A Dangerous Project – Part Seven – Neon Yellow is a Lovely Color
For a moment, the three of them simply looked at each other. Then Hermione started, and put her hand up to her ear, motioning for them to listen. In the distance, there were faint voices. They were muffled, but –
- they were definitely coming closer. Hermione, Ron, and Harry looked around in panic, hoping to see somewhere to hide. But there was just the hallway, and none of them had thought to bring the invisibility cloak. Frantically, they pressed at the walls, trying to find another doorway or a way out. Then Hermione held her hand up to her ear again.
With visible relief, the three of them heard the sounds of another door shutting, the voices disappearing.
"Come on, let's go," Hermione whispered. The three of them crept down the narrow corridor. The tight, chilly air was hard to breathe, and they stopped several times. The corridor went on for at least forty feet, with equally narrow doors made of old, sometimes rotting wood.
"Is everyone who comes here dead skinny or what?" Ron grumbled.
Harry chuckled, but raised a finger to his lips. Just because the voices were gone didn't mean that there wasn't anyone here. Finally, the corridor widened into a large room, full of comfortable-looking armchairs and a large fireplace. Hundreds of objects lined the walls on stone shelves – books, boxes, and several nasty-looking things in jars.
"Must everything be stone? Apparently these skinny people are pretty depressing, too. They ought to lighten the place up a bit." Amusement on his face, Ron waved his wand and turned all the shelves neon yellow.
"Ron!" Harry yelped. But then, Hermione changed the charcoal armchairs a bright, spring green, and the three of them burst into giggles. Harry added a purple rug, and it just got worse from there.
"Okay," Hermione said a few moments later, smothering her giggles. "We should look around and see what's here. Maybe we can figure out just what this place is." Harry and Ron agreed to take the shelves, while Hermione looked at the low table in front of the fireplace. Half an hour later, the three compared their findings.
"I looked at the books. Most of what was there was about spells and potions – pretty typical stuff. However, I also found these." Ron held out several books, a grim look on his face.
"Pure and Perfect – The Complete History of the Major Pureblood Wizarding Families of England, An Array of Choices – A Guide to Knockturn Alley, An In-Depth Study of Dark Magic, How Voldemort Rose to Power, Crucio – Powerful Dark Curses," Hermione read.
"They were in a cupboard behind other books," Ron said, "Why would you hide something – "
"– unless it's something that could get you in trouble." Harry finished. Hermione sat the books down for a moment.
"Harry, what did you find?" she asked.
"Well, Ron and I thought I should take a look at the objects lying around. Most of them definitely did not come from Diagon Alley. And some are from human beings, and probably were not given willingly." Harry answered seriously. He handed her a large bone.
"Human," he stated, "I remember that much from my old muggle school. It's a human femur. And this is powdered bone," he said, handing her a mortar and pestle. Hermione looked at him with wide eyes, and he looked back at her calmly.
"What now?" said Ron, voicing the question they were all thinking about.
"Dumbledore," Hermione said positively, "We could get into trouble if we don't tell someone."
"But you know, Hermione," said Harry slowly, "That would make this whole thing pointless. The deal was that we could do things the teachers couldn't, right? I think we should take care of it ourselves."
"Take care of it?" Ron burst out almost hysterically. "Repeat after me: I will not go picking a fight with Death Eaters! Especially without backup!"
"Well, you both have a point," Hermione said, grinning wryly. "Is there really any reason we can't get anyone else involved?"
Harry and Ron stared at her in horror, as though she had sprouted a tail.
"No, really," she insisted. "We're not the only ones who know the stakes. We're not the only ones who have been affected by Voldemort, who are willing to fight! I know it's foreign to you two, but it's alright to be dependent on other people!"
"Lovely speech," said Harry sarcastically, "But whom do you suggest?"
"Neville," Hermione shot back instantly. "Luna. Seamus. Fred, George, Bill, and Charlie. Hagrid – he doesn't really count as a teacher, he's our friend. Don't be so bloody stubborn!"
"Much as I hate to admit it once again," Ron chimed in, "Hermione's right."
"Fine," Harry conceded, "But the moment they stop being serious about this, they're gone!" Ron and Hermione nodded.
"Fair enough," Hermione said. "Now, look at what I found! This is probably the best of all." She thrust a stack of papers towards Ron and Harry, who took them and started reading.
"They're letters, correspondences. Between good friends," said Ron, looking up. "So what?"
"Look at the signatures," said Hermione triumphantly.
"Bloody hell," whispered Harry, realization dawning on his face. "They're between Lucius Malfoy and other known Voldemort supporters whom Malfoy claims he has no contact with." Hermione nodded grimly.
"Hermione, Harry," said Ron slowly, "Why would someone just leave these out?"
There was silence for a moment.
"Because they expected to be back very soon," breathed Hermione, horrified. She grabbed the papers out of the boys' hands and threw them back on the table. Ron grabbed the books and put them back, while Harry frantically replaced the objects he had found. The three of them raced down the corridor as quickly as they could, but before they reached the end, a door creaked open and they heard shouts of surprise.
"Oh, shit!" Hermione said in terror, "We forgot to change the damn colors back!" Amid the surprised, loud voices in the distance, the three of them pushed on the door, trying desperately to get the massive stone to move.
"Wait," Ron hissed, and started searching for a way to get the door open.
"Ron, hurry!" whispered Harry frantically, as the voices shifted from surprise to anger. Hermione caught the word 'search' and felt her heart rate crank up a notch.
Ron's fingers fumbled with a slight indentation in the stone, and with relief, the three of them watched the door slide open. They fell out into the hall and pushed the door back, gasping for breath.
"Well, that was fun," Ron said a few minutes later, and they all laughed weakly in relief, an aftereffect of their terror a moment ago.
"You know, Hermione," said Harry, "I think you're right. Someone else can do that next time!"