A/N: Thanks to everyone who had reviewed this story. I'm so glad I've been
getting such positive feedback...I wasn't expecting such a response with this
story. Well, anyway, here is Chapter five, and I hope you like it as much
as you all seemed to like the other parts of the story.
Chapter Five
Harry and Ron found Hermione sitting alone in the common room. Piles of books, pieces of parchment, and several empty potion vials surrounded her. They took their seats next to her, and tried unsuccessfully to look uninterested in whatever it was that she was doing.
"What are you doing?" Ron sighed.
Hermione shrugged. "Just some research..."
"Can we help?" Harry asked politely.
"I couldn't let you do that. This isn't for any class we have." She whispered.
Ron looked over her shoulder. "Truth serums...Hermione, that is not a good idea. Those things spell trouble. Big trouble. They're too dangerous..."
"Not for me, Ron. But it does have something to do with..." her voice trailed off.
"But Hermione, what if they have you make the stupid stuff, and then they use it on you? Do you have any idea how bad that would be? I don't even want to think about it." He shivered.
"Then don't." They could tell by Hermione's expression that she hadn't meant to snap. She cast her eyes down at the floor. "I just don't want you guys any more involved than is absolutely necessary. I don't want to have to think about the possibility of anyone else getting hurt..."
Ron wrapped her in a hug. "Don't worry, 'Mione..." he whispered. "We'll be careful. We promise. But we don't want anything else to happen to you..."
"It's late..." Harry yawned. "Why don't we call it a night? Hermione can finish her homework this weekend. Besides, Ron...we have a Quiddich match in the morning, don't we?"
"You're right." He frowned. "Come on, Hermione..."
The two of them walked Hermione to her dorm, closed the door behind her, and went to retrieve Harry's father's invisibility cloak. Finally undercover, they snuck from Harry's dorm down the hall to Hermione's. When they got inside, she was sitting cross-legged on her four-poster bed, and her cat Crookshanks was nestled comfortably on her pillow.
"Hey, Hermione, you should get some sleep, you know." Ron yawned. "I'll just move that great oaf cat of yours, and you just lay down, all right? Harry and I will be fine. We'll make sure nothing bad happens, okay?"
Hermione nodded. "I'll see you guys in the morning. Don't forget to put the charm on the door, please..." she whispered as she drifted off into sleep.
That first night, Ron and Harry took shifts, so that at least one of them was awake at all times. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. Hermione seemed to sleep peacefully through the night. Harry or Ron noticed that she would twitch or kick occasionally in her sleep, but they found this to be no cause for alarm. The only disturbance that night was Hermione's cat Crookshanks. He had jumped down off of Hermione's dresser and straight onto Ron's unsuspecting head. Ron made quite a commotion, but still, Hermione did not stir. The next morning, the three of them entered the Great Hall together.
Much to Ron's disgust, half way through their orange juice, Malfoy came up to the Gryffindor table. He tapped his foot impatiently and glared at Hermione, who was gingerly picking at a blueberry muffin. She glanced up at him once or twice, but didn't really acknowledge him until she had finished eating. Harry and Ron watched the two exit the Great Hall and head outside. Several of the teachers also had their eye on the pair as they left.
"I'm not done with it yet, you great stupid git." Hermione hissed. "It takes time, you know...excuse me, you wouldn't. You've never made truth serum before, have you? Leave me be. When I'm done with it, I'll be the one to let you know."
Malfoy was red in the face, but he nodded anyway. "Good."
"What's it for, anyway?" Hermione asked. "I mean, it just seems like so much..."
"Maybe one day you can find out." He smirked. "The next time we have a Hogsmeade Weekend, my father and the LeStranges are going to meet us at the inn. I hope you have everything ready by then," he growled.
Hermione wanted to say she would rather choke, that she wanted to go to Honeydukes with Ron, that Harry had asked her to help him with homework...anything to get out of a possibly compromising situation. Instead, she nodded. "All right."
The Hogsmeade weekend came quicker than was expected. Hermione had finished the task for the Death Eaters. Dumbledore, of course, knew what they had asked her to make. She had told him every small detail. His only concern: why have a seventh year Hogwarts student do what any Death Eater could do himself? This question never would get answered. There was another reason Hermione had been invited to the inn, and it had nothing to do with truth serums.
"Look at this!" Lucius Malfoy hissed from beneath his cloak as he threw an issue of the Daily Prophet across the table. "Looks like trouble, if you ask me."
