Haunting Darkness: Hey, nice to see you again! You know, a lot of people who said "Start the next story ASAP!" after the end of Guardians haven't shown up at all. I wonder if somehow people don't know that this story exists. Maybe I'll send out an email. :-)
Rob: Super! I guess I got the job done, then.
Lady Pallas: Is his name really Remus John? Ick. Not that I have anything against the name John, it's just that it's so common. I can't recall any time when his middle name was specifically mentioned, just the initial (and obviously I had forgotten about that). I don't keep up with J.K. Rowling's various hints and explanations outside of the text, so if that's when the world learned Remus' middle name, I didn't hear of it. I think maybe I'll just leave it at Esmond, but I really appreciate the heads-up.
Chapter 5: Hitting the Books
Not long after Dumbledore departed Harry set off for the library, knowing that was where Ron and Hermione would have gone. Sure enough, Hermione was up on a ladder, pulling books off the shelves and handing them down to Ron who was already holding quite a stack.
Ron grunted as Hermione placed yet another book on the wavering pile. "Uh... I think I'd better put these down."
"Just one more," said Hermione. She stretched out her arm, holding a book, and smiled when Harry reached up and took it. "Harry!"
"Here – give me some of those," said Harry, taking half of Ron's books.
Ron sighed in relief as the load on his arms lessened. "Thanks. Hermione's a harsh taskmistress."
Hermione snorted. "You've been going on so much about how much muscle you've put on from Quidditch, I wonder at how you can hold so little."
"Guess what Dumbledore wants me to do?" Harry said excitedly, interrupting what was sure to be another argument between his friends.
"Kick Voldemort's butt?" said Ron.
"Besides that!"
"Then I don't know," said Ron.
"He asked me to find a way to help Professor Thornby!" Harry exclaimed.
Hermione and Ron looked at each other. "We were already going to do that," she said patiently, climbing down from the ladder.
"I know, but now Dumbledore is asking," said Harry. He and Ron set their books down on a dark, polished table. "Don't you see? This is Order work!"
Ron began to smile. "Yeah... I guess it is!"
"Well, with or without Dumbledore's approval, we have a lot to do," said Hermione. "I think we're going to be losing some of our help as the summer goes on, too."
"You're right," said Ron. "Fred and George told me they don't have much time to work on this anymore since they've got the joke shop to start. They're going to close the deal on the property any day now. Ginny's still researching, though. She was pretty mad that she didn't get to come to the Order meeting."
Harry nodded, understanding something of how Ginny had to be feeling. She was the only Weasley besides Percy who had not been in an Order meeting, and now that Percy had come back to the fold, that was likely to change – for him.
"Well, it's fine if the twins have other work to do," said Hermione. "No one was bound to this project. I don't think we're going to get much help from Angelina or Alicia, either. They've got careers to start."
Harry shrugged. "We're going to have a better chance than anyone of finding something. Look at all these books! I don't think anyone else has access to a library like this, not over the summer."
"Then we'd better get started," said Ron.
"Okay!" Hermione said briskly, rubbing her hands together. "I think we should use the divide and conquer method. We can start with the bookshelves on the walls. I'll take the north wall, Ron can take the south, and Harry can do the east."
"I can't help but notice that I've already helped you get a whole stack of books from the north wall," said Ron.
Hermione smiled sweetly at him. "And I'm very grateful. Thank you, Ron."
"Fine," said Ron. "But you're getting the rest of your books yourself."
Harry and Ron spent the better part of an hour up on the ladders, starting up at the ceiling and working their way down. There were so many books that they knew they couldn't look through them all, not in one summer. They didn't want to take the chance of skipping any useful information, though, so they read the table of contents of any title that looked even remotely relevant. When Harry and Ron had each collected a sizable stack of books, they sat down at the table with Hermione and began leafing through them.
Hermione picked up her quill. "Oh, no," she said. "I've just realized – we can't use the copying charm!"
Harry and Ron gaped at each other. "You're right," said Ron. "No magic outside of school."
"This is going to make everything take a lot longer," Harry sighed.
"There you are!" said Sirius, walking into the library. "I've been looking all over for you, but this is the last place I thought…" He trailed off as he came up to stand beside them. His eyes took in the stacks of books. "What's going on? You're not starting your homework already, are you?"
"Actually, we don't have much homework at all this summer," said Hermione. "The professors decided to give us a break after the O.W.L.s."
