Chapter Eight- The Prophecy.
Hermione rushed across the grounds leading to the Quidditch pitch where the Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff match was due to begin at any moment. She made her way to the stands and plonked herself down next to Ginny.
"You made it." Ginny said in a pleased tone to her. "I thought you may have decided to finish off your homework instead."
Hermione smiled and looked out across the pitch. The two teams were walking in from opposite ends and slowly came to a stop facing each other in the center. Madam Hooch blew her whistle and they kicked off the ground as the balls were released and the game began.
Hermione sat with her eyes slightly glazed over as she watched the game. Her mind was on the night before in the library. The journal had opened as she had given it her identity. She and Malfoy had stared at it as they read the first page together:
13-8-1862
'Derek and I have recently created the Cabin in which we will conceal this journal until the time comes for this world to take action against the Great Evil.
We have bound this Cabin in great charms so it will not be found by any but the two destined to join together. They will see passed the enchantments and come to call the Cabin their own.
Esmerelda Granger.'
The first page was as far as they had gotten. Madam Pince had appeared in front of them and told them that it was closing time, then had them hurried out. Hermione and Draco had looked at each other, wondering whether to stay together and continue reading the journal they had taken months to finally open, or to separate. Hermione had realised that she would have been sneaking off with Malfoy instead of being with her friends whom she loved dearly. She quickly made up an excuse and arranged to meet him at the Cabin the next night, then had gone quickly to the Gryffindor tower.
Now Hermione was anxiously awaiting the night so she could find what that journal was about. Malfoy had taken the journal with him because he said he didn't trust her not to read it. She had laughed at that. Imagine Malfoy not trusting her, he was the one she had to worry about.
Although for some strange reason, when he had promised to meet her at the cabin tonight with it, she believed him.
A loud wave of applauding and cheering washed over Hermione, and snapped her out of her daze. She quickly joined in, even though she didn't have a clue what had just happened.
Hermione glanced over at Ginny, who was standing and screaming at the top of her lungs. "Go Ron! Whack it towards the yellow robes!" Hermione then looked out in the direction Ginny was yelling. Ron was aiming his bludgers bat at a bludger that was hovering near his head. He hit it with all his might and it went whizzing off into the midst of Hufflepuff's. The cheer of the Gryffindor's echoed through the stands.
Hermione smiled at the grin apparent on Ron's face. He had always wanted to be a beater like Fred and George, and now he was. She clapped for him, then turned to Ginny who was looking at her strangely. "What?"
"Oh, nothing." Ginny said airily. "It's just…never mind."
"What? Come on Ginny, you cant do that to me. Tell me what you were going to say. Please." Hermione demanded, with an encouraging smile on her face.
"Alright." Ginny moved a bit closer to Hermione so no one else would overhear. "Have you got a boyfriend?
"What?" Hermione said for the third time. "Ginny, you know I haven't."
"No, I mean a secret boyfriend, that no one knows about." Ginny looked as if there was something she wasn't saying. Hermione cocked an eyebrow at her. Ginny continued, "I went into your dorm room a few months ago because I had wanted to talk to you about something, but you weren't there. That happened a few nights in a row. Then last night you went off to the library with your History homework."
"What's that got to do with anything?" Hermione asked defensively. "I had homework to do."
"You came back an hour later with out it even started. I saw you working on it this morning instead." Ginny stated.
"Oh." Hermione said lamely. She felt guilty even though she wasn't sneaking out behind her friend's back. "I don't Ginny. I just got sidetracked in the library last night, you know how books do that to me."
She looked unconvinced. "Fine."
"I don't Ginny. You know I would tell you something like that." Hermione told her.
"You sure you would?"
"Yes." Hermione said truthfully.
Ginny looked reassured, so Hermione turned her attention back to the game. Harry was flying neck and neck with the Hufflepuff seeker, closely following the snitch that only they could see. Hermione and Ginny jumped up and ran to the edge of the stands to get a closer look.
