Chapter Twenty:
Wizards Abroad
Harry opened his eyes and scanned the room in order to accustom himself to his new surroundings. He had nearly forgotten that he was at Bill's house in Egypt. Harry took a closer look at the objects in the room. Hieroglyphics covered the circular wall, and Harry had no idea what they meant.
Antique versions of swords and shields of all shapes and sizes hung from the wall as well. They were interesting. Harry rolled out of bed and was about to inspect a particular hieroglyph depicting a bird of some sort when Sirius awoke,
"And how are you on this fine, Egyptian morning?"
Beaming, Harry turned around and faced Sirius' portrait, "Very well. I can't wait to see some of the things around here."
"Well, I'm sure you'll have a fabulous time; you can tell me all about it. I've never been to Egypt before," stated Sirius.
After Harry had promised, he exited his room and entered Ron's room, where Ron was just donning a shirt.
"Good morning Harry," greeted Ron with a smile.
"Good morning," replied Harry, "Where are we off to today?"
"Bill has to work, so Agapanthus is in charge today. She's taking us to some pyramid in Thebes," answered Ron, "Honestly, that woman gives me the collywobbles. She hardly seems human…"
Harry decided not to answer Ron's suspicion and decided to reply with, "What? There are pyramids in Thebes?"
"There are wizard pyramids in Thebes mate," stated Ron, "They were only for the high priests."
Upon seeing Harry's look, Ron added, "Hermione told me."
Harry shook his head, "Do you think we should get her then? Hermione I mean?"
"Sure, why not?" replied Ron stepping into some sandals.
On the way to Hermione's room Harry and Ron ran into Agapanthus. She seemed to be gliding rather than walking. Her skin was waxy and it glistened with the slightest amount of sweat. Her breathing was heavy as though she was sucking in some essence floating in the desert air.
Upon seeing Harry her breathing returned to normal and she said, "We are travelling to Thebes today. I suggest that you bring the stone."
Harry was again shocked by Agapanthus' omniscient abilities, but before he could interrogate her as to how she knew about the curious rock from Bill he had carried in his pack and only this morning slipped into his pocket, Agapanthus glided away. Harry slid his hand into his pocket and let his fingers brush the stone that Bill had given him.
"See what I mean?" asked Ron eyeing Harry, then shaking his head, "Not right… not right at all."
Harry decided to take this as humor and laughed as they stopped to knock before entering Hermione's bedroom. Once inside Harry found Hermione looking deeply into her Notekeeper, searching for something. When she saw Harry and Ron, she ended her search and joined them,
"Just trying to find some information about the wizard pyramids in Thebes. No luck so far." With a sigh and a flick of her wand she closed her Notekeeper and joined the boys as they made their way downstairs.
As Harry, Ron, and Hermione descended the golden stairway, they continued to discuss the various classes they would be taking.
"Well, I've definitely decided what one of my classes is going to be," stated Ron with a smile, "Famous Quidditch Matches Seminar."
"That a class?!" asked Hermione in horror, "Why don't you take something that you can use?"
"Well, why don't you take something fun?" pressed Ron, "Tell you what, if you learn stuff about Quidditch matches every week, I'll take something that you consider worthwhile."
"All right. That seems fair," smirked Hermione.
Harry chuckled to himself. This was definitely something that Harry had to see. However, the activities of the day brought Harry back to thinking of tombs and sands. When Harry, Ron, and Hermione had finally made their way to the bottom of the stairs, they came across the rest of Harry's guard.
"Good morning, Harry," greeted Lupin sitting in an ancient armchair, reading copies of both The Daily Prophet and The Afterlife Times.
"Harry!" exclaimed Lockhart enthusiastically striding forward in peacock blue robes and sporting a matching fez.
Bracing himself, Harry replied, "Yes?"
"Ready to test your courage in the dark abyss of a tomb or perhaps in the ancient rooms of a library? The bravest of wizards have succumbed to the power and terror of Egyptian curses; are you ready?" asked Lockhart in a dramatic whisper.
"Mind you, we're going to the market first," stated Tonks rolling her eyes as she grabbed a tasty looking date from a table full of authentic dishes and beverages.
Harry snorted and Lupin smiled from the folds of his papers.
"Besides, we're not going anywhere dangerous," assured Moody, "However, this does not mean you should let your guard down. Remember, Voldemort could be anywhere."