Sirius frowned. He reached down and picked up a book on top of Ron's stack. "The History of the Dark Arts," he said aloud. He raised an eyebrow and picked up another. "The Unforgivable Curses. What on earth –"
"We're looking for a cure for Professor Thornby," Harry said quickly.
Sirius' head jerked up. "You're… what?"
"Dumbledore says I might be the only person who can help her," said Harry, "but I can't do this alone, and we need a place to start."
"You wouldn't happen to have any ideas, would you?" said Ron.
Sirius looked thunderstruck. "You're serious about this." It wasn't a question.
"Yes," Hermione said simply.
"We started back at school a few weeks ago, actually," said Harry. "Just after…"
Sirius nodded. He ran a hand through his hair. "I… don't know what to say. I don't know what to say." He gave a short laugh. "You three are simply astounding."
"You don't think it would be possible for us to get special permission to use a certain charm outside of school, would it?" Hermione suddenly said. "It's a copying charm that makes all this go much faster." She held out a book for Sirius to see.
"You copied all this?" he said in amazement as he paged through.
"With the help of that charm," she replied.
"I'll ask Dumbledore," Sirius said dazedly. "Maybe he can… I'll ask Dumbledore." And without another word he turned and left the library.
"Guess he wasn't expecting this," said Ron.
"Guess not," said Harry with a smile.
**********
Sirius was as good as his word. By the end of that first day Dumbledore had secured permission for Harry, Ron, and Hermione to use a few simple charms to make their task easier. Once his surprise wore off Sirius expressed interest in the project and offered to help whenever he could. "I don't know when that'll be, though," he admitted. "I'm rather busy with Order matters just now." Harry and his friends tried everything they could to get Sirius to tell them what he was working on, but he wouldn't budge. All he would say was that Dumbledore was letting him go out in disguise now that the 'national manhunt' for him had been forgotten. The effort, renewed last year, seemed to have died with Fudge.
Lupin, of course, was even more interested in the research than Sirius, but he had enough on his plate already. The werewolf seemed touched beyond words by what Harry and his friends were doing and left the library nearly in tears after his first visit. "He's got it bad," Ron observed after Lupin had gone, but he wasn't trying to make fun.
Harry would have liked to have known what Bellaton thought of the project, but almost from day one he was seldom to be found. "He's volunteered for missions that involve no small amount of traveling," said Sirius when Harry asked about it. "I think it's probably better that way. Sitting around here watching his best friend languish would have driven him mad. The man's a soldier; he needs something to do to keep his mind off of things." Harry thought it looked like abandonment and said as much. "You're wrong about that," said Sirius. "He and Remus had a talk. Remus is more than happy to do work that will allow him to remain here, believe me."
And so a routine soon developed which looked to last for the rest of the summer. Ron and Hermione came to Alverbrooke nearly every day to work, sometimes staying late into the evening. Hermione brought the day's correspondence which they read through before diving back into the books. She was the most organized of everyone and the project had been her idea in the first place, so she was the de facto leader and it had been decided that all letters on the subject should be sent to her.
By the time they had been out of school for a week all of their friends had sent at least one letter. Most of them were of the "Hi, how are you?" sort but it was plain that everyone was still keeping up with the task, even those who had graduated. It seemed that no one had found anything of great value yet. Lavender was the first to write, and her letter was indicative of what all the rest were to be like. "I've not found anything particularly useful yet, but I've been copying down everything even remotely interesting and will keep looking."
Harry began spending time with Professor Thornby just as he'd promised. Lupin informed him that she was not to be left alone; according to Healer Bigelow, patients in a similar state at St. Mungo's would frequently walk around. The problem was that they didn't know where they were going and could potentially get into trouble. Lupin didn't quite trust the house-elves yet and Bellaton was seldom around, so that left himself, Harry, and Sirius to look after her.
After only a few days of having Professor Thornby in the house, Harry thought he understood what Dumbledore had meant when he'd said she would be a burden. Though he wished he didn't feel the way he did, Harry found her presence depressing. She was completely dependent on the people taking care of her, and knowing that she was unaware of her loss of dignity was small comfort. Everything that had made her who she was was locked away inside of her. All that was left was her appearance and even that was somewhat changed. Harry thought she was too thin, for one thing; she would drink when you put a glass in her hand and eat when given a sandwich, but she never finished anything. Harry couldn't help thinking that it was probably easier for Neville to see his parents in this state than it was for him to see Professor Thornby, because Neville had never known his parents to be any other way. Every day Harry saw exactly what had been lost.