Hermione cringed as she read the article. It was titled. 'Ministry of Magic Employee Arthur Weasley Captures Illusive Death Eater in Muggle Home'. Hermione frowned. Surely Ron knew what his father had been doing? Why hadn't he told her what had happened? Why did she have to be put into this situation?
"The whole lot of them are bad news for us, father." Draco was saying. "There's so many of them...it's like there's one on every continent. Mr. Weasley's son Charlie caught one of our people trying to smuggle a dragon out of a colony just last month..."
Hermione was silent. She didn't like the direction in which the conversation was turning. She had to listen more. She needed the information to pass to Dumbledore. But she wanted so much to block it out...She wondered, how was it even possible for them to be having such a conversation in the middle of an inn in Hogsmeade? She looked around, but saw no one. She wanted so much to get far away from this place....
Mr. Lestrange laughed. "The Dark Lord is sending some of us out to handle them, tomorrow, Lucius. You should come along. We'd get a good laugh out of it, wouldn't we?"
"Yeah." Draco smiled. "And one of us can get rid of..."
"I'll do it..." Hermione jumped before he could finish his sentence. She was lying, of course, but she didn't even want to hear any more of this. She had to get to Dumbledore straight away. She needed a reason...
"Draco, it's getting late. We're supposed to be back at the castle in less than five minutes. We need to hurry." She gasped.
Dumbledore did not speak the entire time Hermione was telling him of her day. He only nodded, or occasionally, would rub his beard and go, "Hmm...". It took Hermione nearly half an hour to tell him everything.
Dumbledore sighed. "Oh good. Ron is here."
"What?" Hermione gasped. "Professor Dumbledore, I can't tell it again. We have to stop them. We can't let it happen. I don't care what they do...but they can't..." Hermione ran out of words.
"Can't let what happen? They can't do what? Who is 'they', Hermione?" asked Ron in a concerned manner.
Hermione took a deep breath. "Ron...your father made the news by capturing that Death Eater...they're...he...Voldemort is sending people to your house tomorrow. Your family has been marked. Draco was going to..." Hermione began to sob. "They expect me to kill you! Draco was going to...but I couldn't let him...you have to hide...." Hermione was gasping for breath now. "Dumbledore, send someone, please!" she pleaded.
Ron sunk into a chair across from Dumbledore's desk. Harry could only stare.
"Marked...They're sending people to my house..." Ron was slowly letting everything sink in. "My parents! Dumbledore, someone has to help my parents!" he screamed.
Dumbledore sighed. "Ron, I understand how you feel. Arthur and Molly both know their predicament. We can send people from the Order to the Burrow tomorrow...we must figure out what to do about you and Ginny. Word of this has already traveled to your brothers..." Dumbledore was obviously thinking out loud. "The impenetrable charm is still on Hermione's door?" he asked.
"Yes, but what has that got to do with Ron's family?" snapped Harry.
Dumbledore smiled. "The charm on the door will prevent it from being opened in most cases...Ron and Ginny should be fine as long as they stay behind that door at night. The teachers will be escorting students to and from classes, so there shouldn't be a problem there...and I still need the two of you to keep an eye on Hermione..." he added.
Ron and Harry nodded, and retreated with Hermione back to their common room under the invisibility cloak. This time, when they shut Hermione's bedroom door, Ginny went with them. She was unaware of what was going on.
Ron was on his shift watching Hermione sleep when something odd happened. Hermione began to talk in her sleep. It was as if she were having a conversation, although Ron could not hear the person she was speaking to. He shook Harry awake.
"Harry! It's Hermione...she's talking to someone..."
"Ron, have you gone mad? It's two in the morning. I'm..." but Harry suddenly lost all ability to speak. Hermione had begun to rise up out of bed. She had her wand at the ready....
"She wouldn't attack us, would she?" Ron whispered to Harry.
"Ron, that's not Hermione. It looks like her, but it's not." Harry frowned in reply.
Hermione raised her wand. She was pointing it right at Ron's head. "Adavara..." she began. Ron gasped. It was as if he couldn't move. He didn't raise his wand. He was frozen with fear.
"STUPEFY!" screamed Harry. Hermione's wand flew out of her hands as she flew backwards. She knocked her head on one of the posts on her bed. She was out cold.
Ron finally breathed. "What the bloody hell just happened? Did she just try to..." he worried. "Harry...she's hit her head. We should take her to the infirmary. I can't believe she just tried to... " Ron paused.
"Yes, Ron, she did." Harry sighed. "Wake your sister. We'll need to take her with us to the infirmary. Not safe to leave her here by herself after what just happened."
Ron, Harry, and Ginny were in the infirmary watching Hermione sleep when Dumbledore came in. He smiled at them, but it looked as if something was wrong.
