. Hermione was trying to help him memorize how to make their truth telling serum and although he couldn't remember the ingredients for the life of him, the enchantment was set perfectly in his mind.
"No Ron," she murmured in exasperation as his cauldron began to smoke for the sixth time that evening. They were huddled over a table in the Gryffindor common room with Harry looking on from one of the big chairs.
"I'm sorry," Ron said, then slumped into his chair. "This is hopeless. I'll never remember it all."
"Yes you will," Hermione said. "We'll figure out some way for you to remember it all." She sat back in her chair and bit her lip thoughtfully. She caught Kendra's eye across the room and waved slightly. The other girl waved back, then continued the conversation she was having with Lavender and Parvati.
"Have you talked to her about her mind reading?" Harry asked suddenly.
"It's not mind reading," Hermione said, then sighed. "And no, I haven't said anything about it since that night in the library. I don't think she really wants to talk about and neither do I. We decided it didn't mean anything, right?"
Harry nodded. "Right. I was just wondering." He shrugged and fell silent again, glancing down at the textbook he had open in his lap.
A moment later Professor McGonagall stepped into the Gryffindor common room and let the portrait of the lady swing shut behind her. The students fell silent around the room, staring at McGonagall, wondering what she had to say. Professor McGonagall was the head of the Gryffindor house, but she rarely entered the house herself and only when she had important news to tell the students. Harry felt his stomach twist tightly and he swallowed hard. The news Professor McGonagall usually brought was bad news.
"Students, I wish to announce a special event for Halloween this year," she said, pressing her hands together. "Dumbledore has decided that this year we shall have an All Hallow's Eve Ball. It is open to fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh year students only." She held up her hands amidst the groans and shook her head. "The first, second and third year students may attend if they are accompanied by a student of a higher year. You may bring a date from outside of the school though they must not be a Muggle, witches and wizards only please. The rules are much like the Yule Ball that took place three years ago." She stared around the room, then straightened her robes. "I trust you have all the information you need and you may go back to your studies."
Ron's eyes widened and he turned excitedly to his friends. "A ball, like in fourth year. But this time I have real dress robes, nice ones. I can have a real date too, not like the other ball."
Hermione stared at Ron for a long moment, then shook her head and looked back at his cauldron.
"Who're you going to ask Harry?" Ron said, bouncing excitedly in his chair like a child.
Hermione smiled and said, "Why don't you ask Kendra?"
Harry stared at her with wide eyes the same moment that Ron turned toward her furiously.
"You think Harry should ask the girl that I want to ask?" he said, his fists clenched.
Hermione shrugged. "If he wants to, why not? You can't just claim her you know. Besides, there's plenty of other girls you can ask."
Ron's mouth tightened in a thin line before he asked, "Like who?"
Hermione sighed and threw her hands in the air. "Oh never mind," she growled, then collected her books and stomped off toward her dormitory.
"What's with her?" Ron asked, staring at Harry.
Harry shrugged, trying to look innocent even though he knew exactly what was wrong with Hermione. Harry didn't want to be the one to tell his best friend that Hermione Granger had had a crush on him since fourth year, he didn't want to be the one to make Ron uncomfortable.
Ron looked over to where Kendra was excitedly talking to Parvati and Lavender. Her face was flushed brilliantly red and she was giggling uncontrollably, something Ron had never seen her do before. Lavender was quickly tying a letter to an owl's leg as Kendra protested about something, shaking her head and reaching for the owl. Before she could take hold of it, Lavender ran to the window and set the owl free into the night sky.
Kendra caught Ron looking at her then and blushed an even deeper shade of red, then turned away, still giggling.
"I'm going to ask her," Ron decided, nodding his head.
Harry sighed. "Don't ask her Ron. You'll upset Hermione."
"Why would that upset Hermione?"
"Because you should ask her," Harry said.
Ron raised his eyebrows. "I should?"
"Yes, because if Kendra says no, you'll ask her anyway."
Ron shrugged. "So?"
Harry groaned and put his head in his hands. "Just do me a favour, will you Ron? When Kendra rejects you and you ask Hermione instead, don't tell her that you asked Kendra first."
Ron just shrugged off his words and walked toward where Kendra was sitting on the other side of the room. Parvati saw him first and whispered something furiously in Lavender's ear. She glanced up and giggled, then nudged Kendra in the side.
"Hi," Ron said, smiling down at Kendra.