And just after nearly everyone had flinched at the sound of the name, they started yet again for Moody exclaimed, "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"
After everyone had calmed down. Harry began circulating around the room again. He was attempting in vain to get to the food table, but he was intercepted by Snape.
"I assume that you have begun to work on the essay regarding the Polyjuice Potion I assigned to you over break," stated Snape his eyes piercing.
Harry ignored this, and upon escaping the accusing eyes of Snape, Harry ran into McGonagall, "I hope the team will be ready to take on Hufflepuff after break?"
"Oh, we will be Professor," replied Harry. In truth he had forgotten all about Quidditch.
Harry finally helped himself to the delicious-looking food. Hermione was now talking to Ron, and Mr. Weasley appeared making his way down the steps in work clothing,
"Sorry everyone, urgent business with the Egyptian Ministry. I won't be able to join you today."
As Mr. Weasley headed toward the door he ruffled Ron's hair. Before he exited the room however, he said, "Severus, Minerva, would you mind accompanying me?"
Snape and McGonagall both shared a surprised exchange of looks, but accompanied Mr. Weasley out the door.
Harry decided to not worry about this, and he then took a seat next to Tonks, who was eating a newly refilled plate of food.
"So, why are we going to the market first?" asked Harry.
"Oh, Remus was supposed to bring some Hydris leaves, but he forgot. We need to buy some," answered Tonks with an annoyed look at the back of Lupin's head.
"Hydris leaves? What are they?" asked Harry.
"They're like Floo Powder. You use them to travel around Egypt. We're in Ugath, the magical community inside Cairo. Thebes is a long way off," answered Tonks.
Just as Harry had finished his food, Agapanthus appeared and said,
"Now that everyone has been properly nourished, I think it best we go."
Harry reunited with Ron and Hermione, and they made their way out of Bill's house and towards the nearby marketplace. Harry quickly learned that was no single market building. The term "market" had been simply given to it for its appearance. The truth was that this was the Egyptian equivalent of Diagon Alley. Shops and tiny restaurants crowded the street of the Market.
Lupin had led them all to a shop over which hung a sign that was incomprehensible to Harry. It was all in Hieroglyphs, but Agapanthus peered up at the sign and smiled as though the name was amusing. Harry was just about to enter when he saw something odd. As Harry's guard entered the shop, he saw a familiar pair of green eyes and head of sleek black hair strolling down the crowded path.
It was the woman from the shop in Diagon Alley, the same woman from Papyrus Relics. The woman caught Harry's gaze and slowly sauntered around the corner of the building at a slowly increasing rate. Harry left Ron and Hermione, who had been trying to see what he was looking at.
"Harry! Harry!" called Ron and Hermione beginning to follow him.
Harry ignored them. He had to know why she was here. Harry turned the corner she had just disappeared around, but he found no trace of her. Discouraged, but not quite ready to give up his search, Harry turned another corner into a filthy alleyway.
He paused and then began walking slowly down it, he saw shattered windows and litter strewn about the ground. Harry was about to turn around when he saw another figure. It was not the woman, but a man in a turban. He unsheathed a scimitar and slowly advanced on Harry.
Harry reached for his wand, but he couldn't seem to find it. Once he looked up he saw the man dangling it between his fingers tauntingly. Harry gritted his teeth in frustration; he always hated being without his wand.
"Got any spare Galleons?" asked the man in a whimsical voice, as though he was merely standing in front of Harry in queue at the movie theater.
Harry's eyes darted furtively around looking for something to use as a defensive weapon, when,
"I say, are you the one that sold me those dodgy Hydris leaves on my last visit?" came a voice from behind Harry.
Harry wheeled around to find Lockhart standing at the end of the alleyway. Harry had never been more relieved to see him as strange as that sounded. The man looked at Lockhart and ran away, in the process dropping Harry's wand.
Harry picked it up and muttered, "Well, that was a close one."
Almost immediately everyone flooded down the alleyway toward Harry.
"Are you all right?" "Did he hurt you?" "Never do that again, do you understand me?"
"I'm fine, I just thought-" said Harry, then remembering that he wasn't to have ever been in Papyrus Relics he said, "Never mind. Sorry."
Agapanthus frowned slightly, but she continued to lead them back towards the entrance to the shop where Lupin waited anxiously clutching a sack of Hydrus leaves. As they continued on towards their unknown destination Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed her, and he told them everything that had happened. No one was letting Harry out of his or her sight, so he had to be careful while telling them his reasons for suddenly running off in a whisper.
