"Oh no! Are you insane? We'll all be expelled for sure!" Hermione said in instant protest.
"Only if we get caught," Natalie corrected.
"That is the stupidest plan I... I can't believe I'm even thinking about considering this! It's lunacy! Bloody lunacy!"
"Calm down Hermione! Please just listen to me!" Natalie begged. She knew in order to make this potion they would need Hermione's help. "You want to help Ron right?"
Hermione didn't answer.
"Right?"
"Yes. I suppose..." she said mournfully.
"Well then we need to make this potion ourselves. To do that we need the ingredients. To get the ingredients we either break into Snape's office-- highly difficult-- or we break into a store in Diagon Alley-- very easy."
"And how would you know?" Hermione asked accusingly.
Natalie flashed a sly smile. "How do you think?"
"You broke into a store?"
"Once or twice. It was just a small dare. Nothing big," she replied shrugging it off.
"Oh yes," Hermione muttered. "Breaking and entering is probably your favorite pastime."
The group was silent for a few minutes before Natalie spoke again. "So... the plan is get into Hogsmeade and formulate a plot, then from there take Floo powder into Diagon Alley and get supplies?"
The group stared.
"I am taking no part in this. I'm not going to put my education on the line for some kid I don't even know," Fox said blandly. "See ya."
"Er- he's right. I barely know Ron. Why would I risk getting expelled for him? We can find a new keeper you know," said Tamara as she stood up and turned down the stairs.
"Yeah I think I'm gonna go down too. I'd like to keep my slate clean this year."
"Ginny! He's your brother!" Harry said angrily.
"Yeah, and Potions is my worst subject. I'm sure you'll get along fine, even better without me. I have only Ron's best interests at heart," she replied on her way down the stairs.
Natalie was left with two willing participants (Candi hadn't come with them to the hospital wing).
"So... are you two gonna do it?" she asked nervously.
Hermione and Harry exchanged looks.
"When have we ever not put our lives on the line for something that a teacher could've easily done?" Harry asked smiling. "We're in."
Natalie smiled. The smile Harry liked so much.
"So meet you at the hump back witch tomorrow? Like, 2:30 ish?"
Hermione and Harry exchanged another look. This time of fear. How did she know about that passage into Hogsmeade? They couldn't voice this thought of course, so the first thing that came out of Harry's mouth was, "In the morning?"
Natalie looked confused. "What?"
"In the morning, are we going to meet at the hump back witch at 2:30 in the morning?"
"Oh... well yes that way we have all night and all day. We can't just go breaking into shops at 2:30 in the afternoon."
There was a long pause and Harry felt as though he would rather be giving a sponge bath to Uncle Vernon after a long day in the sweatshop than under the penetrating stare of Natalie.
"Er- anyone for dinner?" he said, desperately needing someone to say something.
"Sure," said Hermione uneasily. She looked at Natalie.
"Oh, no. I've got some work to do. I probably won't see you tonight. I'll see you tomorrow morning." She got up and left for the Gryffindor tower.
"How do you think she knew?" Hermione asked as soon as Natalie was out of earshot.
"I'm not sure. Maybe she doesn't and it's just an odd coincidence that we're meeting there," Harry suggested hopefully.
"I don't think so. There aren't quite as many coincidences in the wizarding world as there are in the Muggle world."
"What does that have to do with anything? I'm hungry and I want to go eat dinner. Can we leave?"
Hermione bit her lip but shrugged. "Fine. We'll have to remember to bring back a plum cake for Ron. He'd be mad if we didn't."
"Just a wild guess but I don't think getting plum cake would be his greatest worry."
"Well no one asked you. Now didn't you say you were hungry? Let's go."
They sat down at their usual spot in the great hall after a silent trip from the hospital wing.
"Ooo chicken pot pie!" they heard Seamus say, grabbing two.
Hermione wanted to ask Harry whether or not this was the best way to help Ron, by breaking into a Diagon Alley store, but she knew bashing anything that came out of Natalie Combs' mouth in front of Harry was dangerous, so she held her tongue and ate her pie in silence.
Harry looked over at her.
"What?" she asked irritably.
"Nothing," he responded, sounding offended.
"You were staring!"