They were flying around the pitch and nearing the Gryffindor stand as Harry took the lead. The other players had stopped to watch the final decision as to which team will win the game. The Hufflepuff's held their breaths while the Gryffindor's crossed their fingers and cheered Harry on.
"GO HARRY!" Ginny yelled through cupped hands. Hermione also yelled out in excitement, hoping Harry would catch the snitch, though he was fairly guaranteed to. The two girls leaned over the rail as Harry quickly approached. He zoomed so fast that he was nearly in line with them as the snitch came into view. Hermione bit her lip as she saw Harry reach out and when he was just in front of them, his fist closed over the golden ball.
The cheers that erupted from the stand behind Hermione nearly deafened her, though she contributed greatly to the racket. Harry looked up, noticing how close he was to the stand for the first time. He hovered just a few feet away from Ginny.
"Well done Harry." Ginny congratulated him, smiling happily.
"Yeah. Good catch." Hermione added.
"Thanks." He said, grinning ecstatically. This win meant they would compete in the final against whichever team won the Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw match.
Ginny looked like she was about to say something else. "Harry, I-" she began, but stopped as he looked away from her. The rest of the Gryffindor team was calling him over to them where they were huddled in the center of the pitch. He shot a glance at Ginny and flew away to join them.
The smile evaporated from Ginny's face and she dropped her head to stare at the ground. After a few seconds she took a deep breath and raised her chin once more. "Hermione, lets go find Ron and congratulate him."
Hermione's eyes had been seeking him out in the crowd of Gryffindor's, but hadn't yet been able to locate him. "Yeah, OK."
The two girls walked down to the pitch and out to where the team was gathered. "Ron?" Hermione called above the noise.
"Hermione?" she heard him shout. "I'm over here!" Hermione saw his fiery-red head as he jumped above the crowd for a split second. She pointed him out to Ginny and they made their way over to him.
"Fantastic game Ron." Ginny said, giving her brother a big hug.
Hermione smiled hugely at him too, and moved in to give him a hug after Ginny backed away a few paces. "Great hit." She commented as she stepped back.
Ron reddened slightly from the praise. "I'm not used to all this." He said, looking around at the excited Gryffindor's surrounding their Quidditch team. "I had no idea that I would be playing in the Quidditch final this year when I tried out for the team. It's so exciting!"
Hermione and Ginny smiled at his beaming face, then walked back to the castle as the team went off to get changed. They walked across the Entrance Hall and up the staircases, Ginny with her face downcast.
"What's up Gin?" Hermione asked curiously.
Ginny blinked her eyes a few times as if coming out of her thoughts. "Nothing." She said with a bright little smile. Hermione smiled back and left it at that.
Hermione and her friends spent the afternoon catching up on homework, so they were free to go to Hogsmede the following day. Dinnertime came and they made their way down to the Great Hall. Once they had eaten, they quickly went back up to the Gryffindor tower to prepare for the party that was being held for the Quidditch team because they made it into the final.
Within half an hour of their arrival to the Common Room, it was full of Gryffindor's laughing and eating the food that a bunch of them had managed to get from the house elves in the kitchen.
Hermione glanced at her watch many times, noticing the time getting later and later. When she noticed that it was approaching 8 o'clock she realised that she better go, since it took her just under 2 hours to walk to the Cabin, and no doubt Draco would be heading there now too.
With all the people and noise that was going on, she hoped no one would notice her slip out the portrait hole and close it softly behind her.
Harry glanced across the room just in time to see Hermione open the portrait hole and begin to climb out. He frowned slightly, wondering where she was going. He shifted his gaze to Ron and Ginny next to him, both of which were also watching Hermione's silent escape with curious expressions.
"What's with that?" Ron asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Don't know." Harry said, as the door closed behind her.
Ginny kept silent. Had Hermione lied to her that day? Where could she have been going, that she wanted no one else to know? Ginny took a deep breath and held it. "I wouldn't have a clue either." She added.