She smiled shyly at him, then swatted at Lavender. "Hi."
"Would you maybe like to go to the All Hallow's Eve Ball with me?" Ron asked suddenly.
A frown quickly crossed Kendra's face and she looked at Parvati. "Me?" she asked.
Ron nodded. "Of course you."
"You're not here to ask Lavender?" Kendra asked.
Ron shook his head. "No, I'm here to ask you."
"Oh, well, I'm afraid I can't."
Ron bit his lip. "Well, why not?"
"Because she already sent an owl to Oliver Wood asking him to come back and take her," Parvati said quickly, staring at him in anger. "They're good friends."
Ron nodded briskly. "Oh, okay. Sorry to have disrupted you."
"I'm sorry," Kendra said softly.
"Of course you are," Ron replied, then went back to Harry.
"Well?" Harry asked, knowing full well by the look on Ron's face what had happened.
"She's going with Oliver Wood," Ron said angrily. "They're 'good friends'."
Harry smiled. "That's nice. Oliver's a great guy and- oh, right, bad Oliver. Sorry, you're much better for her than he is."
Ron sighed. "I'll ask Hermione tomorrow."
"Don't sound so happy about it," Harry said, frowning. "If you don't want to go with her, don't ask her. It'll only lead her on and hurt her when she finds out you asked Kendra first."
Ron looked taken aback. "Since when have you been so concerned with Hermione's feelings?"
Harry sighed in exasperation. "Since she's been in love with my best friend!"
Ron stared at him, his eyes wide. He paused in the midst of pushing back his hair, his hand still entangled in the red strands. "What are you talking about?" he said finally.
Harry shook his head. "Nothing. Forget I said anything."
"I will not!" Ron exclaimed, sitting down beside his friend. "You said Hermione is in love with . . . me?"
"Maybe love is too strong a word," Harry said helplessly. "Infatuated with you perhaps?"
"Bloody hell," Ron breathed, sitting back hard in his chair. "With me? Are you sure?"
Harry nodded. "I'm sure."
"Bloody hell," Ron said again, then fell silent.
Harry glanced around the room for an escape. He wanted to give Ron the time and space he would need in order to digest the information he had just been given. Mostly though, Harry didn't want to be around with Hermione found out that he had spilled her secret.
"I'm going to bed," he said quickly, patting Ron on the shoulder.
Ron nodded absently, already lost deep within his own thoughts. Hermione liked him? Since fourth year and he hadn't even noticed?
He sighed heavily and slouched further in the chair. It wasn't like he was especially observant, he hadn't even noticed that Kendra was in Gryffindor until she had helped him in Potions. He had known right away that his sister had a crush on Harry but that was because he had lived with her his entire life. But Hermione . . . she was supposed to be one of his best friends and he couldn't even see what she felt.
"Hermione," he muttered thoughtfully, turning over the idea in his mind. She had definitely matured over the past six years, he just hadn't really noticed until Harry mentioned it. She wasn't especially tall, but her hair had calmed itself, the bushy quality was almost gone and her hair fell mostly in soft waves. Since she had shrunk her teeth in fourth year she had slowly grown into her own body, looking more like a woman than Ron had ever really noticed.
With a satisfied smile on his face Ron stood and walked over to his dormitory door. Tomorrow morning he would ask Hermione to go to the All Hallow's Eve Ball with him.
* * * *
* * * *
Over the next two weeks Snape made it his personal mission to study The Five. He would trust Dumbledore with his life but the awful feeling in the pit of his stomach made him think that the Headmaster wasn't taking the return of Voldemort very seriously. It pained him to not be able to put his trust in Dumbledore completely, Snape felt he had to take it upon himself to know The Five, to know their strengths and weaknesses so that when it came time to train them he would be well prepared.
During class, he would test them discreetly, calling on them for difficult questions. He took page after page of notes on their behaviour and their attitudes toward one another. It would reward him to know where the strongest bonds would be formed.
It soon became apparent to Snape that the brains of the group lay within Hermione. When the group would need answers, she would be the one to lead them there. Harry and Ron were the strength behind the group though Snape noticed right away that no one gave Ron any credit for his contributions. He was as strong willed as Harry, yet his temperament tended to get him in a bit more trouble. Kendra and Parvati were more difficult to understand because they rarely spent any time with the rest of the group. They both had incredible talents of clairvoyance that neither really understood, but Snape felt that in time they would learn to use those talents.
