Disclaimer: Harry Potter and associated characters belong to J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Chapter 12: Hermione's Lesson
The next day, Harry woke up surprisingly early. He saw that Ron was still asleep, snoring loudly so he went downstairs to the common room. When he got there, he noticed that Hermione was there already, reading her Transfiguration book.
"Morning Hermione," he said as he approached her.
She jumped at his voice, but calmed down and smiled at him when she realized who it was.
"Good Morning Harry. What are you doing up so early?" she asked.
"Oh, I guess I was just thinking too much to really get much sleep," he replied.
"Thinking about what?"
As much as Harry wanted to tell Hermione what he was thinking about, he couldn't really risk their friendship if she didn't feel the same way and he didn't want to betray Ron's trust. So he made up something that he knew she would believe.
"I was thinking that since it's Saturday and classes don't start until Monday, why don't I teach you some of the elemental magic I've been learning. It should come in handy in the dueling class and if we're ever going up again You-Know-Who, but don't tell anyone about it," Harry lied.
"Really? Thank you Harry," she said with a delighted look on her face. "When do we start?"
"Typical Hermione," Harry said chuckling. "You're always enthusiastic to learn, aren't you."
"If you were as enthusiastic about learning, you'd probably have better marks than you already have," she said pointedly.
"Save it for Ron, but why don't we start now since everyone's still asleep."
"Sure, but what do we tell Ron when he comes down and sees that we aren't here?"
"Just say that you're helping me with some homework. He'll believe you," Harry replied.
"Alright, so where should we go?"
"How about the Shrieking Shack beneath the Whomping Willow? There shouldn't be anyone there and we can practice our magic without any interruptions," Harry suggested.
"Sounds good. Should we go now?"
"Yeah, just let me go back up and get the marauders' map and the spellbook," Harry said and he went back up as quietly as possible so that he wouldn't wake anyone up.
When he got to his room, he went over to his trunk and opened it. Taking out the Marauders' map and the Elemental Book, he then went over to check that everyone was still asleep before walking downstairs again.
He found Hermione waiting for him by the portrait and he went over to join her.
"Is that the book?" she said pointing at the red book that Harry had under his arm.
"Yes it is. I've memorized it completely by now and I can do all of the spells in it," Harry replied.
"Really now? Am I hearing this right? Harry Potter is actually studying and memorizing his books?" she said mockingly.
"And is the great Hermione finally stumped at not knowing about something," Harry replied in an equally mocking tone.
Hermione hit Harry playfully on the arm and they both exited the common room through the portrait, laughing.
Harry first took out his wand, pointed at the map, and said, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."
Immediately lines appeared on the blank parchment, outlining the halls and passageways that went throughout the school. He saw that everyone was still in their respective dorms at this time and only a few teachers were awake. Snape was in the dungeons and Filch was busy chasing Peeves away on the third floor while Professor Sepet was in his office, sitting there it seemed, with Walter just outside the door. Very strange he thought, but the path to the Whomping Willow was clear.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As they made their way to the Whomping Willow, Harry brought up the amulet that Hermione gave to him for his birthday.
"Hermione, remember that amulet you gave me for my birthday?" he asked.
"Yes, what about it?"
"If either of us want to use it, how do we contact each other without everyone in the room overhearing our conversation?"
"I don't know. I guess we could put silencing charms around our beds. That way we could still talk to each other without everyone hearing it," she said thoughtfully. "But we'd only be able to use them at night, with the curtains drawn shut so that no one will see the glow."
"Sounds good. I knew you were always the clever one," Harry said smiling at her. "I can't think of anyone I'd rather have in a tight spot than you."
"Not even Ron?" she said, blushing.
"Ron is a good friend, but he can be such a stupid git sometimes."
Hermione laughed at the last comment, for she knew very well how Ron could act like such an idiot sometimes.
A few moments later, they got to the Whomping Willow and Harry pushed down the knot on the tree. The tree froze up as if it had been turned into marble and they both made their way down into the passageway towards the Shrieking Shack.
When they reached their destination, they saw that nothing had changed since they had last been there in their third year. The furniture was still wrecked, scattered all over the floor and the windows were still boarded up.
"Looks like this place needs some redecorating," Hermione commented.
"I'm sure we could do that," Harry said. "Do you think we'll need more help to redecorate?"
"Why do you ask?" Hermione asked curiously. "There's only you and me in here. How can we get more help without anyone knowing about this place or what we're doing here?"
"Leave that to me. I'll show you what I learned over the summer."