"I thought the Daily Prophet said that she was missing?" asked Ron with a frown.
"It did," answered Harry, "I think I found her."
"Don't be ridiculous Harry," replied Hermione, "It's quite possible that you mistook her for someone else."
"I don't know Hermione, Harry has a knack for running into the improbable," stated Ron.
Harry smiled at the truth of Ron's statement and Hermione said, "I just think it's a little farfetched; that's all."
Harry looked around and found that they were now some distance away from the market district. They were approaching an open place with a large cistern in its center.
"Where are we?" asked Harry.
It was Agapanthus who answered with, "We're going to the town's well."
Harry of course could already discern this fact already, and seeing his frustration, Lupin stated, "You drop the Hydris leaves in the well to travel."
Once they had reached the well, Agapanthus took out what appeared to be a tiny crystal green shard of glass from the sack Lupin offered. On closer inspection Harry realized that it was leaf-shaped. Agapanthus peered into the well, and dropped the Hydris leaf down it.
Immediately a torrent of water could be heard rushing around underneath Harry's feet. He watched in amazement as he saw Agapanthus climb onto a small set of steps set into the wall of the reservoir and say,
"Thebes Courtyard."
Agapanthus promptly jumped down, and a flash of blue light signaled that she had vanished. Next was Tonks, who did the same as Agapanthus, only when it came to jumping in the well, she hesitated slightly, but Harry realized that it for something other than fear.
Tonks had been preparing for a dive. Tonks jumped in the air, did a series of complicated flips and twists, and dived down the dark tunnel to the portal below.
"I think Harry should go next," stated Lupin who was looking cautiously around for signs of any shifty characters.
Despite Harry's gut instinct to run as far away from the deep well as he could, Harry forced himself to scale the wall with the belief that it was perfectly safe. Moody handed Harry a Hydris leaf once he reached the lip of the well. He peered down the dark interior and stared at the calm water. Harry dropped the leaf and watched as the water changed from its serene state to a violent one. Harry stood poised on the steps, and, making sure he pronounced his words clearly and carefully, he said,
"Thebes Courtyard."
Then Harry jumped. The spray from the water reached Harry's face before anything else. But, somehow, Harry didn't get very wet, even when he plunged into the ice cold water. Nothing was happening. Harry worried that he might have gotten it wrong somehow and was just about to call up for help when all of the sudden, he was launched into the air.
Harry landed in a heap outside of the well, and he looked around to find Tonks and Agapanthus looking down at him. Tonks giggled and stated,
"Not the most graceful Hydris traveler, are we Harry?"
"You should see me travel by Floo," replied Harry with a rueful smile.
Tonks laughed, and Harry was surprised to see a smile ghost across the usually frigid lips of Agapanthus. Tonks helped him up and all three of them waited for the others (Harry was pleased to see that Lockhart had landed in a heap as well).
After everyone had arrived more or less safely, they all set off across the hot, desert sands towards an incredibly large pyramid towering in the foreground. It was larger than any pyramid that Harry had ever heard of. It dominated the sky and appeared to be made of inky black stone. It also looked like one of the most ancient things Harry had ever seen.
When they reached the entrance of the pyramid, Harry was shocked by how narrow the passage was. Surely such a large edifice would have a bigger passage. As skinny as Harry was, he kept banging his elbows on the walls.
"Blimey, this corridor is even narrower than those at the pyramids in Giza!" exclaimed Ron drawing on his previous experience from the famous family vacation after its amazing prize winning experience .
"Yes, the ancient Egyptian wizards were much smaller and skinnier than today," stated Hermione knowledgeably.
Harry stared at Agapanthus, who was indeed very skinny, but also incredibly tall.
Suddenly a scream shattered the air and Harry turned around to find Lockhart cowering a few inches away shrieking about something and pointing at the ground.
"Lumos," muttered Lupin irritably.
Lupin looked near Lockhart's feet and sighed, "Stepped on a bone Gilderoy."
"Th-that's all?" inquired Lockhart trembling slightly.
"Nox," muttered Lupin, "Yes, that's all it was."
"Alright then," replied Lockhart with relief, "Thought I might have initiated a curse or something."
Tonks shook her head and rolled her eyes, and Agapanthus pretending that she had heard nothing kept moving forward. Harry laughed quietly as he too walked on in the dim cavern. Finally they all reached a large open space. It was pitch black inside, and Harry couldn't see a thing.