There was something else about The Five that Snape yearned to understand. They were all young, their faces and bodies attractive enough to other people, but not one of them, with the exception of Parvati, would be considered beautiful or gorgeous. Harry and Ron were swept aside by girls in the pursuit of the more attractive boys, Hermione and Kendra were never even considered as potential dates yet most of the students Snape had asked had said that they thought the four students were incredibly appealing. There was something about them that drew people in, even if they didn't understand why.
In short, Snape felt that of The Five, Hermione was the brains, Ron and Harry were the strength and Parvati and Kendra were the spirit. Together, he knew, they would be unstoppable. Their strength would be beyond anything the magical world had ever seen before and they would come together to same them all . . . or so Snape hoped. Despite his worries he would trust in Dumbledore and let him tell The Five when the time came. Until then Snape would just have to ignore the dark battle that was brewing around them.
* * * *
The weeks passed quietly at Hogwarts and before the students knew it, Halloween was little more than a week away. Ron dreaded the coming holiday because everyone knew that Snape always had a test on the day before their extra long weekend and Ron needed all the time in the world to prepare. Hermione was trying to help him memorize how to make their truth telling serum and although he couldn't remember the ingredients for the life of him, the enchantment was set perfectly in his mind.
"No Ron," she murmured in exasperation as his cauldron began to smoke for the sixth time that evening. They were huddled over a table in the Gryffindor common room with Harry looking on from one of the big chairs.
"I'm sorry," Ron said, then slumped into his chair. "This is hopeless. I'll never remember it all."
"Yes you will," Hermione said. "We'll figure out some way for you to remember it all." She sat back in her chair and bit her lip thoughtfully. She caught Kendra's eye across the room and waved slightly. The other girl waved back, then continued the conversation she was having with Lavender and Parvati.
"Have you talked to her about her mind reading?" Harry asked suddenly.
"It's not mind reading," Hermione said, then sighed. "And no, I haven't said anything about it since that night in the library. I don't think she really wants to talk about and neither do I. We decided it didn't mean anything, right?"
Harry nodded. "Right. I was just wondering." He shrugged and fell silent again, glancing down at the textbook he had open in his lap.
A moment later Professor McGonagall stepped into the Gryffindor common room and let the portrait of the lady swing shut behind her. The students fell silent around the room, staring at McGonagall, wondering what she had to say. Professor McGonagall was the head of the Gryffindor house, but she rarely entered the house herself and only when she had important news to tell the students. Harry felt his stomach twist tightly and he swallowed hard. The news Professor McGonagall usually brought was bad news.
"Students, I wish to announce a special event for Halloween this year," she said, pressing her hands together. "Dumbledore has decided that this year we shall have an All Hallow's Eve Ball. It is open to fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh year students only." She held up her hands amidst the groans and shook her head. "The first, second and third year students may attend if they are accompanied by a student of a higher year. You may bring a date from outside of the school though they must not be a Muggle, witches and wizards only please. The rules are much like the Yule Ball that took place three years ago." She stared around the room, then straightened her robes. "I trust you have all the information you need and you may go back to your studies."
Ron's eyes widened and he turned excitedly to his friends. "A ball, like in fourth year. But this time I have real dress robes, nice ones. I can have a real date too, not like the other ball."
Hermione stared at Ron for a long moment, then shook her head and looked back at his cauldron.
"Who're you going to ask Harry?" Ron said, bouncing excitedly in his chair like a child.
Hermione smiled and said, "Why don't you ask Kendra?"
Harry stared at her with wide eyes the same moment that Ron turned toward her furiously.
"You think Harry should ask the girl that I want to ask?" he said, his fists clenched.
Hermione shrugged. "If he wants to, why not? You can't just claim her you know. Besides, there's plenty of other girls you can ask."
Ron's mouth tightened in a thin line before he asked, "Like who?"
Hermione sighed and threw her hands in the air. "Oh never mind," she growled, then collected her books and stomped off toward her dormitory.
"What's with her?" Ron asked, staring at Harry.
Harry shrugged, trying to look innocent even though he knew exactly what was wrong with Hermione. Harry didn't want to be the one to tell his best friend that Hermione Granger had had a crush on him since fourth year, he didn't want to be the one to make Ron uncomfortable.
