The Draught of Living Death Chapter 10: Hogwarts Again, a harry potter fanfic

The Draught of Living Death

A/N: A big thanks to everyone for sticking with me. I've been having a little trouble getting to the point lately, as I'm sure some of you have noticed. This will be mainly a plot chapter, so an apology goes out to the fluff lovers, but there won't be a whole lot of that here.

I figured it out! I think I can write a Ron/Hermione scene! I'll probably try it at some point here. So, I lied, there might be a minor amount of fluff.

Lady Lightning: Continuing as quickly as possible… things are about to get interesting.

Tsuki no Hikari: Ron's reaction might not be what you think… I'm kind of tired of the protective older brother image, I don't think Ron is as insane about Ginny as some people believe… well, you'll see within the next few chapters what his reaction will be. As for my portrayal of the Creevey brothers… well, in my opinion, they just needed to grow up a bit. He may get some flack in my story, but not as badly as he has before, just wait and see, that won't be for another few chapters

Heeroluva: I'm glad you took the time to take a look at my fic. When I get the time, I'll take a look at yours if you'd like. I'm glad you're enjoying it, and I'll try to update as soon as humanly possible.

Unclee: Glad you like it will update as soon as possible.

Bookworm: The Draught of Living Death will probably make a major appearance in this chapter, like I said before, this is a plot chapter.

DaBear: Thank you very much! It gets better, I promise.

Chapter Ten: Hogwarts Again

Ginny, Harry, Hermione and Ron stood at the doorway to the burrow. Molly had called Arthur and he had come home to bid the children goodbye.

At eight p.m., promptly, a greasy haired professor Snape popped into the driveway of the burrow. He took one look at the happy crowd standing in the doorway saying goodbye, and sneered. Snape glanced at his watch in annoyance as everyone exchanged hugs and farewells again.

"You have three more minutes before this port key activates," he finally shouted.

Arthur had the grace not to laugh at the overly annoyed professor.

"Haven't changed a bit, have you, Severus?" Molly asked kindly.

Snape grumbled under his breath before approaching the doorway and instructing all of the children to grab a hold of their trunks and touch the port key.

With a familiar tug at the navel, they were all jerked through a nauseating swirl of colors that ended in the yellow and red of the Gryffindor common room.

Snape gave a disgusted look and tucked the port key into his pocket.

"Try not to enjoy yourselves too much," he sneered as he made his way out of the room. He turned at the last minute. "By the way, Dumbledore asked me to request that you inform him before leaving the castle for any reason." Harry got the impression that he even meant if they planned to sneak around one night. "He also wishes to be informed of the areas where you will spending the majority of your time while you wait for the start of term. Make a list, but do not leave the common room to deliver it. Send it by owl and Dumbledore will be here to discuss it with you at his earliest opportunity. Now, I suggest you get some sleep… morning comes early at Hogwarts." With a swish of dark fabric, Snape disappeared, moving like a shadow… with no sound and no indication that he had even been there beyond the portrait hole snapping shut.

"Well, that was unusual," Ron said. "He almost seemed, I don't know, nice?"

Harry nodded. "I know, it's very strange. He was like that when I first came here a few weeks ago, and exactly the same way. He'd deliver a protective message and try to finish it off with a snide comment, but you could tell his heart wasn't really in what he said."

Ginny frowned. "It may just be that we've misjudged him all along."

The four looked at each other as they considered this. They all seemed to come to a conclusion at the same time. Hermione, surprising everyone, started laughing first, followed closely by Harry's attempt to conceal his chuckle, then Ginny giggled and Ron, not even trying to stop himself, starting laughing out loud.

"I think," Hermione said, "as much as I'd like to defend our esteemed professor, that it's a lost cause in this case."

Ginny managed to get control of herself first. "I'll get some parchment and a quill and we can make that list before we go to bed."

Everyone gathered around the fire and Ginny stretched out over the edge of the hearth, setting the paper in front of her as everyone took turns stating areas they had a tendency to spend time in.

"All right," Ginny said and set the list where everyone could see it. "Everyone check this and make sure we've got everything.