"I wasn't!"
"You still are!"
"Well I was going to say something."
"What?"
"I was just wondering whether or not er- whether or not this is the best way to go about this. I mean, sneaking into Hogsmeade and then flying into the fireplace of a store in Diagon Alley so we can steal ingredients and make a potion far too advanced for our skill level," he said this quietly so no one could overhear.
Hermione didn't think it was the best way, but she did know that she wasn't going to back down this time. She finally wanted to do something Harry thought too risky.
"I think it's a wonderful idea and you'd better go along with it or else Natalie might think you cowardly," she replied slyly.
He was the one throwing the reproachful look this time.
"I was just making sure you're not scared. I'm perfectly fine with this," he said indignantly.
"Good. Because I am too. Very much."
But in reality they were both very nervous and apprehensive.
Hospital Wing...
Sleep did not come easily for Ron. His sleeping potion had worn out and he was now wide awake and needing another. He wished very much he could ask for another but every time he did, she just shook her head and went to tend to another patient.
He had been in artificial sleep when Hermione and Harry had delivered his plum cake, so he never saw them and he was getting very lonely. Usually he could read something or talk to someone, but now all he could do was stare at the ceiling.
Not speaking English blows, he thought angrily, wishing there was someone he could talk to.
As if on cue Natalie waltzed in looking extremely pleased with herself.
(Italics= Russian)
"Hi!" She said sitting down on top of his knee.
He sat up so fast his head hurt. "Holy oh my God! I'm normal! Madam Pomfrey! Madam Pomfrey!"
"Shh, shh. You're not normal, I'm just speaking Russian."
"Oh..." There was disappointment etched into his face. "I see. So how long am I going to be here?"
"People say about a month. But Harry, Hermione and I have found a way to shorten that."
"Ha! I knew they'd help. What's the plan?"
She told him their plan and watched as he nodded and smiled.
"Well what do you think?" she asked after she had finished.
"I think your Russian is very primitive," he said smugly. "I mean it's like, caveman and stuff."
"The plan you dolt! What do you think about the plan?"
"Oh. It's very good. I mean, er- well try not to get caught."
"Oh damn that just what we were planning on doing," she said sarcastically.
"Well sorry! Just trying to be helpful."
She half smiled. "Right. Well I have to go and get some sleep. We need an early start, you know."
She left the wing and Ron felt 10 times better. His friends were going to help, they really were.
Gryffindor Dorms
Harry had been lying awake in bed for three hours now and he soon realized that he would be getting no sleep, so he threw on the first shirt he saw and walked downstairs.
The common room was empty and the embers in the fire were still glowing. He sighed and moved toward the window. Looking at the sky, he realized that the moon was full. That made him think about Lupin, who was probably out in the trees somewhere right now.
Harry was deep in thought when Natalie came up behind him.
"Nice night huh?" she said, causing Harry to jump and spill his glass of water all over himself.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," she muttered picking up the glass and setting it on the table. "I'm guessing you couldn't sleep either?" Her accent was less obvious when she was tired, in fact it was almost undetectable.
"Yeah. I figure there's no point, I mean it's already one," Harry said trying to dry himself off.
Natalie sighed and muttered under her breath, "Heavy stuff goin' down tonight. Heavy stuff..."
"You're telling me. I've never even been to Diagon Alley at night."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I've also never been there for anything other than school supplies."
"Oh. Well, I pretty much grew up there. I didn't exactly have a family to go to, so when I needed to sleep, I did it inside one of the shops."
Harry had never really felt bad about someone's at home situations because, you know he pretty much lived in hell, but he really did pity Natalie; growing up on the streets must've been a lot harder than growing up with the Dursleys.
"Sorry," he mumbled. Smooth Potter.
"Yeah it's ok. So... wanna wake up Granger and just go now?"
"Er- right. You do it I'll wait here."
She headed up the stairs and reappeared seconds later with a groggy Hermione next to her.
"What's going on? It's only 1:10!" she moaned sleepily.
"Well, we decided to go early. Bored you know," Harry said smiling at her lack of comprehension.
She scowled and grabbed a brush. "Lemme at least tame my hair."
"Hermione no one's gonna see! Can we just go?" Natalie begged.