"I can guess what happened," he whispered.
Harry nodded. "We knocked her out cold, sir...but Madam Pomfrey says she'll be fine by tomorrow. I hope she doesn't remember any of this..."
"I have news for you," Dumbledore frowned. "There's been an accident."
Ron paled. "What kind of accident?"
"Tonight, when Hermione tried to kill you, she was probably channeling Voldemort..." Ron cringed at the mentioning of his name, but Dumbledore continued. "I don't know how else to say this, Ron...Ginny. The Burrow was attacked tonight. I received the news about five minutes ago...right after I learned what nearly happened to you..."
"The Burrow was attacked?" Harry choked.
Ron shook his head. "What happened, Dumbledore? Are they all right? Where are my parents?" he screamed. Ginny didn't even reach that point. She had already started to cry.
"Ron, your father is in critical condition right now at St. Mongo's. They are hoping he'll make a full recovery soon, but the truth is, he has a long way to go..." Dumbledore sighed.
"What about my mum?" demanded Ginny. "Is she all right?"
Dumbledore removed his half moon spectacles, and polished them with his beard. Again, he sighed, and sat down in an empty bed next to Hermione.
"Dumbledore?" Ron's voice was about to crack.
"I'm so sorry, Ron...Ginny. The Order didn't get there in time. Your mother was killed in the ambush. It was Lucius Malfoy...we weren't able to catch him...but hopefully when Hermione wakes up, maybe she'll know where we can find him...and we can put an end to all of this. I'm so sorry..." he repeated.
Harry couldn't think. His abilities to speak, and even blink, seemed to have left him. Lucius Malfoy had killed his best friend's mother. Harry cringed as he remembered his frequent nightmares about his parents' deaths. He could see Ron holding Ginny tightly. Both seemed to be inconsolable. Ginny sobbed for what seemed like hours in Ron's arms. Harry didn't know what to do. Of course, he knew how they must have felt...but he was at a loss as to what to say. After all, what would you say at a time like this? He fell into the nearest chair, rubbing his temples, and watching Ron and Ginny. Meanwhile, Hermione slept on. She had known what was going to happen. She had warned them...but something had changed. She would have to find out the terrible night's events in the morning. Harry wondered how much more of this his friends, he, could take before something really bad happened....
AN: Kinda cliff hung it didn't I? Sorry! Read and Review!
Chapter Five
Harry and Ron found Hermione sitting alone in the common room. Piles of books, pieces of parchment, and several empty potion vials surrounded her. They took their seats next to her, and tried unsuccessfully to look uninterested in whatever it was that she was doing.
"What are you doing?" Ron sighed.
Hermione shrugged. "Just some research..."
"Can we help?" Harry asked politely.
"I couldn't let you do that. This isn't for any class we have." She whispered.
Ron looked over her shoulder. "Truth serums...Hermione, that is not a good idea. Those things spell trouble. Big trouble. They're too dangerous..."
"Not for me, Ron. But it does have something to do with..." her voice trailed off.
"But Hermione, what if they have you make the stupid stuff, and then they use it on you? Do you have any idea how bad that would be? I don't even want to think about it." He shivered.
"Then don't." They could tell by Hermione's expression that she hadn't meant to snap. She cast her eyes down at the floor. "I just don't want you guys any more involved than is absolutely necessary. I don't want to have to think about the possibility of anyone else getting hurt..."
Ron wrapped her in a hug. "Don't worry, 'Mione..." he whispered. "We'll be careful. We promise. But we don't want anything else to happen to you..."
"It's late..." Harry yawned. "Why don't we call it a night? Hermione can finish her homework this weekend. Besides, Ron...we have a Quiddich match in the morning, don't we?"
"You're right." He frowned. "Come on, Hermione..."
The two of them walked Hermione to her dorm, closed the door behind her, and went to retrieve Harry's father's invisibility cloak. Finally undercover, they snuck from Harry's dorm down the hall to Hermione's. When they got inside, she was sitting cross-legged on her four-poster bed, and her cat Crookshanks was nestled comfortably on her pillow.
"Hey, Hermione, you should get some sleep, you know." Ron yawned. "I'll just move that great oaf cat of yours, and you just lay down, all right? Harry and I will be fine. We'll make sure nothing bad happens, okay?"
Hermione nodded. "I'll see you guys in the morning. Don't forget to put the charm on the door, please..." she whispered as she drifted off into sleep.