List of Commonly Visited Places in Hogwarts
Library Gryffindor Common Room Potions Classroom Great Hall Quidditch Pitch 3rd floor corridor on the left hand side (Just kidding, Professor! Ron's idea of a joke!) Forbidden Forest (Joke again! We were thinking too hard!) Hagrid's Hut Hogsmeade (We're not sure if this is an option, but we're putting it down just in case)
Honestly, this was all we could think of before the discussion just started getting silly. Let us know if there's any part of this list that is unacceptable.

Ginny rolled the list up and attached it to Merlin's leg, opening the window for him to deliver it.

"Well," Ginny said with a smile, "at least we know he has a sense of humor."

"Or so we hope," Hermione said.

No one seemed too anxious to depart for his or her room.

"I don't want to be by myself," Ginny finally admitted. "I don't like having all that space to myself. Do you think we could alter the sleeping arrangements until the rest of the students get here?"

Hermione and Harry glanced at each other. "Well, we are prefects, I guess it's within our power to approve of it." Harry said.

"We can do one of two things," Hermione said. "Either we can all sleep down here, or Ginny can move into my dorm until everyone else gets here. There are two spare beds since we only have three Gryffindor girls in my year."

Ron, Harry and Ginny thought about it for a few seconds.

"I think we should either sleep down here or all move into one room. It just seems much safer that way." Ginny said rubbing her arms. Ron started to open his mouth to reassure Ginny, but she stopped him. "I know I'll be safe here. I'm not worried. It's just…" she stared at Harry, "the dreams. I don't want to be alone with the dreams. I want to be able to wake up and know someone's close by. Gabrielle is in my dorm during the school year and she usually talks to me if I have a dream, and they're always worse here. I don't want to be alone."

Harry slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. "How about Ron, you and me all move into Hermione's dorm until Monday morning. We can spend Monday arranging our stuff in the proper dorms and we'll be done with that by the time Hogwarts express arrives."

Hermione nodded. "We may want to inform Dumbledore that we plan to do that, but I don't think he should have a problem as long as there's not any funny business, and I don't think that's something we have to worry about."

"All right, then," Ron said. "Shall we move our trunks, or should we leave them so we can go back to our rooms to change clothes?"

"Leave them in our rooms," Ginny suggested. "I'm not changing clothes in a room where I'm even vaguely concerned about you two seeing things you're not supposed to." Ron laughed, and Harry, surprisingly, blushed.

"Well," Hermione said, "I'm exhausted, I'm going up now."

Ron nodded. "I'll probably be on my way up soon as well, just give me a chance to go to my room and change into my bed clothes."

"Coming Ginny?" Hermione asked.

"Not just yet," she replied. "I've got a couple things to do yet."

Hermione nodded. "Don't stay up too late, you look exhausted."

"All right, Ms. Prefect, I'll do my best."

Hermione had the grace to blush followed by a quick disappearance up the stairs.

* ~ *

Ron nervously entered Hermione's dormitory. He knew it was all right that he was there, but it still felt like he was doing something he wasn't supposed to.

"Hermione?" He called out lightly.

A head popped up from beside one of the five beds.

"Oh, hi Ron," she said and popped back down. "Is Harry still getting ready?"

Ron shook his head. "Said something about a book he wanted to look through before he came up. I swear you're rubbing off on him."

"Is that a bad thing?" Hermione asked, finally standing up with her dressing robe draped over her forearm. Ron was glad Hermione had chosen a set of flannel pajamas for the evening. At least he wouldn't have to worry about having to watch her walk around the room in a gown.

Hermione laid the dressing gown on her bed and stretched out her arms as she climbed into bed. "Just pick a bed," she said tiredly. "I'm not awake enough to even try to point out the best decision."

She pulled the covers up to her chin, trying to remain calm about the fact that she was now alone in her room with Ron.

"Hermione?" Ron said as he sat on the bed beside hers.

"What is it, Ron?" Hermione asked in annoyance.

"Do you worry about, Harry?"

Hermione sat up, giving up on sleep for the moment. "Sometimes," she said with a yawn, drawing her knees up to her chin. "I worry that maybe he's taking on too much, or that he thinks he can save everyone, I even worry that he's going to break down like that awful Skeeter woman suggested. I know in the end the worries aren't really substantial, I know he'll pull through one way or another, but… yes, I worry."