Harry put down the elemental book and the marauder map on the floor and he took out his wand while Hermione watched him in interest. He then held his wand in front of him and said the incantation for summoning the Air Guardian.
A silver beam of light shot out of his wand as it did during the summer and Hermione gasped it formed the familiar humanoid figure with a light blue tint that Harry recognized as the Air Guardian.
*You summoned me again Harry? * he heard the Guardian say in his head.
"Yes I did, do you think you could help with the redecoration of this room?" he asked the Guardian.
*Of course, but I can't do anything if you don't do something about the broken furniture in this room *
"Sorry, we'll fix it up then you can help us move around some of the furniture."
"How - ? What is he saying? It looks like you're talking to yourself," said Hermione because only Harry could hear the Guardian talking to him in his head.
"Oh sorry, I forgot that only I could hear him," he said apologetically and he asked the Guardian if it was possible for Hermione to hear him as well.
*It is possible, but only if you tell me to be able to talk to her, however, only you will be able to command me * the Guardian replied.
"Then please allow her to hear you," Harry requested.
*As you wish * the Guardian said and Hermione gasped again since she could hear him as well now.
"Hermione, let's repair this furniture, then we can rearrange this room. Maybe we can surprise Sirius," he said happily.
For the next half-hour, the Air Guardian hovered in the room in silence as Harry and Hermione continued to use repair charms to fix the broken furniture and the walls in the room that had been shredded.
"I'm finished with this table," Harry said as he used the repair charm on the table to fix the leg that had fallen off.
"Same here," Hermione said as she repaired some of the bowls that had been left in the room, probably for food and water when the Marauders were staying in the shack.
"Alright, could you hand me one of those bowls," Harry said with a sly grin on his face.
"What are you up to?" she asked cautiously since she noticed the sly look and handed him a bowl.
"Just watch," he replied, taking the bowl from her.
First he put the bowl down on the table and pointed his wand at it.
He said, "Calix Water" and his wand started shimmering. Once the glow subsided, he could see that there was now water in the bowl when it had been empty previously.
"Now you really must lend me the book," Hermione said in amazement. "That spell could come in handy if I want to spend extra time reading in the common room or the library and not have to go to the hall for my meals."
Harry grinned, "I'm not finished yet."
He then pointed his wand again at the bowl and mumbled something that was inaudible to Hermione. She saw that the wand was starting to glow a light blue colour and the water level in the bowl was starting to rise.
Eventually the bowl overflowed and the water spilled all over the floor before gathering itself up into the shape of a woman, made entirely of water.
"Another one of your guardians? How many of them are there?"
"There are four. Air, Water, Fire, and Earth," he said before the Water Guardian started talking to him as well.
*Hello Harry, * he heard her say. *Do you need another bath? I'd be happy to give you one. *
Harry blushed in embarrassment before Hermione interrupted again.
"Is she saying something to you?"
"Yes, but I'd rather not discuss it," he said, still blushing.
"Why? How bad can it be?"
"I don't think you want to know."
"Really? Why not? Tell me," she said pleadingly.
"Alright, she wants to know if I want her to give me another bath," Harry said, turning a deeper shade of red.
"A bath?" Hermione said scowling. "You mean you use these Guardians like slaves who don't get paid?"
"You going to try to 'liberate' them from my control like you've been trying to do with the house elves?," Harry said grinning and the Water Guardian interrupted his conversation.
*Is that the best friend who you were talking about? * she said.
"Yes, she is. Her name is Hermione," Harry replied.
*Pretty girl. I think you should really try asking her out, especially since it does look like you're with her all the time. I don't think anyone would notice the difference, other than you'd be holding hands and giving each other an occasional kiss. *
"What? She's - " Harry started to say, but he stopped himself.
"She's what?" Hermione now cut in. "You're talking about me now, aren't you."
"Yes, she wanted to know more about you," he lied.
"Oh, now could you tell her to let me hear what she's saying?"
"Could you please let Hermione hear what you're saying? She's irritated that she can't hear you," Harry said to the Water Guardian.
*Sure, no problem. * the Guardian said and Hermione now calmed down now that she could hear the Guardian.
"How about we start arranging the furniture. Then I'll teach you one spell before we go off to breakfast, ok?" Harry asked Hermione, trying to avoid going back to discussing dating Hermione.
"Okay," she said and for the next hour, Harry, the Air Guardian, and the Water Guardian were placing the repaired furniture in different places around the room while Hermione was telling them where she thought it would look the best.