That first night, Ron and Harry took shifts, so that at least one of them was awake at all times. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. Hermione seemed to sleep peacefully through the night. Harry or Ron noticed that she would twitch or kick occasionally in her sleep, but they found this to be no cause for alarm. The only disturbance that night was Hermione's cat Crookshanks. He had jumped down off of Hermione's dresser and straight onto Ron's unsuspecting head. Ron made quite a commotion, but still, Hermione did not stir. The next morning, the three of them entered the Great Hall together.
Much to Ron's disgust, half way through their orange juice, Malfoy came up to the Gryffindor table. He tapped his foot impatiently and glared at Hermione, who was gingerly picking at a blueberry muffin. She glanced up at him once or twice, but didn't really acknowledge him until she had finished eating. Harry and Ron watched the two exit the Great Hall and head outside. Several of the teachers also had their eye on the pair as they left.
"I'm not done with it yet, you great stupid git." Hermione hissed. "It takes time, you know...excuse me, you wouldn't. You've never made truth serum before, have you? Leave me be. When I'm done with it, I'll be the one to let you know."
Malfoy was red in the face, but he nodded anyway. "Good."
"What's it for, anyway?" Hermione asked. "I mean, it just seems like so much..."
"Maybe one day you can find out." He smirked. "The next time we have a Hogsmeade Weekend, my father and the LeStranges are going to meet us at the inn. I hope you have everything ready by then," he growled.
Hermione wanted to say she would rather choke, that she wanted to go to Honeydukes with Ron, that Harry had asked her to help him with homework...anything to get out of a possibly compromising situation. Instead, she nodded. "All right."
The Hogsmeade weekend came quicker than was expected. Hermione had finished the task for the Death Eaters. Dumbledore, of course, knew what they had asked her to make. She had told him every small detail. His only concern: why have a seventh year Hogwarts student do what any Death Eater could do himself? This question never would get answered. There was another reason Hermione had been invited to the inn, and it had nothing to do with truth serums.
"Look at this!" Lucius Malfoy hissed from beneath his cloak as he threw an issue of the Daily Prophet across the table. "Looks like trouble, if you ask me."
Hermione cringed as she read the article. It was titled. 'Ministry of Magic Employee Arthur Weasley Captures Illusive Death Eater in Muggle Home'. Hermione frowned. Surely Ron knew what his father had been doing? Why hadn't he told her what had happened? Why did she have to be put into this situation?
"The whole lot of them are bad news for us, father." Draco was saying. "There's so many of them...it's like there's one on every continent. Mr. Weasley's son Charlie caught one of our people trying to smuggle a dragon out of a colony just last month..."
Hermione was silent. She didn't like the direction in which the conversation was turning. She had to listen more. She needed the information to pass to Dumbledore. But she wanted so much to block it out...She wondered, how was it even possible for them to be having such a conversation in the middle of an inn in Hogsmeade? She looked around, but saw no one. She wanted so much to get far away from this place....
Mr. Lestrange laughed. "The Dark Lord is sending some of us out to handle them, tomorrow, Lucius. You should come along. We'd get a good laugh out of it, wouldn't we?"
"Yeah." Draco smiled. "And one of us can get rid of..."
"I'll do it..." Hermione jumped before he could finish his sentence. She was lying, of course, but she didn't even want to hear any more of this. She had to get to Dumbledore straight away. She needed a reason...
"Draco, it's getting late. We're supposed to be back at the castle in less than five minutes. We need to hurry." She gasped.
Dumbledore did not speak the entire time Hermione was telling him of her day. He only nodded, or occasionally, would rub his beard and go, "Hmm...". It took Hermione nearly half an hour to tell him everything.
Dumbledore sighed. "Oh good. Ron is here."
"What?" Hermione gasped. "Professor Dumbledore, I can't tell it again. We have to stop them. We can't let it happen. I don't care what they do...but they can't..." Hermione ran out of words.
"Can't let what happen? They can't do what? Who is 'they', Hermione?" asked Ron in a concerned manner.
Hermione took a deep breath. "Ron...your father made the news by capturing that Death Eater...they're...he...Voldemort is sending people to your house tomorrow. Your family has been marked. Draco was going to..." Hermione began to sob. "They expect me to kill you! Draco was going to...but I couldn't let him...you have to hide...." Hermione was gasping for breath now. "Dumbledore, send someone, please!" she pleaded.
Ron sunk into a chair across from Dumbledore's desk. Harry could only stare.
"Marked...They're sending people to my house..." Ron was slowly letting everything sink in. "My parents! Dumbledore, someone has to help my parents!" he screamed.