Professor Thornby weighed on the entire household like a gloomy cloud that wouldn't go away. Even the house-elves, usually so cheerful and content, were affected by it. But somehow this was not the only influence she had on the people who helped her keep on living one day at a time – she inspired them as well. Instead of sinking into despair, Harry found himself spurred onward in his quest to find a cure. Yes, Professor Thornby was pitiful, saddening, and utterly changed from the person he had once known, but there was a chance that this could be rectified. Harry was determined not to give up on her until she was dead; that was when she would be beyond anyone's reach.
Fortunately, things began to improve little by little as the days went by. Every morning Harry spent at least two hours in Professor Thornby's company before Ron and Hermione showed up. It seemed that Bellaton had been right - the more often she saw Harry, the more accustomed to him she became. It only took two days for her to cease to be afraid of him; after that physical contact never bothered her. A few more days and she stopped staring at Harry whenever he was in view. Harry was especially grateful for this development. Her blue-eyed, unrelenting gaze made him uncomfortable, especially since they were windows to vacancy where once there had been life.
Lupin, who was holding up surprisingly well, was forever looking for ways to get Professor Thornby to take notice of the world. One day he left the house and returned with a small gray kitten. "From Emmeline Vance," he explained. "Her resident mouser just had some unexpected arrivals." The kitten had white feet and a white spot on its chest that looked exactly like a beard. As a result there was some discussion of calling it 'Santa', but in the end they settled on 'Kit'. It was hard to tell when Professor Thornby was reacting to anything at all, but Sirius swore he saw a change when they put the little cat into her lap.
They took Professor Thornby on walks around the house, hoping that familiar places might do some good. Lupin was the most assiduous in this task, especially after he brought her to the music room and thought it garnered some recognition on her part. According to him she lingered over the piano and the harp, both of which she could play – or had been able to play, that is.
One morning Harry hit upon the idea of reading aloud in her presence. He had no idea if it would make any difference whatsoever, but thought it might be worth a try. At first he read from one of the books he was looking through but decided that the subject matter was too dull. Hermione urged him to try a piece of fiction. "Facts and figures will only put Professor Thornby to sleep," she said. "Try one of the giants of literature – you know, Shakespeare, Dickens…"
"Dickens will put her to sleep, too," Ron put in, and Hermione chucked an inkpot at his head.
Harry knew a little about Shakespeare, so Shakespeare it was. He started out with Romeo and Juliet because he already knew the basic plot. The story was entertaining enough, but he soon found that it was hard for one person to read a play aloud. He had to keep saying whose lines he was reading and it interrupted the flow. With such difficulties to be had it wasn't long before Harry found himself doing voices. He never would have dared if anyone other than Professor Thornby were present; he could only imagine how Ron would tease him if he heard Harry reading some of the romantic banter between the star-crossed lovers. He had taken to squeaking out all of Juliet's lines in the girliest voice he could manage. Perhaps it was a little over the top, but Professor Thornby seemed to find it funny. Harry was almost sure that he saw a ghost of a smile on her lips more than once.
Unfortunately for Harry, he began having too much fun to save himself from embarrassment. One day when he was not watching the clock, Ron and Hermione stood in the doorway unnoticed while Harry was right in the middle of a confrontation between Juliet and her father. He was sitting on the floor cross-legged, the open book supported by his knees. He made his voice as deep as possible for Capulet.
"'Out, you green-sickness carrion! Out, you baggage! You tallow-face!'" And then for Juliet he squeaked, "'Fie, fie! What, are you mad?'"
A sudden snort from the doorway brought his head sharply up from the page. Ron and Hermione were standing there, choking with the effort of holding back their mirth. As soon as they saw Harry watching they abandoned the effort and laughed aloud.
Harry turned bright red. He slammed the book shut, drew his knees up to his chest and buried his face in his hands. "Oh, Merlin," he groaned.
"Do it again, Harry," said Ron, who was having trouble getting the words out, he was laughing so hard. "Do the... squeaky thing again..." He dissolved into laughter again.
Tears were streaming from Hermione's eyes. "And it's... supposed... to be a tragedy!" she hiccupped.