Once they were done, Harry told the Air Guardian to return, but kept the Water Guardian present. The Air Guardian faded and disappeared then Harry went and sat down in one of the sofas. Hermione picked up the Elemental book off the floor and joined him, sitting next to him.
"So what do you plan to teach me?" Hermione asked, opening the book on the able in front of her.
*How about the spell used to summon me? * the Water Guardian chipped in.
"Uh, I don't think that's such a good idea," Harry said worriedly. As much as he wanted to teach Hermione, he didn't know if casting such a high level spell would drain her energy completely. However, he was also worried about what the Water Guardian would do since she knew a bit about Harry's feelings for Hermione and may say something that could ruin their friendship.
"Why not?" asked Hermione.
"Because it's a level 5 spell, it could drain your energy and place you in the infirmary for several days like I was when I used too many of the Guardian spells on Nobert," Harry replied.
"Oh, well at least I know how you managed to knock Nobert out. Which Guardian did you use?"
"The Earth one, but I had to summon about 10 of them and half were destroyed."
"Well, its better them than you," Hermione said smiling.
*Pretty smile you've got there Hermione, * the Water Guardian said looking at her.
"Thank you," she said as her cheeks blushed red a bit.
Harry glared at the Water Guardian. This would be a problem. It looked like the guardian was trying to set him up with Hermione.
"Uh, Hermione, could you please wait outside for a while? I need to talk to the Guardian for a while."
"Sure, I'll bring the book with me, so that I can pick something for you to teach me," she said, getting up and bringing the Elemental Book with her before walking into the passageway. Once she had gone, Harry turned back to the Guardian.
"What are you trying to do? Ruin my friendship with her?" he asked irritably.
*Sorry, I was only trying to help. *
"As much as I do have feelings for her, I don't need those feelings getting in the way of our friendship."
*Oh, so you admit you love her? *
"I don't know if I love her, but I do care for her more than I'd like to admit to most people," Harry said, looking down at the floor.
*I think you do, just you're denying it. It's possible that she loves you as well, though I can't tell since I've only met her. *
"There's also one other reason why I don't want to try to date her."
*What's that? *
"I have another friend, Ron. He has a crush on her and wants to date her. He can also get very jealous sometimes, so if it weren't for that and ruining our friendship, I would ask her out."
*Ah, now I understand. That's very noble of you Harry, but you really should admit your feelings to her. If she feels the same way, then you're both happy, but if not, you'll still have her as a friend. *
"I don't really want to take that risk because I don't think I could live with her as a friend if my feelings weren't reciprocated."
*Harry, if you don't, you'll never know and as your servant, I don't want to see you unhappy. Its just that I've had masters who had feelings for someone, but they never admitted them so they lived and died as miserable people because the person they loved eventually got tired of waiting and moved on. *
"Th-Thank you for the advice," he said shakily. He knew the Guardian was right, but Ron deserved his chance at Hermione as well. If that meant that he might be miserable for the rest of his life, then it was a sacrifice worth taking if it meant that Hermione would be happy.
"Hermione's probably finished reading the book by now," Harry said, now smiling. "We should let her come back in, but please don't mention anything I've said to her."
*Your wish is my command * the Water Guardian said.
With that, Harry dismissed the Water Guardian, who disappeared back into the bowl, got up and opened the door to the passageway. He saw that Hermione was sitting on the ground reading his book and as he approached, she looked up and smiled at him.
"Hi Harry, done with your chat?"
"Yes, you can come back in now. Have you decided on what spell you wanted to learn?"
"Yes, I think I'll settle with the 'Force Field' spell. It looks simple enough so I won't get it wrong."
"Hermione, since when did you ever get something wrong?" he said, laughing.
They went back into the room and Hermione saw that the Guardian was no longer present.
"What happened to the Water Guardian?" she asked.
"She went back into the bowl," he said, pointing at the bowl full of water.
"Oh, well, we should get started then."
She took out her wand and looked to Harry for instruction.
"The 'Force Field' spell is simple enough. Just hold the wand in front of you, then you say 'Quiesco Murus.' If you did it right, a barrier should form in front of you. It should stop anything from physically harming you."
She then pointed the wand in front of her and said the words for the spell as Harry told her to.
Almost immediately, her wand lit up and she saw the air swirl in front of her. It was a small light green swirl at first, but as she continued to hold the wand in front of her, it grew larger until there was indeed a physical barrier present.
"I did it!" she exclaimed and Harry smiled at her.
"You're not finished yet. I'll try walking through it. If you did it right, I shouldn't be able to," he said and he walked straight into the barrier.