Dumbledore sighed. "Ron, I understand how you feel. Arthur and Molly both know their predicament. We can send people from the Order to the Burrow tomorrow...we must figure out what to do about you and Ginny. Word of this has already traveled to your brothers..." Dumbledore was obviously thinking out loud. "The impenetrable charm is still on Hermione's door?" he asked.
"Yes, but what has that got to do with Ron's family?" snapped Harry.
Dumbledore smiled. "The charm on the door will prevent it from being opened in most cases...Ron and Ginny should be fine as long as they stay behind that door at night. The teachers will be escorting students to and from classes, so there shouldn't be a problem there...and I still need the two of you to keep an eye on Hermione..." he added.
Ron and Harry nodded, and retreated with Hermione back to their common room under the invisibility cloak. This time, when they shut Hermione's bedroom door, Ginny went with them. She was unaware of what was going on.
Ron was on his shift watching Hermione sleep when something odd happened. Hermione began to talk in her sleep. It was as if she were having a conversation, although Ron could not hear the person she was speaking to. He shook Harry awake.
"Harry! It's Hermione...she's talking to someone..."
"Ron, have you gone mad? It's two in the morning. I'm..." but Harry suddenly lost all ability to speak. Hermione had begun to rise up out of bed. She had her wand at the ready....
"She wouldn't attack us, would she?" Ron whispered to Harry.
"Ron, that's not Hermione. It looks like her, but it's not." Harry frowned in reply.
Hermione raised her wand. She was pointing it right at Ron's head. "Adavara..." she began. Ron gasped. It was as if he couldn't move. He didn't raise his wand. He was frozen with fear.
"STUPEFY!" screamed Harry. Hermione's wand flew out of her hands as she flew backwards. She knocked her head on one of the posts on her bed. She was out cold.
Ron finally breathed. "What the bloody hell just happened? Did she just try to..." he worried. "Harry...she's hit her head. We should take her to the infirmary. I can't believe she just tried to... " Ron paused.
"Yes, Ron, she did." Harry sighed. "Wake your sister. We'll need to take her with us to the infirmary. Not safe to leave her here by herself after what just happened."
Ron, Harry, and Ginny were in the infirmary watching Hermione sleep when Dumbledore came in. He smiled at them, but it looked as if something was wrong.
"I can guess what happened," he whispered.
Harry nodded. "We knocked her out cold, sir...but Madam Pomfrey says she'll be fine by tomorrow. I hope she doesn't remember any of this..."
"I have news for you," Dumbledore frowned. "There's been an accident."
Ron paled. "What kind of accident?"
"Tonight, when Hermione tried to kill you, she was probably channeling Voldemort..." Ron cringed at the mentioning of his name, but Dumbledore continued. "I don't know how else to say this, Ron...Ginny. The Burrow was attacked tonight. I received the news about five minutes ago...right after I learned what nearly happened to you..."
"The Burrow was attacked?" Harry choked.
Ron shook his head. "What happened, Dumbledore? Are they all right? Where are my parents?" he screamed. Ginny didn't even reach that point. She had already started to cry.
"Ron, your father is in critical condition right now at St. Mongo's. They are hoping he'll make a full recovery soon, but the truth is, he has a long way to go..." Dumbledore sighed.
"What about my mum?" demanded Ginny. "Is she all right?"
Dumbledore removed his half moon spectacles, and polished them with his beard. Again, he sighed, and sat down in an empty bed next to Hermione.
"Dumbledore?" Ron's voice was about to crack.
"I'm so sorry, Ron...Ginny. The Order didn't get there in time. Your mother was killed in the ambush. It was Lucius Malfoy...we weren't able to catch him...but hopefully when Hermione wakes up, maybe she'll know where we can find him...and we can put an end to all of this. I'm so sorry..." he repeated.
Harry couldn't think. His abilities to speak, and even blink, seemed to have left him. Lucius Malfoy had killed his best friend's mother. Harry cringed as he remembered his frequent nightmares about his parents' deaths. He could see Ron holding Ginny tightly. Both seemed to be inconsolable. Ginny sobbed for what seemed like hours in Ron's arms. Harry didn't know what to do. Of course, he knew how they must have felt...but he was at a loss as to what to say. After all, what would you say at a time like this? He fell into the nearest chair, rubbing his temples, and watching Ron and Ginny. Meanwhile, Hermione slept on. She had known what was going to happen. She had warned them...but something had changed. She would have to find out the terrible night's events in the morning. Harry wondered how much more of this his friends, he, could take before something really bad happened....
AN: Kinda cliff hung it didn't I? Sorry! Read and Review!