"Shut up," Harry said sourly. His friends only laughed harder, and Ron actually pounded his fist on the doorframe with glee. As humiliating as it all was, Harry had to admit that it probably had been very funny – to his friends. The upswing was that Ron and Hermione decided to help read, with Hermione taking over all the female lines. Harry flat-out refused to keep reading Juliet if his friends were going to be in the room. He had a terrible feeling that Ron and Hermione would never, ever let him forget that day.
Such moments of levity were rare during that time. Harry was getting used to Professor Thornby in her present condition, but the research could have been going better. Weeks passed as he, Ron and Hermione worked through book after book, read letters from their friends, and filled blank books with passages. There were a few false starts but no solid leads. For a while Hermione studied passages on Cruciatus, thinking that maybe she could find a way to reverse its effects, but to no avail. "That kind of magic is far beyond any of us," she said, "and even if it weren't, how could I practice? I'd probably wind up killing the subject while trying to get it right."
No one was giving up though the task seemed more and more daunting as the one-month mark approached. The summer was nearly half over and Harry felt no closer to the goal than he had been before. He couldn't give up hope that someone, somewhere, sometime had puzzled over the same problem and found a solution. It was just that there were so many books in the world, and it was looking more and more as if the information he sought was going to be in an arcane volume if it existed at all. His other school friends seemed to be getting discouraged as time wore on and they ran out of ideas or books to look through. Hermione was bringing fewer and fewer letters every day, and even she finally admitted that looking blindly through books for something – anything – could take a lifetime.
And finally, one morning, everything changed.
Ron and Hermione came to Alverbrooke as usual, Hermione bearing one letter only, which was from Seamus. They settled into their routine with Ron and Hermione going through books while Harry took the letter and opened it. He was fully expecting the same old thing – no news – but Seamus' letter had a different tone. Harry's eyes widened as he read.
Dear Hermione, Harry, Ron,
Have something interesting to report this time – finally! My mum and dad gave me a book on famous witches and wizards for my birthday last week. I wasn't too excited about it (I have to read enough books at school), but I took a look at it anyway and it turned out to be fascinating. Near the end there's a chapter on witches and wizards that are supposed to have done big things, but most of the records on them have been lost so no one can really confirm them. Here's the part you'll be interested in: legend has it that Estella the Wise saved dozens of people from insanity! There's really nothing in the passage that says how, though. I copied the page – take a look and see for yourselves.
I don't know if this'll be any help at all. I know Dumbledore said Professor Thornby isn't insane, really, but I think it sounds like it's pretty much the same thing. If there's nothing else written about old Estella then we'll never know how she did it anyway, but this is the first I've read of anyone being able to do something about insanity. If she really was famous and did what she did then there ought to be something more that's written down. Maybe Hermione can dig up some more. If she can't, no one can.
Cheers,
Seamus
By the time he finished reading Harry's jaw was hanging open. He swallowed and tried to say his friends' names but nothing much came out. "Ah… ah…"
Neither Ron nor Hermione had looked at him yet. "Cat got your tongue?" Ron said pleasantly, still concentrating on the book in front of him. When Harry didn't answer he looked up. The smile vanished from his face. "What is it?"
Harry found his voice at last. "Got something…" He held out the letter.
Ron and Hermione scrambled up out of their seats, seized the parchment, and bent over it to read. For a heartbeat they both looked as flabbergasted as Harry had, and then Ron haltingly began to laugh. Hermione followed suit, and in moments all three of them were laughing and hugging. Hermione was nearly crying.
"Finally!" Ron crowed. "God bless Seamus!"
"I didn't know it was his birthday last week," Hermione giggled. "We owe him something really nice now!"
"We knew," said Harry. "We sent him a box of Honeydukes' chocolates."
"We ought to buy him the whole store," she said breathlessly.
"So?" Harry said eagerly. "What do you think?"
"Let's look for her," Ron said excitedly.
"Yes," said Hermione. "Maybe there's something here!"
They pulled every book on famous witches and wizards that they could find from the shelves. During her searches through other books Hermione had found a spell that you could cast on a book to make it find a certain word. "Expiscio Estella!" they commanded on each book, but only one turned up anything. It was only a passing reference to her and it didn't mention insanity or Cruciatus; instead, it mostly focused on her leadership qualities.
"Well, we don't care about brokering peace treaties between warring tribes of centaurs," said Ron, closing the book.