Hermione laughed at him as he hit the barrier and fell to the ground. He smiled back at her and took out his wand to make the barrier disappear. Then he held out his hand to Hermione, who took it, however, when she did so, he pulled her down and started tickling her.
"STOP THAT!" she squealed in between laughs and struggling to break free of Harry's grasp.
Eventually Harry stopped and suggested that they should go to breakfast, so he picked up the book and the map and they made their way back up through the passageway. Once they were out, they made their way towards the Great Hall. However, halfway there, Harry remembered that they should bring the book back to the dorm first before anyone spotted them with it.
To avoid everyone along the way, Harry used the map and the two made their way towards the Gryffindor tower. When they got to the portrait, they said the password, and the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open.
"Here's the book," Harry said, handing it to Hermione. "Take it up to your dorm and put it somewhere where no one will see it."
"Okay," she replied and she took the book from him before making her way upstairs to the dorm room while Harry went up to his dorm to put the Marauders' map back in his trunk, making sure to wipe it clean first.
By the time he got back down, Hermione was already down as well, and the two finally went to the Great Hall to eat breakfast.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When they got to the Great Hall, they saw that Ron was already there eating vigorously. They approached and Harry could see that Ron looked a bit furious.
"Where did you two go off to?" Ron asked them, not looking up from his food.
"I asked Hermione to teach me some of the spells that we'd need for the dueling class," Harry lied as they sat down beside Ron with Hermione in the middle.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" Ron asked. It looked like he calmed down a bit once Hermione had sat down.
"Because I thought you didn't want to be woken at 5:00 in the morning," Harry replied, eating a piece of bacon.
"Well, wake me up next time you two decide to go practice some dueling. I can't wait to see what the Count is like," Ron said enthusiastically.
"You actually want to go to class for once Ron? That's a first," Hermione asked sarcastically.
"Well, dueling class sounds a lot more fun than those other classes," Ron replied, totally oblivious to the fact that Hermione was being sarcastic. "Besides, the Count sounds like he'd be a cool professor."
"Speaking of which, where is he?" Harry asked, looking at the teacher's table. All the professors were present, except for the Count. "He's not at the teacher's table, but Walter is."
"I don't know, maybe he has some work to do for Dumbledore." Hermione hinted to Harry so that Ron wouldn't know what they were talking about.
"Probably, but I find it somewhat strange that this is twice that he hasn't been present in the morning," Harry said.
"You're right. Maybe we should ask Walter..," Hermione said and got up.
"Where are you going? You didn't even finish your breakfast," Ron asked her, noticing that she got up from her seat.
"I'm going off to the library. I have some work to do."
"Wait, I'll come with you," Ron said, and he got up and followed her out of the Great Hall, leaving Harry alone, thinking about what the Water Guardian said earlier. However, he didn't get long as Walter came up to him from behind.
"Good Morning Mr. Potter," Walter said, and Harry jumped in his seat.
"Oh, Hello Professor," he replied, recovering from the shock.
"Please, just Walter, I don't think I could ever get used to people calling me Professor," he said smiling.
"Alright, if you call me Harry, and I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing you smile."
Walter chuckled. "Yes, I get that a lot. Many people don't expect a Necromancer like myself to smile at all."
"Did you come here to chat or did you need something?"
"Ah yes, I was supposed to tell you that Lord Sepet would like to see you and the rest of the members this evening."
"Oh, where is he? I didn't see him at the teacher's table," Harry said, now really curious as to where the Count could possibly be.
"He's off on some business. Even though he's a professor, he's a very busy man. He always has to report to the International Ministry every morning to see if we have anymore Death Eaters to hunt down."
"Really? I didn't know that. I thought he'd be working for us now," Harry said, placing an emphasis on 'us.'
"He is, but if he doesn't report to the Ministry as he always does, every morning, they'd be very suspicious."
"Alright, I'll come. Where should I meet him?"
"Outside on the Quidditch Pitch. I believe he wanted to train all the members personally."
"Will Malfoy be joining us?" Harry asked, not really wanting Malfoy to be there since he didn't know what he'd do if Malfoy insulted Hermione again.
"I believe he will be, he'll be released from the infirmary this afternoon. I'll give Lord Sepet your answer and tell him that you'll meet with him. Good day Harry," Walter responded and he walked out of the Great Hall.