Ron nodded and moved to sit beside Hermione. "I know he's my best friend, and I should trust him, but I really think that he's faced with so much. He thinks he can handle the world, but what if he fails? What if he can't make it? So far he's conquered everything he's had to, but what if he fails?"

Hermione smiled. "If I know our Harry," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "He'll pull through. And if he doesn't… he'll eventually get back on his feet. I think we learned last year that the most important thing to him is to be supported and cared for."

"I still feel guilty about abandoning him last year. I still blame myself for not being there when he needed me the most, and all because I had to be stupid. All I cared about was winning that game."

"I think," Hermione returned, "that he has forgiven you already. You just have to find a way to forgive yourself."

Ron glanced over to Hermione, whose hand was still clasped on his shoulder. He raised his own palm to cover hers.

"I'm also sorry about what happened with Cody and Audrey. I suspect it was partially my fault since it involved Audrey."

"Ron, do you know why I liked Cody so much?"

"No," Ron replied. "I never did understand that."

"Because," Hermione smiled, "He played chess like a master, and that always shows great strategy and outstanding patience. Those are two of the most important things in the world."

Ron's face became thoughtful. "Hermione… I don't have a response to that."

Hermione nodded. "I didn't suspect you would. You can let me know when you do."

Ron just stared at Hermione for a few moments. "It's funny."

"What is?"

"No matter how many times I look at you, you never seem to change."

"Now you're just being silly. Of course I've changed. It's been almost five years since we've met. For one thing I'm a little taller than I used to be."

"I guess I am being silly… but I memorized your face, your eyes, your… ears… a long time ago. And no matter how many times I look at it, it always stays the same."

Hermione bit her lip lightly. "I don't think any of us ever really change. It's one of those things in the universe that seems to remain constant."

Ron reached up and traced Hermione's cheek. "No… it's just you."

* ~ *

"So your mother had a book that supposedly contains the instructions for making the Draught of Living Death? And it's never been found?"

Harry nodded to Ginny. They had been sitting in front of the hearth fire for a little over half an hour now, Harry finally telling her what Dumbledore had revealed to him.

"Can you think of any place she may have hidden it?"

"No," Harry replied, looking sad. "She probably hid it in a private place. A place only she could find, but I never knew enough about her to really figure out what places she may have found special, or even personal."

Ginny nodded. "Well then, let's start by figuring out what we know about her."

Harry frowned. "Not much," he shook his head. "She was head girl, she was very good at charms. Her and my father fell in love in their seventh year. She was in gryffindor. She wasn't as much of a troublemaker as my father was, but she did enjoy mischief, mostly laughing at their antics after they were over with. Her and my father were married soon after she graduated, had me a year later and a year later they were gone. It's not really much to go on."

"Maybe you should ask Sirius? He'll probably know quite a bit more about her."

Harry thought for a second and nodded. "Oh, I almost forgot," Harry said. "With all the excitement it wasn't really at the front of my thoughts."

"What?" Ginny asked.

"Sirius wants us to come to his home for Christmas. The ministry said it was all right since the Dursley's never come and get me and you usually stay as well. They said as long as we are well protected and Dumbledore doesn't think it's a safety risk, we should be able to go. So it'll be just the four of us… all Christmas long. If you'd like to go that is?"

Ginny nodded. "If mum thinks it's okay, and Ron and Hermione want to, which I'm sure they will, it sounds like a fantastic way to spend Christmas."

Harry started to pain something else, but was stopped by a sudden stab of pain to his scar. He clutched his forehead and sat down on the couch.

"Harry," Ginny whispered as she knelt beside him. "Should I get Ron or Hermione?"

"No, they can't help. It'll fade. Go up to my room, get the blue and black journal out of the top of my chest."

Ginny nodded and ran for his room, returning seconds later, clutching the journal, a quill and a bottle of ink. She watched him write as the pain apparently started to fade.

Scar pain, approximately 11:15 p.m. Lasting about two minutes.

"You've started to keep track of all of this?"

"It seems appropriate," he replied.

"It's a very psychologically sound solution."

"When did you learn big words?"

"I only know one. Psychologically. Solution only has eight letters."

Harry shook his head and chuckled. "Let me grab my invisibility cloak. We need to go let Dumbledore know about the pain."

"Didn't Snape say not to leave the tower?"

"What Snape doesn't know, won't hurt him."