Ron shrugged his shoulders. "We'll find out tomorrow. There's no point following her now, since we've got no bloody idea where she's headed."
Ginny and Harry nodded, then turned back to the party.
By the time Hermione arrived at the cabin she was shivering and hungry again, though the fact that she was able to read more of the diary, more then made up for it. She slowly opened the cabin door and peered around the lit inside. Draco sat at the table with the journal placed in the center, drumming his fingers impatiently on the front cover.
She walked in, closed the door behind her and sat down at the seat opposite him. "I didn't think you were going to show." She told him bluntly.
"Why not?" He asked her curiously. Hermione frowned slightly, he seemed like he actually wanted to know.
"Um…because you're you." She answered lamely.
Draco just raised his eyebrows. "Oookaay."
"You haven't read any-more, have you?" Hermione asked him.
"Nope. Then again, you'll never know if I have or haven't." He took the journal from its place in the middle and scooted his chair over so it was next to Hermione's, that meant they were able to read the pages at the same time.
He held the journal in-between them and opened it to the second page. It was titled 'The Prophecy Of The Two Powers.' Hermione eyes widened and she quickly moved on to read the page:
'Two enemies will walk this Earth
Neither he nor she will know
That together they can wield such great power
The Dark Lord, they can overthrow.'
'Her friend will be the one
Who almost rid the world of this disaster
Yet He has always hated this boy
And looked upon this evil as his master.'
'These two must put their past behind them
And with hold each other as never before
Once the two lovers combine their powers
The Dark Lord will be no more.'
Draco and Hermione froze in their seats. They read it over and over again, hoping to realise that it couldn't mean them…but they were never put at ease. Hermione hesitantly looked over at Draco and swallowed hard. "Do you…I mean, it can't mean…I don't think, do you?" She stuttered.
He met her gaze. "This is ridiculous." He said firmly. She nodded her agreement. "But, I don't think we should read any-more tonight." He added, closing the journal with a snap.
They sat in silence, turning what they had just read over in their heads. Finally Draco stood up and walked over to the couch and sat back down. He turned and looked over the back of the chair at Hermione still sitting motionless in her chair by the table. "You right?" he asked her.
She nodded again, then stood and walked over to the bookcase in front of the couch. She seated herself on the floor, ignoring the extra room next to Draco. "Do you think that, you know, it means …us?" Hermione finally voiced what both of them had been wondering.
He shrugged slightly. "Don't know…maybe." He still held the book in his hands. He opened it to the second page again and began to read it out line by line.
"Two enemies will walk this Earth." He began. "Well, that could mean bloody anyone."
Hermione smiled faintly. "Keep going."
"Neither he nor she will know, that together they can wield such great power, that the Dark Lord they can overthrow." He looked up with a smirk. "OK, so that's a little incorrect."
"Why?" Hermione demanded flatly. "You think he can't be beaten?"
"He can't." Draco answered, then he continued. "Her friend will be the one, who almost rid the world of this disaster. - That's a little more specific."
"Yeah. Every one knows how close Harry came to killing off Voldemort." Hermione agreed.
"Hmm." Draco grumbled. "Next bit- Yet He has always hated this boy, And looked upon this evil as his master."
Hermione looked up at Draco at that last part. Every one knew that Draco had hated Harry as long as he had known him, and that the Malfoy's had a close connection with Voldemort. Draco quickly averted his eyes.
"They're talking about you, I'd say." Hermione said disapprovingly. He nodded, keeping his eyes on the journal. "Well, I suppose it is us then…read the last paragraph now."
"These two must put their past behind them- fat chance- And withhold each other as never before.
Once these two lovers comb- what!" Draco looked up at Hermione is disbelief. "Did you hear that? They reckon we're gonna do it."
Hermione laughed. "They've got no idea…"
"No kidding. Anyway- once theycombine their powers, The Dark Lord will be no more."