"Lumos Duo!" exclaimed Lupin presently.
Harry blinked and covered his eyes at the sudden increase in brightness. The tip of Lupin's wand was glowing furiously.
"Lumos Duo?" asked Harry inquisitively, "What's that?"
"You haven't had spell power variation yet?" asked Lupin, "I suspect you'll have that when you return to school. If you add Duo, Trio, or Maxima to most incantations, you make the spell stronger."
Even Hermione looked surprised, but it was true. Lupin's wand was now giving off an incredibly large amount of light. It was enough for Harry to see the Hieroglyphs on the walls. He wished he could read it but then Hermione started examining them, mumbling to herself.
"Hermione, can you read these?" asked Harry.
"Of course I can. Well, the basics anyway. I learned how in Ancient Glyphs and Runes ages ago," answered Hermione.
Ron shrugged as both he and Harry stood closer to Hermione.
"It says, 'The one bearing the stone will find a secret that has been buried repeatedly under the sands of time. He who has the stone must use this secret to finally put it-" began Hermione.
"What?" asked Ron, "Keep going."
"I don't know that verb," stated Hermione, "Sorry."
"To rest," finished Agapanthus from behind them.
This sudden interjection from the typically quiet woman made Harry jump. As Agapanthus glided away again Ron asked,
"How long has she been standing there?"
"Well, that's a load of rubbish anyway," concluded Hermione, "None of us here is 'the bearer of any stone.'"
"Actually Hermione," replied Harry taking the stone from his pocket, "I have one."
Hermione seized the stone immediately and said, "Harry! How did you get this?"
"Bill gave it to me for Christmas, he said it would be useful," answered Harry taking the stone back.
"Harry, this could be very important. We need to find out what to do with it," stated Hermione desperately reading the other hieroglyphs.
"Why?" asked Ron.
"I don't know," answered Hermione, "I just have a feeling that this is tied in with the MoonPearl Tear."
As Hermione read the other Hieroglyphs, Harry and Ron peered around trying to see if any of the others had been watching. Lupin was standing in the center of the room to provide equal light for everyone, Tonks and Moody were reviewing a different set of Hieroglyphs, and Agapanthus was watching Lockhart, to make sure he didn't do anything idiotic.
"I've got it!" said Hermione is an excited whisper, "Follow me."
Harry glanced back furtively once more then he and Ron followed Hermione. They had just reached the outskirts of Lupin's light.
"Can't see a blasted thing," stated Ron bumping into a pillar.
As though Agapanthus had heard them she called out, "A little more light Remus!"
"Certainly," called out Lupin, "Lumos Trio!"
There was a dramatic increase in the brightness of the room. It was slightly shaded over by where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were, but now they could see much more clearly.
"Right," whispered Hermione, "Harry, put your stone in this depression here."
Harry realized that everyone would still be unable to witness his actions. He put the stone in the depression indicated by Hermione and the wall shuddered silently and it opened to reveal a large room, which gleamed dully with golden reflections from Lupin's light. Harry nearly gasped. It was the room from his vision. Harry looked quickly at Lupin, who was watching whatever Tonks and Moody were doing.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione slipped inside, and the wall closed behind them.
"Ron, Hermione, this is where Lupin got attacked. I'm sure of it," stated Harry gazing at the walls to verify this assumption.
"Really?" asked Hermione.
Harry stared at the center of the room where once Agapanthus had stood as a statue, a non-living object. Harry made his way over to the location and stared at the basin of crystal-clear water. His reflection glared back at him, but then Harry noticed something.
His reflection was staring at something else now. Harry followed his reflection's gaze, and he saw it was staring at a lone set of hieroglyphs on the opposite wall.
"Hermione, read that over bit over there," said Harry pointing at the hieroglyphs.
"What are we doing here?" asked Ron worriedly as Hermione made her way to the hieroglyphs.
No one answered Ron and Hermione read the translated hieroglyphs out loud,
"Go to the famed books of Alexandria. There you must seek out the third self on the fifth wall in the sixth room. Find the tenth book and turn to the hundredth page. You must then utter the word for entry."
Hermione quickly scribbled these instructions down on a piece of scrap parchment she had in her pocket and handed it to Harry.
"We're already going to Alexandria in a couple of days," stated Ron, "We can search then. For now can we get out of here?"