A/N: Argh, that took more than 24 hours, but at least you get two chapters to make up for me not posting something the previous 24 hour period. I also apologize for any spelling/grammatical errors that I may not have caught since I'm somewhat tired and I've been proof reading the chapters on my own.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Chapter 12: Hermione's Lesson
The next day, Harry woke up surprisingly early. He saw that Ron was still asleep, snoring loudly so he went downstairs to the common room. When he got there, he noticed that Hermione was there already, reading her Transfiguration book.
"Morning Hermione," he said as he approached her.
She jumped at his voice, but calmed down and smiled at him when she realized who it was.
"Good Morning Harry. What are you doing up so early?" she asked.
"Oh, I guess I was just thinking too much to really get much sleep," he replied.
"Thinking about what?"
As much as Harry wanted to tell Hermione what he was thinking about, he couldn't really risk their friendship if she didn't feel the same way and he didn't want to betray Ron's trust. So he made up something that he knew she would believe.
"I was thinking that since it's Saturday and classes don't start until Monday, why don't I teach you some of the elemental magic I've been learning. It should come in handy in the dueling class and if we're ever going up again You-Know-Who, but don't tell anyone about it," Harry lied.
"Really? Thank you Harry," she said with a delighted look on her face. "When do we start?"
"Typical Hermione," Harry said chuckling. "You're always enthusiastic to learn, aren't you."
"If you were as enthusiastic about learning, you'd probably have better marks than you already have," she said pointedly.
"Save it for Ron, but why don't we start now since everyone's still asleep."
"Sure, but what do we tell Ron when he comes down and sees that we aren't here?"
"Just say that you're helping me with some homework. He'll believe you," Harry replied.
"Alright, so where should we go?"
"How about the Shrieking Shack beneath the Whomping Willow? There shouldn't be anyone there and we can practice our magic without any interruptions," Harry suggested.
"Sounds good. Should we go now?"
"Yeah, just let me go back up and get the marauders' map and the spellbook," Harry said and he went back up as quietly as possible so that he wouldn't wake anyone up.
When he got to his room, he went over to his trunk and opened it. Taking out the Marauders' map and the Elemental Book, he then went over to check that everyone was still asleep before walking downstairs again.
He found Hermione waiting for him by the portrait and he went over to join her.
"Is that the book?" she said pointing at the red book that Harry had under his arm.
"Yes it is. I've memorized it completely by now and I can do all of the spells in it," Harry replied.
"Really now? Am I hearing this right? Harry Potter is actually studying and memorizing his books?" she said mockingly.
"And is the great Hermione finally stumped at not knowing about something," Harry replied in an equally mocking tone.
Hermione hit Harry playfully on the arm and they both exited the common room through the portrait, laughing.
Harry first took out his wand, pointed at the map, and said, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."
Immediately lines appeared on the blank parchment, outlining the halls and passageways that went throughout the school. He saw that everyone was still in their respective dorms at this time and only a few teachers were awake. Snape was in the dungeons and Filch was busy chasing Peeves away on the third floor while Professor Sepet was in his office, sitting there it seemed, with Walter just outside the door. Very strange he thought, but the path to the Whomping Willow was clear.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As they made their way to the Whomping Willow, Harry brought up the amulet that Hermione gave to him for his birthday.
"Hermione, remember that amulet you gave me for my birthday?" he asked.
"Yes, what about it?"
"If either of us want to use it, how do we contact each other without everyone in the room overhearing our conversation?"
"I don't know. I guess we could put silencing charms around our beds. That way we could still talk to each other without everyone hearing it," she said thoughtfully. "But we'd only be able to use them at night, with the curtains drawn shut so that no one will see the glow."
"Sounds good. I knew you were always the clever one," Harry said smiling at her. "I can't think of anyone I'd rather have in a tight spot than you."
"Not even Ron?" she said, blushing.
"Ron is a good friend, but he can be such a stupid git sometimes."
Hermione laughed at the last comment, for she knew very well how Ron could act like such an idiot sometimes.
A few moments later, they got to the Whomping Willow and Harry pushed down the knot on the tree. The tree froze up as if it had been turned into marble and they both made their way down into the passageway towards the Shrieking Shack.
When they reached their destination, they saw that nothing had changed since they had last been there in their third year. The furniture was still wrecked, scattered all over the floor and the windows were still boarded up.
"Looks like this place needs some redecorating," Hermione commented.
"I'm sure we could do that," Harry said. "Do you think we'll need more help to redecorate?"
"Why do you ask?" Hermione asked curiously. "There's only you and me in here. How can we get more help without anyone knowing about this place or what we're doing here?"
"Leave that to me. I'll show you what I learned over the summer."