"I'm going to write to Madam Pince," Hermione announced. "Maybe she can find something in the Hogwarts library."
It was a tense wait for a response from the librarian. Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided they all needed a break from the constant reading and spent the time trying to have fun; they wouldn't have been able to concentrate anyway. Harry and Ron played Quidditch with Sirius, Lupin, and Bellaton, who was back at Alverbrooke for a few days. They practiced falconry with Orpheus, the bird that Harry and Hermione had given to Ron last Christmas. They played Wizard Chess, Exploding Snap, and any other game they could get their hands on. Of all three of them, only Hermione could stand to read a book.
Finally, after three days, Madam Pince replied. Hermione showed up at Alverbrooke that morning practically bursting with anticipation. "I really wanted to open the package but thought I should wait," she said breathlessly.
"Well, there's no need to wait now, go on and open it!" said Ron.
Hermione excitedly tore into the package which contained one book and a note. "It says that this is the only book she could find that had any information other than what we already knew," said Hermione. "Oh, she's ever so polite…"
"Madam Pince has always liked you," said Ron. "Harry and I… we're another story. A little too rambunctious, I guess."
"Well, she also says that if I damage the book in any way, Gryffindor will be starting out the year in negative numbers," said Hermione. "I didn't tell her I was with you but I suppose she suspects."
Harry opened the book. "Expiscio Estella!" The pages flipped over all by themselves and came to rest near the middle of the volume. Harry ran his finger down the page until Estella the Wise caught his eye. "Most of it's the same," he said as he peered at the passage, "but here… it says she wrote a memoir!"
"Oh!" exclaimed Hermione.
"Er, it's been lost," said Harry.
"Blast!" said Ron.
"Hold on, why don't you wait to react until I've read the whole thing?" said Harry. "It says that a scribe named Nicodemus is supposed to have copied sections of it down, and that the last known location of his works was the Great Library."
"So what are we waiting for?" said Ron. "Let's go!"
"We can't just up and go to Greece!" said Hermione.
Harry smirked. "I seem to recall the two of you having this exact same conversation a few weeks ago, only your roles were reversed then."
"What I mean is that we've got to find an adult to go with us," said Hermione. "We're targets now. We can't go alone."
"Well, of course we'll find someone to go with us," said Ron. "When did I ever say we wouldn't? I'm just saying that we should find one right now and get going."
Hermione opened her mouth and Harry cut her off before she could say another word. "Good – we're all agreed," he said quickly. "Let's get somebody."
The first person they found after leaving the library was Bellaton. The big Singer seemed to be in a better mood after jetting about the Continent, and Harry and his friends reported their news to him with glee. His response, however, was not encouraging.
"The Great Library? I think that's out of the question."
Harry, Ron and Hermione stared at him openmouthed. "Why?" Harry managed.
"Because it's not the place it once was. It's dangerous now, and the three of you are too important to send into danger. And even if I were willing to let you go, we have no Order members to spare. We have evidence that Voldemort is planning to attack another target and soon."
"But Sirius and Remus could come with us, couldn't they?" Hermione pleaded. "Remus is always around here and I know he trusts the house-elves more than he used to, so they could watch –"
"I would still say no," Bellaton said regretfully, "but then I'm not really in charge of any of you. You could go to Remus and ask, Harry, or you could try Dumbledore, but I think they'll probably give the same answer. Perhaps after this attack has been thwarted –"
"But it's important!" Ron exclaimed.
Bellaton's face fell. "I know," he said quietly. "Believe me, I know. And I am happy that you may have found something, but I wish you didn't need to go to the Great Library to get it. Please excuse me; I need to get going." And he turned and walked down the hall before any of the students could say another word.
Harry felt as if he had just dropped off a cliff. His friends' dejected faces showed that they felt the same way. None of them had thought that Bellaton would stomp on the idea; he surely wanted Professor Thornby back as badly as they did.
"What's so dangerous about a library?" said Ron. "I mean, maybe if it were full of Hagrid's Monster Book of Monsters…"
"I don't know," said Hermione. "Wasn't Dumbledore supposed to have talked to Professor Binns? Maybe he'd know what's going on."
Harry set his jaw. Staying at Alverbrooke because of some nebulous threat in Greece was not going to fly. "I don't care what's going on at the Great Library," said Harry, "but one way or another we have to get that book. Come on – it's time to get a second opinion."