"Easy for you to say! You don't even look like you laid down and Harry, well Harry's hair doesn't change even if you do brush it. I however, look like I was in a bar room brawl now please let me continue."
Harry and Natalie watched impatiently as Hermione took her sweet old time brushing her hair.
"Ready," she said as she drove her brush through her hair for the last time.
Harry and Natalie both grabbed for their invisibility cloaks.
"Oh! You have one too!" Harry said happily.
"My dad left it for me one Christmas. Said I would have more use for I than him, which is probably true," she laughed, her accent becoming more and more prominent.
"Well I'll give mine to Hermione and we can share-" Harry stopped himself as he saw Hermione's face. "Er- I mean, I'll share with Hermione and you can go...alone."
They made their way through the portrait hole when Harry swore loudly.
"Hang on I'll be right back," he said, bolting back into the Common Room. He came back out holding the Marauder's Map.
"All right, lets go. We've got a straight path to the witch; Filch is in his office along with everyone else. Go."
They headed softly to the statue, daring enough to light their wands.
"Here we are," Hermione said nervously.
"Yep. We certainly are," Harry agreed.
There was a long pause.
"So who's going in first?" Natalie asked.
"I will," Hermione said, relighting her wand.
She fell through the witch and landed hard on the dirt floor.
"It's cold down here!" she said shivering.
Harry and Natalie jumped in next, after an awkward debate of who would go first.
"Ooo it is cold down here," Natalie said pulling her shawl to her face.
They made it half way down the tunnel without saying a word, but something happened that none of them intended.
Hermione and Natalie shrieked loudly at the sight of the rat.
"Ahhh kill it Harry kill it," Natalie yelled shrilly.
"Omigod Harry do something it's gonna eat us!" Hermione squealed backing away.
Natalie hid her face in her hands and whimpered, Hermione just kept squealing, or as Ron would say, yelping.
"Jesus, you guys, get a grip," Harry scoffed. "Petrificus Totalus," he muttered pointing his wand at the rat.
When it was paralyzed the girls looked up.
"Oh Harry," Natalie said.
"You're so brave," Hermione finished.
Harry stared at them. He shrugged it off and they got through the rest of the tunnel in peace.
When they reached the end Natalie swore up a storm in Swedish because she got dirt in her hair.
"Goddamn that shit is never going to come out! I think I got some dung or something in it!" she said angrily.
"It's ok sweetie, it's only dirt," Hermione said in an attempt to sooth her. "Please don't swear like that again, we're trying to keep this PG-13."
"Sorry."
Harry opened the hatch and climbed through. Honeydukes was just the same as ever, though he hadn't used that passageway in a good two years.
The shop looked eerie and Harry couldn't help but feel a chill up his spine, and it wasn't from the cold.
"How do we get out of here?" he asked, watching his breath crystallize in the air.
"Well, generally I use Floo powder, but we're not going to leave anytime soon. We need to make sure we know exactly what we need so we can get out of Diagon Alley as fast as possible. Then we need to map out the stores we need to hit to get the ingredients. So have a seat and make yourself comfortable," Natalie said sounding very official.
"I don't believe you. There is no way you could know what you're doing this much, with only sneaking and stealing once or twice in you life," Hermione said suspiciously.
"Well all right if you want to get technical..."
They volleyed back and forth like that for a time when Harry finally broke the argument by asking the question he'd been dying to ask. He cleared his throat and the two girls looked up.
"I'm sorry but we've wasted a lot of time and I have an extremely pressing matter to discuss."
"Yes?" Hermione said looking agitated.
He opened his mouth and stopped, as if trying to find the right words.
"I'll be blunt. Straight, quick and to the point. No lollygagging around. I'm gonna be real frank. I'll tell the flat-"
"Harry? Please just spit it out."
"Fine. How did you find out about the hump back witch?"
"How is that a rude question that you need to be blunt with?" Hermione asked raising one eyebrow.
"I dunno maybe there's something obvious about it we don't know," Harry said, defending himself.
"You wanna know how I came about it?" Natalie asked looking brazen.
"Yes please," Harry said coyly.
"My friends Fred and George helped me out. I think you might've met 'em, they're Ron's brothers."