Harry put down the elemental book and the marauder map on the floor and he took out his wand while Hermione watched him in interest. He then held his wand in front of him and said the incantation for summoning the Air Guardian.
A silver beam of light shot out of his wand as it did during the summer and Hermione gasped it formed the familiar humanoid figure with a light blue tint that Harry recognized as the Air Guardian.
*You summoned me again Harry? * he heard the Guardian say in his head.
"Yes I did, do you think you could help with the redecoration of this room?" he asked the Guardian.
*Of course, but I can't do anything if you don't do something about the broken furniture in this room *
"Sorry, we'll fix it up then you can help us move around some of the furniture."
"How - ? What is he saying? It looks like you're talking to yourself," said Hermione because only Harry could hear the Guardian talking to him in his head.
"Oh sorry, I forgot that only I could hear him," he said apologetically and he asked the Guardian if it was possible for Hermione to hear him as well.
*It is possible, but only if you tell me to be able to talk to her, however, only you will be able to command me * the Guardian replied.
"Then please allow her to hear you," Harry requested.
*As you wish * the Guardian said and Hermione gasped again since she could hear him as well now.
"Hermione, let's repair this furniture, then we can rearrange this room. Maybe we can surprise Sirius," he said happily.
For the next half-hour, the Air Guardian hovered in the room in silence as Harry and Hermione continued to use repair charms to fix the broken furniture and the walls in the room that had been shredded.
"I'm finished with this table," Harry said as he used the repair charm on the table to fix the leg that had fallen off.
"Same here," Hermione said as she repaired some of the bowls that had been left in the room, probably for food and water when the Marauders were staying in the shack.
"Alright, could you hand me one of those bowls," Harry said with a sly grin on his face.
"What are you up to?" she asked cautiously since she noticed the sly look and handed him a bowl.
"Just watch," he replied, taking the bowl from her.
First he put the bowl down on the table and pointed his wand at it.
He said, "Calix Water" and his wand started shimmering. Once the glow subsided, he could see that there was now water in the bowl when it had been empty previously.
"Now you really must lend me the book," Hermione said in amazement. "That spell could come in handy if I want to spend extra time reading in the common room or the library and not have to go to the hall for my meals."
Harry grinned, "I'm not finished yet."
He then pointed his wand again at the bowl and mumbled something that was inaudible to Hermione. She saw that the wand was starting to glow a light blue colour and the water level in the bowl was starting to rise.
Eventually the bowl overflowed and the water spilled all over the floor before gathering itself up into the shape of a woman, made entirely of water.
"Another one of your guardians? How many of them are there?"
"There are four. Air, Water, Fire, and Earth," he said before the Water Guardian started talking to him as well.
*Hello Harry, * he heard her say. *Do you need another bath? I'd be happy to give you one. *
Harry blushed in embarrassment before Hermione interrupted again.
"Is she saying something to you?"
"Yes, but I'd rather not discuss it," he said, still blushing.
"Why? How bad can it be?"
"I don't think you want to know."
"Really? Why not? Tell me," she said pleadingly.
"Alright, she wants to know if I want her to give me another bath," Harry said, turning a deeper shade of red.
"A bath?" Hermione said scowling. "You mean you use these Guardians like slaves who don't get paid?"
"You going to try to 'liberate' them from my control like you've been trying to do with the house elves?," Harry said grinning and the Water Guardian interrupted his conversation.
*Is that the best friend who you were talking about? * she said.
"Yes, she is. Her name is Hermione," Harry replied.
*Pretty girl. I think you should really try asking her out, especially since it does look like you're with her all the time. I don't think anyone would notice the difference, other than you'd be holding hands and giving each other an occasional kiss. *
"What? She's - " Harry started to say, but he stopped himself.
"She's what?" Hermione now cut in. "You're talking about me now, aren't you."
"Yes, she wanted to know more about you," he lied.
"Oh, now could you tell her to let me hear what she's saying?"
"Could you please let Hermione hear what you're saying? She's irritated that she can't hear you," Harry said to the Water Guardian.
*Sure, no problem. * the Guardian said and Hermione now calmed down now that she could hear the Guardian.
"How about we start arranging the furniture. Then I'll teach you one spell before we go off to breakfast, ok?" Harry asked Hermione, trying to avoid going back to discussing dating Hermione.
"Okay," she said and for the next hour, Harry, the Air Guardian, and the Water Guardian were placing the repaired furniture in different places around the room while Hermione was telling them where she thought it would look the best.