Ron looked over to where Kendra was excitedly talking to Parvati and Lavender. Her face was flushed brilliantly red and she was giggling uncontrollably, something Ron had never seen her do before. Lavender was quickly tying a letter to an owl's leg as Kendra protested about something, shaking her head and reaching for the owl. Before she could take hold of it, Lavender ran to the window and set the owl free into the night sky.
Kendra caught Ron looking at her then and blushed an even deeper shade of red, then turned away, still giggling.
"I'm going to ask her," Ron decided, nodding his head.
Harry sighed. "Don't ask her Ron. You'll upset Hermione."
"Why would that upset Hermione?"
"Because you should ask her," Harry said.
Ron raised his eyebrows. "I should?"
"Yes, because if Kendra says no, you'll ask her anyway."
Ron shrugged. "So?"
Harry groaned and put his head in his hands. "Just do me a favour, will you Ron? When Kendra rejects you and you ask Hermione instead, don't tell her that you asked Kendra first."
Ron just shrugged off his words and walked toward where Kendra was sitting on the other side of the room. Parvati saw him first and whispered something furiously in Lavender's ear. She glanced up and giggled, then nudged Kendra in the side.
"Hi," Ron said, smiling down at Kendra.
She smiled shyly at him, then swatted at Lavender. "Hi."
"Would you maybe like to go to the All Hallow's Eve Ball with me?" Ron asked suddenly.
A frown quickly crossed Kendra's face and she looked at Parvati. "Me?" she asked.
Ron nodded. "Of course you."
"You're not here to ask Lavender?" Kendra asked.
Ron shook his head. "No, I'm here to ask you."
"Oh, well, I'm afraid I can't."
Ron bit his lip. "Well, why not?"
"Because she already sent an owl to Oliver Wood asking him to come back and take her," Parvati said quickly, staring at him in anger. "They're good friends."
Ron nodded briskly. "Oh, okay. Sorry to have disrupted you."
"I'm sorry," Kendra said softly.
"Of course you are," Ron replied, then went back to Harry.
"Well?" Harry asked, knowing full well by the look on Ron's face what had happened.
"She's going with Oliver Wood," Ron said angrily. "They're 'good friends'."
Harry smiled. "That's nice. Oliver's a great guy and- oh, right, bad Oliver. Sorry, you're much better for her than he is."
Ron sighed. "I'll ask Hermione tomorrow."
"Don't sound so happy about it," Harry said, frowning. "If you don't want to go with her, don't ask her. It'll only lead her on and hurt her when she finds out you asked Kendra first."
Ron looked taken aback. "Since when have you been so concerned with Hermione's feelings?"
Harry sighed in exasperation. "Since she's been in love with my best friend!"
Ron stared at him, his eyes wide. He paused in the midst of pushing back his hair, his hand still entangled in the red strands. "What are you talking about?" he said finally.
Harry shook his head. "Nothing. Forget I said anything."
"I will not!" Ron exclaimed, sitting down beside his friend. "You said Hermione is in love with . . . me?"
"Maybe love is too strong a word," Harry said helplessly. "Infatuated with you perhaps?"
"Bloody hell," Ron breathed, sitting back hard in his chair. "With me? Are you sure?"
Harry nodded. "I'm sure."
"Bloody hell," Ron said again, then fell silent.
Harry glanced around the room for an escape. He wanted to give Ron the time and space he would need in order to digest the information he had just been given. Mostly though, Harry didn't want to be around with Hermione found out that he had spilled her secret.
"I'm going to bed," he said quickly, patting Ron on the shoulder.
Ron nodded absently, already lost deep within his own thoughts. Hermione liked him? Since fourth year and he hadn't even noticed?
He sighed heavily and slouched further in the chair. It wasn't like he was especially observant, he hadn't even noticed that Kendra was in Gryffindor until she had helped him in Potions. He had known right away that his sister had a crush on Harry but that was because he had lived with her his entire life. But Hermione . . . she was supposed to be one of his best friends and he couldn't even see what she felt.
"Hermione," he muttered thoughtfully, turning over the idea in his mind. She had definitely matured over the past six years, he just hadn't really noticed until Harry mentioned it. She wasn't especially tall, but her hair had calmed itself, the bushy quality was almost gone and her hair fell mostly in soft waves. Since she had shrunk her teeth in fourth year she had slowly grown into her own body, looking more like a woman than Ron had ever really noticed.
With a satisfied smile on his face Ron stood and walked over to his dormitory door. Tomorrow morning he would ask Hermione to go to the All Hallow's Eve Ball with him.
* * * *