Hermione closely watched Draco. He seemed to lock away that last part, as if he would have to remember it later on. "You're going to tell your dad, aren't you?" she asked him knowingly.
Draco stared at her. "Why do you care what I do?"
"You want to warn Voldemort? Hello, you'd be warning him against yourself. To tell him would be bringing death upon us both. Even if this Prophecy is a load of crap, he may not take the chance of letting you live." Hermione stated.
Draco realised what she was saying was true. He may still tell Lucius, but not right away. Depends on what else they read in the journal. He decided to change the subject so Hermione didn't have a chance to be a smartass. "So…what do we do now?"
"Sorry?"
"Well, now we think we know we're part of a bloody Prophecy. What do we do about it?"
"Nothing. Maybe we could try avoiding it, but it would catch up with us if it really is destined to happen." Hermione answered as best she could. "Lets start with reading a bit of the journal at a time, cause all at once may prove to be too overwhelming."
"Fine. But lets leave the journal here, I'd hate to lose it." Draco said, getting up and placing it on the bookshelf. As he walked back to the couch, he tripped over a loose floorboard and almost fell over. "Bloody thing." He cursed, kicking it. The floorboard came off the ground and flew across the room.
Draco ignored it and sat back down on the couch. "Look." Hermione said all of a sudden, pointing towards the hole in the floor. She reached her hand in and pulled out an envelope.
"Hidden underneath a floorboard? How original." Draco said, flashing Hermione a rare smile. She smiled and looked back down at it. "What is it?" Draco asked her. She shrugged and opened the seal. She slipped out a piece of parchment and unfolded it carefully. She quickly scanned it then read it aloud.
"It says:
'Derek told me you'd find the envelope if we hid it here, he's such a know-it-all. Anyway, here are two amulets, one for each of you, to wear around your necks. We realise that we have put this cabin in a rather poor location to visit whenever you want to. So when you wish to come here, just hold then amulet, close your eyes and visualize where you want to appear. Within three seconds, you will have been transported to the spot you envisioned. Please use these appropriately, (Draco…). By the way, to feel slightly ill after you've used them the first couple of times is normal. You will know which one is yours.
I hope you find this, because Derek isn't right about everything he Sees. Esmerelda.'"
Draco had his brow furrowed in perplexity. Hermione tipped the envelope upside-down and out fell two silver necklaces. The charm was different on each of them. One had a unicorn, with a small knife as its horn, though, strangely enough, the tip of the knife was placed against it head.
The other one was the shape of an eye, though instead of a pupil, there was a potion bottle. A snake wove its way across the charm, with the fork of the tongue sticking out over the side. Hermione ran her finger around the outside edge of the charm, but when her finger passed over the snake's tongue, the sharp points pierced her skin and drew blood. She quickly put her finger in her mouth to suck the blood away.
"What are you doing to yourself?" Draco asked her, removing the amulet from her hand and examining it. He picked up the other one and compared them both. He held out the unicorn necklace to her. "This pony one must be yours."
She removed her finger from her mouth and took it from him. They both attached the amulets around their necks, Draco immediately hiding his under his cloak. Then Hermione folded the letter up and placed it back under the floorboard, which she had retrieved from across the room after Draco's kick.
Hermione then stood and looked at Draco expectantly. He glanced behind him and then to the sides, but seemed unable to see anything that may make it clear to him why he was being stared at. He looked back at her with one eyebrow cocked. "What?"
"Don't you want to try these out now?" She asked him, holding up her necklace.
"Fine. Where should we go from?"
"Um, maybe the clearing?" Hermione suggested.
"Yeah, ok. Let's go then." Draco blew out the lanterns that lit the cabin, grabbed his broom which was propped up in the corner and closed the door behind them. They made their way to the clearing a came to a halt. Hermione looked at Draco dubiously.
"I don't think this is a good idea." She told him, changing her mind.