Once they were done, Harry told the Air Guardian to return, but kept the Water Guardian present. The Air Guardian faded and disappeared then Harry went and sat down in one of the sofas. Hermione picked up the Elemental book off the floor and joined him, sitting next to him.
"So what do you plan to teach me?" Hermione asked, opening the book on the able in front of her.
*How about the spell used to summon me? * the Water Guardian chipped in.
"Uh, I don't think that's such a good idea," Harry said worriedly. As much as he wanted to teach Hermione, he didn't know if casting such a high level spell would drain her energy completely. However, he was also worried about what the Water Guardian would do since she knew a bit about Harry's feelings for Hermione and may say something that could ruin their friendship.
"Why not?" asked Hermione.
"Because it's a level 5 spell, it could drain your energy and place you in the infirmary for several days like I was when I used too many of the Guardian spells on Nobert," Harry replied.
"Oh, well at least I know how you managed to knock Nobert out. Which Guardian did you use?"
"The Earth one, but I had to summon about 10 of them and half were destroyed."
"Well, its better them than you," Hermione said smiling.
*Pretty smile you've got there Hermione, * the Water Guardian said looking at her.
"Thank you," she said as her cheeks blushed red a bit.
Harry glared at the Water Guardian. This would be a problem. It looked like the guardian was trying to set him up with Hermione.
"Uh, Hermione, could you please wait outside for a while? I need to talk to the Guardian for a while."
"Sure, I'll bring the book with me, so that I can pick something for you to teach me," she said, getting up and bringing the Elemental Book with her before walking into the passageway. Once she had gone, Harry turned back to the Guardian.
"What are you trying to do? Ruin my friendship with her?" he asked irritably.
*Sorry, I was only trying to help. *
"As much as I do have feelings for her, I don't need those feelings getting in the way of our friendship."
*Oh, so you admit you love her? *
"I don't know if I love her, but I do care for her more than I'd like to admit to most people," Harry said, looking down at the floor.
*I think you do, just you're denying it. It's possible that she loves you as well, though I can't tell since I've only met her. *
"There's also one other reason why I don't want to try to date her."
*What's that? *
"I have another friend, Ron. He has a crush on her and wants to date her. He can also get very jealous sometimes, so if it weren't for that and ruining our friendship, I would ask her out."
*Ah, now I understand. That's very noble of you Harry, but you really should admit your feelings to her. If she feels the same way, then you're both happy, but if not, you'll still have her as a friend. *
"I don't really want to take that risk because I don't think I could live with her as a friend if my feelings weren't reciprocated."
*Harry, if you don't, you'll never know and as your servant, I don't want to see you unhappy. Its just that I've had masters who had feelings for someone, but they never admitted them so they lived and died as miserable people because the person they loved eventually got tired of waiting and moved on. *
"Th-Thank you for the advice," he said shakily. He knew the Guardian was right, but Ron deserved his chance at Hermione as well. If that meant that he might be miserable for the rest of his life, then it was a sacrifice worth taking if it meant that Hermione would be happy.
"Hermione's probably finished reading the book by now," Harry said, now smiling. "We should let her come back in, but please don't mention anything I've said to her."
*Your wish is my command * the Water Guardian said.
With that, Harry dismissed the Water Guardian, who disappeared back into the bowl, got up and opened the door to the passageway. He saw that Hermione was sitting on the ground reading his book and as he approached, she looked up and smiled at him.
"Hi Harry, done with your chat?"
"Yes, you can come back in now. Have you decided on what spell you wanted to learn?"
"Yes, I think I'll settle with the 'Force Field' spell. It looks simple enough so I won't get it wrong."
"Hermione, since when did you ever get something wrong?" he said, laughing.
They went back into the room and Hermione saw that the Guardian was no longer present.
"What happened to the Water Guardian?" she asked.
"She went back into the bowl," he said, pointing at the bowl full of water.
"Oh, well, we should get started then."
She took out her wand and looked to Harry for instruction.
"The 'Force Field' spell is simple enough. Just hold the wand in front of you, then you say 'Quiesco Murus.' If you did it right, a barrier should form in front of you. It should stop anything from physically harming you."
She then pointed the wand in front of her and said the words for the spell as Harry told her to.
Almost immediately, her wand lit up and she saw the air swirl in front of her. It was a small light green swirl at first, but as she continued to hold the wand in front of her, it grew larger until there was indeed a physical barrier present.
"I did it!" she exclaimed and Harry smiled at her.
"You're not finished yet. I'll try walking through it. If you did it right, I shouldn't be able to," he said and he walked straight into the barrier.