Hermione nodded. By pressing down on one of the blocks found on the secret wall they managed to exit the room and join the others. As soon as they had exited the room Agapanthus said,
"I think that is enough for today."
She gazed calmly around the room passing right over Harry and the others, and he hoped that no one had noticed that he, Ron, and Hermione had been gone. As Harry followed Agapanthus back to Bill's house, he thought of what he would learn about the Moon Pearl Tear. Could he possibly learn its function? What could it do that was so valuable to Voldemort?
Lost in thought as he was, before Harry knew it, they were back at Bill's house. It was evening now and Harry was starving. Tonks played chef and conjured them all a very nice dinner. When they had finished, Harry trudged upstairs and promptly fell asleep without a word to Sirius or a thought in his mind.
The next couple days passed uneventfully. Harry went to a Scarab's game with Ron. They were both relieved that Hermione hadn't come for it was Egypt against Bulgaria. Bulgaria's team was doing horribly. Viktor didn't even look like he was thinking of the match. Both Harry and Ron groaned as he had practically let Abdul Emezerah catch the snitch unchallenged.
In fact, the most peculiar thing about those days was the fact that Mr. Weasley kept being called away to speak with the Egyptian Ministry. He also kept asking Snape and McGonagall to accompany him.
Finally the day of the trip to Alexandria arrived. Harry was feeling rather anxious. He longed to enter the city's famed library and discover why Voldemort wished to kill him yet again. As Harry made his way downstairs that morning he again ran into Agapanthus who smiled knowingly at him.
Harry couldn't help feeling that for some reason she was now helping him. He wasn't sure why or if he even wanted to know. Ron had put it best. Agapanthus gave Harry the collywobbles. Her silent knowing gaze was everywhere. She seemed to know everything.
"Are we travelling by well again," asked Lockhart.
"Yes, so you best bring some swim trunks," teased Tonks, "I've never seen anyone get so wet from Hydris travel."
I once got a burn from using Floo powder," pointed out Lockhart proudly as though this wasn't one of the most pathetic things ever.
Tonks shook her head and this time Bill led the way to the cistern. Harry observed that Bill had still not gotten over the loss of his hair, for he kept trying to grasp it with his left hand. When they reached the well, Harry once again jumped in, but this time the destination was "Alexandria Courtyard."
When they arrived there, Bill led the way to the library.
"Good morning Bill," greeted an elderly wizard who was standing near the entrance to the library.
"Top of the morning Clarke," replied Bill with a grin nearly identical to Mr. Weasley's jovial smile.
When Harry entered the library he immediately saw that they were in the muggle section. Books having nothing at all to do with magic or its history dominated the shelves. Harry returned his gaze to the back of Bill's head when he received a shock. Bill suddenly vanished behind a wall.
Guessing that it was a spell just like Platform 9¾ and Hermione's party, Harry followed. When he reappeared at the other side Harry realized that they had entered a completely different library. The walls and the floor were veined marble. Shelf after shelf of books stretched across the room that the group was currently in. Beyond an arch at the end of the space Harry could see numerous other rooms.
The shelves weren't tiny either. They were all as tall as two of the Hogwarts' library shelves stacked on top of one another. Each shelf was crammed full of books and scrolls and portfolios. Harry glanced over at Hermione and saw that she had a dreamy look upon her face.
"Let's get to the sixth room already," urged Ron hurriedly.
Harry scanned a map of the library posted by the entrance to the room and discovered that there were ten rooms in the entire wizard library and he quickly took out the parchment Hermione had given him and he reviewed the instructions again.
"Go to the famed books of Alexandria. There you must go to the third self on the fifth wall in the sixth room. Pick up the tenth book and turn to the hundredth page. You will then use the word for entry."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off towards the sixth room of the library. The only indicator to identify which room they were in was a Roman numeral emblazoned in gold lettering over the entrance to each particular room. Finally they reached their destination room VI. This room was devoted to Ancient Histories.
The first thing that Harry noticed was that the room was pentagonal. At least they were in the right room for the next step was to find the fifth wall.
"Wait, which one is the fifth wall? Which way do I count?" asked Harry in confusion.
The three of them stood still for a long moment. It seemed that they might be defeated before they had even begun when Hermione cried out,
"Of course! The Egyptians believe that the way of truth is always in a clockwise direction! Count clockwise!"
Excited, Harry counted five walls clockwise from the entrance and was now standing in front of four towering bookcases. Hermione knew what Harry was going to ask now,
"Egyptians read from right to left. They count that way too." She instructed.