"Why not?" he asked her, smirking slightly. "You scared?"
"No! It's just that we've got no idea where we are going to end up. We could be seen, or find ourselves stuck inside a tree because we didn't have a clear image inside our heads." She said firmly.
Draco looked slightly sheepish. "Oh. I didn't think of that."
Hermione pursed her lips, holding back the reply that was dying to escape her lips. "Hmm." She said instead of insulting his intelligence. "I think we'd better examine this clearing, so when we want to come to the cabin, we just appear here, so as not to appear on the other person if one of us is already inside the cabin."
Draco chuckled at the last part. Hermione looked at him sternly. He shut up. "But, for tonight we'd better just go back to Hogwarts in our usual way. When we get near the edge of the forest, we can study an area, so we know where to appear without being seen when we want to go back to Hogwarts. Sound good to you?"
"Fine." Draco responded, mounting his broom and beginning to rise off the ground. "Let's go then."
Hermione nodded, turned to the vast mass of trees she had to walk through to get to the castle and began her trek. She had walked for about twenty minutes, and had realised that she couldn't actually feel her toes through the numbness that had formed from all the puddles she had clumsily walked through.
A high pitched screech from behind her made her scream shortly and turn in fear, whipping out her wand from inside her robes. Nothing was there, so she turned back to the path and quickened her pace, glancing nervously over her shoulder every minute or so.
She stopped a few minutes later when she heard a rustle from nearby. She turned back to the way she came, and let out another scream. Two paces away, stood Draco. He looked at her with his eyebrows raised, waiting for her to stop. She silenced herself, then walloped him on the shoulder to make herself feel better. "What are you doing?" She demanded shakily.
"I just realised that if we were going to find a spot tonight where we are going to appear, I'd be waiting for you for hours. You do walk really slow, you know." Hermione could tell that this wasn't the whole truth by the way he wouldn't look at her properly.
"And?"
"And…I felt a little bit bad about making you walk all the way back to Hogwarts by yourself in the cold." He clenched his teeth as he spoke.
Hermione looked at him quizzically. "Really? Well I never thought that you had any human decency in you at all…but I was wrong. I think."
Draco averted his eyes. "Do you want a lift back there then?"
Hermione took a deep breath. This may be a deathly trip, she thought. "Alright."
She slid onto the broom behind Draco and tried very hard to avoid touching him. He kicked off the ground and flew high above the trees. Hermione glued her eyes shut, then felt herself tipping off. She grabbed Draco around his waist for support and risked a glimpse at the ground below them. The Glowing Oaks were far in the distance already, and Hermione could just make out the school, the size of a lego castle on the horizon. She squeezed her eyes shut again and tried to stop herself from shaking.
"You don't like flying?" Draco asked her, when she didn't let go of him.
She shook her head in response. Draco turned his head around to look at her, when she didn't respond verbally. He laughed at her.
"What?" she demanded, her eyes flying open. "I don't like heights."
"So I can tell." Was his reply. They didn't talk anymore, just flew in silence.
When they were nearing the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Draco lowered the broom and landed on the forest path. Hermione got off the back and stood firmly on the ground to reassure herself that she was safely back on the earth. "Thanks." She mumbled.
He just nodded. "So do you reckon this is a good spot?" He asked instead.
Hermione looked around. "Yep. It's far enough away from the castle that we won't be seen, but there's enough room so we wont accidentally appear in a tree or something."
They spent a few minutes getting the feel for the area, then thought they had absorbed plenty of trees for one night. "Let's head back to the castle now." Hermione said. They walked the last minute or so out of the trees together and across the grounds to the castle.
The entered the Entrance Hall cautiously. Hermione glanced at Draco as she approached the staircase that would lead her to the Gryffindor tower. He smiled a small smile at her, then turned and walked down the stairs leading to the dungeons. Hermione thought about the interesting night she had just had, as she made her way back to her dorm.