Hermione laughed at him as he hit the barrier and fell to the ground. He smiled back at her and took out his wand to make the barrier disappear. Then he held out his hand to Hermione, who took it, however, when she did so, he pulled her down and started tickling her.
"STOP THAT!" she squealed in between laughs and struggling to break free of Harry's grasp.
Eventually Harry stopped and suggested that they should go to breakfast, so he picked up the book and the map and they made their way back up through the passageway. Once they were out, they made their way towards the Great Hall. However, halfway there, Harry remembered that they should bring the book back to the dorm first before anyone spotted them with it.
To avoid everyone along the way, Harry used the map and the two made their way towards the Gryffindor tower. When they got to the portrait, they said the password, and the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open.
"Here's the book," Harry said, handing it to Hermione. "Take it up to your dorm and put it somewhere where no one will see it."
"Okay," she replied and she took the book from him before making her way upstairs to the dorm room while Harry went up to his dorm to put the Marauders' map back in his trunk, making sure to wipe it clean first.
By the time he got back down, Hermione was already down as well, and the two finally went to the Great Hall to eat breakfast.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When they got to the Great Hall, they saw that Ron was already there eating vigorously. They approached and Harry could see that Ron looked a bit furious.
"Where did you two go off to?" Ron asked them, not looking up from his food.
"I asked Hermione to teach me some of the spells that we'd need for the dueling class," Harry lied as they sat down beside Ron with Hermione in the middle.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" Ron asked. It looked like he calmed down a bit once Hermione had sat down.
"Because I thought you didn't want to be woken at 5:00 in the morning," Harry replied, eating a piece of bacon.
"Well, wake me up next time you two decide to go practice some dueling. I can't wait to see what the Count is like," Ron said enthusiastically.
"You actually want to go to class for once Ron? That's a first," Hermione asked sarcastically.
"Well, dueling class sounds a lot more fun than those other classes," Ron replied, totally oblivious to the fact that Hermione was being sarcastic. "Besides, the Count sounds like he'd be a cool professor."
"Speaking of which, where is he?" Harry asked, looking at the teacher's table. All the professors were present, except for the Count. "He's not at the teacher's table, but Walter is."
"I don't know, maybe he has some work to do for Dumbledore." Hermione hinted to Harry so that Ron wouldn't know what they were talking about.
"Probably, but I find it somewhat strange that this is twice that he hasn't been present in the morning," Harry said.
"You're right. Maybe we should ask Walter..," Hermione said and got up.
"Where are you going? You didn't even finish your breakfast," Ron asked her, noticing that she got up from her seat.
"I'm going off to the library. I have some work to do."
"Wait, I'll come with you," Ron said, and he got up and followed her out of the Great Hall, leaving Harry alone, thinking about what the Water Guardian said earlier. However, he didn't get long as Walter came up to him from behind.
"Good Morning Mr. Potter," Walter said, and Harry jumped in his seat.
"Oh, Hello Professor," he replied, recovering from the shock.
"Please, just Walter, I don't think I could ever get used to people calling me Professor," he said smiling.
"Alright, if you call me Harry, and I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing you smile."
Walter chuckled. "Yes, I get that a lot. Many people don't expect a Necromancer like myself to smile at all."
"Did you come here to chat or did you need something?"
"Ah yes, I was supposed to tell you that Lord Sepet would like to see you and the rest of the members this evening."
"Oh, where is he? I didn't see him at the teacher's table," Harry said, now really curious as to where the Count could possibly be.
"He's off on some business. Even though he's a professor, he's a very busy man. He always has to report to the International Ministry every morning to see if we have anymore Death Eaters to hunt down."
"Really? I didn't know that. I thought he'd be working for us now," Harry said, placing an emphasis on 'us.'
"He is, but if he doesn't report to the Ministry as he always does, every morning, they'd be very suspicious."
"Alright, I'll come. Where should I meet him?"
"Outside on the Quidditch Pitch. I believe he wanted to train all the members personally."
"Will Malfoy be joining us?" Harry asked, not really wanting Malfoy to be there since he didn't know what he'd do if Malfoy insulted Hermione again.
"I believe he will be, he'll be released from the infirmary this afternoon. I'll give Lord Sepet your answer and tell him that you'll meet with him. Good day Harry," Walter responded and he walked out of the Great Hall.
A/N: Argh, that took more than 24 hours, but at least you get two chapters to make up for me not posting something the previous 24 hour period. I also apologize for any spelling/grammatical errors that I may not have caught since I'm somewhat tired and I've been proof reading the chapters on my own.