Harry found the bookshelf and as the book he needed was at the top, he grabbed a ladder. Once he had retrieved the book, a tiny green volume, he brought it down and placed it on an examining table.
"Now turn to the hundredth page," whispered Hermione with anxiety in her voice.
Ron was watching, waiting to see what was going to happen. Harry quickly looked at the cover of the book and read the title. It was called The Mighty Greeks. Harry frowned but turned to the hundredth page anyway.
"What about the word for entry?" asked Harry.
"Agapanthus was the one that came up for the password for Gryffindor Tower," stated Hermione, "She has to do with this, so use that password."
"Are you mad? That can't possibly be the word we need!" roared Ron.
"Esu eht elteeb," whispered Harry ignoring Ron.
Suddenly the book shut and began glow softly. The letters changed on the cover and it now read The MoonPearl Tear.
"We did it!" exclaimed Harry.
Harry opened the book and read the contents aloud:
Among all the mysterious artifacts in this world, the most mysterious and hidden artifact is the MoonPearl Tear. Its function has been hidden from society for thousands of years, for its potential is too great. Alexander the Great used the MoonPearl Tear in his conquest of Egypt, but when he discovered he could only use it once he sought a way to reproduce the sacred formula. When he succeeded he wished no one but himself to know how to construct it, which is why it remains so difficult to obtain the details of the MoonPearl Tear to this day ("Yeah, I'll say," muttered Ron.) The MoonPearl Tear is a liquid and it must be contained in a bottle of pure moonstone or the contents will become useless. The list of ingredients used to create the potion have been secretly embedded in all copies of The Forgotten Arts: Ancient Self Protection. One requires a veracitector to read it. All of these precautions have been taken to prevent the use of the MoonPearl Tear due to its power. The MoonPearl Tear enables its user to correct his or her most dire error.
That was it. Harry stopped reading. That's why Voldemort wanted the MoonPearl Tear. He could use it to correct his error when trying to kill Harry all those years ago. With Harry successfully out of his way Voldemort would be all-powerful and in control. There would be no Harry. Or rather there would be an entirely different Harry. In other words no one could do anything to stop him.
"Wow," whispered Hermione in horror.
Harry smiled sadly. Was that all she could say?
"We can't let Voldemort get this can we?" declared Ron already knowing the answer.
Harry shook his head and replied, in a determined voice "We have the advantage. He still doesn't know what it does."
Hermione nodded. Harry put down the book and when he let go of it the slim volume returned to its former state. Harry had no idea what to think. Voldemort could erase everything Harry had ever done to stop him with just a drop of liquid. Despair descended. Harry didn't even care when he noticed that Hermione and Ron weren't speaking to each other either. Each was lost deep in thought, fear flickering in their eyes. Every hard fought battle could be wiped away.
All the sudden a voice rang from across the room, "Hey! We have to leave. We can't spend all day here. You have to go back home tomorrow."
It was Bill. Hermione gave Harry an anxious look as they made their way out of the library and towards Bill's house. Harry couldn't stop thinking of Voldemort and the MoonPearl Tear. He couldn't even laugh when Tonks and Lockhart got in a fight over why Lockhart's books were in the Fiction section.
He was on auto-pilot. When Harry finally made it to his room he collapsed onto his bed.
"How was your trip?" asked Sirius eager to hear everything.
"Great," replied Harry distractedly, "I had a lot of fun."
Sirius frowned slightly but decided not to press the issue. Just then Ron entered the room,
"Harry, are you all right?"
"Yeah," answered Harry weakly.
"Have I ever told you that you're a terrible liar?" asked Ron.
"Yes," replied Harry with a real smile. He felt a little better now, "Hey, how come you and Hermione aren't talking?"
Ron frowned in surprise, "Guess you had some thinking to do while we were coming back huh? We had a little fight. She's upset that I didn't believe her about the password."
"Oh, sorry about that," answered Harry looking outside the window.
"Yeah… Hey, I've done some thinking. Do you think she would take me back if I signed up for Medi-Wizardry?" asked Ron tentatively.
Harry faced Ron with a smile, "You a Medi-Wizard? I think it's a brilliant plan."
Ron laughed and said, "I guess. But no more thinking about her. Let's get some sleep. We need to get up early to go home tomorrow."
Harry watched Ron leave his room and walk down the dark corridor, his ring betraying him.