Gems in the eyes of the world
Disclaimer: I own nothing that is to do with the magical world, this includes, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore, Draco, Ginny, etc. I can only wish that I did own them all, but alas, my mind is not as imaginative as Jo Rowling, although I am not imagination-less.
Chapter six
THANK YOU OH SO MUCH TO THE FOLLOWING:
~AlanPatty07 ~ Okay, thanks for telling me that you might not be able to review! It is nice to know that a reviewer has stopped reviewing not because they got bored, but because they had some more important things to do . . . thank you for finding the time to even review the last chappie!
~Natyslacks ~ Thanks for the review, and for the compliment! I do try, so I hope my efforts paid off! Anyways, here's the update, I really hope it didn't take that long . . . and if it did, the next chappie will probably take even longer (due to my holiday!)
~ShortStuff10 ~ Hehe, yeah! I finally got all that junk out of my volcano before I brought it into school. I got a lollipop stick and kind of . . . dragged it out of the tiny little hole . . . oh well, it worked and that's all that mattered! How did the play go anyways? Good? Good. Lol, anyways, it was Voldemort who set the curse on Draco, you kind of need to know that, so I'm telling you, thanks for the review and bye!
~Cho Chang-Emotional Dark Hole ~ Hey, thanks for the review. It is a good thing (I'm presuming) that you feel sorry for Draco, I mean, everyone says that if you can get your readers to feel some sort of emotion, you must be able to write SOMETHING good, right?
~Happigolucki616 ~ YAY! Tis you! Cheers for the review, it's so nice of you! Thanks for all the stuff you said too, I didn't realise Hermi and Drake were cute in this ficcy . . . I just thought they were OLD, lol, anyways, CYA!
~Smileyface1314 ~ Thank you so much for reviewing! Hehe . . . holiday . . . maybe you did review the last chappie and I just forgot to put a thanks . . . if that's so, I apologise! SOZZY! Hehe, I feel hyper and sad at the same time, so weird . . .
~Burgundyred ~ Thanks for reviewing! Is it really innocent? Sorry, I didn't know. I was just watching this thing on television, like a film, and this judge was all like, 'what do you plead?' and they were just like 'unguilty' so I just kind of copied that, sorry, my mistake! Oh and YAY for the update!
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Walking down the lonely street of Diagon Alley was not something that Hermione did quite often. For one thing, Diagon Alley seemed to always be crowded, but today, it seemed gloomy and dull, lifeless and almost ghostly. She wondered what day it was, why people weren't out and about like they usually were, why the sun was out and yet it seemed to still be cold and frosty.
She turned into the fifth alleyway, wheeling the wheelchair down the three steps in front of her. Draco nearly flew out of his seat, his sunglasses going askew.
"Sorry!"
Hermione stopped and helped Draco up, making him sit on the wheelchair once more. She wiped his glasses and placed them gently back on his head, making sure they were straight.
Hermione continued to walk down the long alleyway, towards the nearing brick wall. Draco thought carefully as all this happened. Granger was so nice to him, too nice. He couldn't even insult her anymore, she wouldn't get angry anyway, angry in the way he wanted her to be. She had just changed so much, and Draco knew that that was something to do with Potter.
"Kappa."
The brick wall vanished, and a narrow pathway came into view. Carefully, Hermione descended the pathway, making her way towards a small and battered shop, a wooden sign with the words painted on them 'Keys for all occasions'. She entered, carefully steering the wheelchair into the dark shop.
"Excuse me? Anybody?"
Through the darkness shuffling could be heard. A click made it's way through the air, and a light above Hermione switched itself on. A familiar looking man made his way through, he looked old and kept a steady watch on Hermione with twinkling blue eyes.
"Yes?" That voice sounded familiar too . . .
"Where may your cat be? Inside, outside, or inside out?"
The shopkeeper's eyes seemed to twinkle with merriment and excitement. He started to walk towards the back of the shop, beckoning for them to follow him.
"Erm, sorry, Mister . . . I have a wheelchair with me, and I'm afraid its not good with stairs." Hermione said rather loudly. The man was fairly old, and she did not want to repeat herself. Suddenly, the shopkeeper turned and walked back towards them, this time his eyes fixed on Draco.
"May I ask for you to take your sunglasses off sir?"
Draco did so. The man seemed like the type you couldn't lie to, the type that you had to obey whether it was right, or wrong. His blue eyes met with those of the shopkeepers.
"Ah, how very interesting. That scar, is phenomenal, almost as great as that of Harry Potter."
The man gave a nod and turned back towards the flight of stairs. He walked down it without another word. Hermione and Draco waited, waiting until he would come back. It seemed like eternity before they heard shuffling once more. A few moments later, the man appeared, holding something luminous in his hands. He trod into the dim light and held out the thing he was holding.
"This, is the gemstone of elements," The shopkeeper handed the gem to Hermione, she held it in her hand, and knelt down to let Draco see. The stone was a beauty, but it didn't look like a stone, but more like a crystal. It was see through and in the shape of a five-sided star. Placed in the very centre was a small ruby like thing. A ribbon was somehow connected to it.
"What is it for?"
"The gemstone of elements is what is the source of your mission, Miss Granger? This gem is a powerful one, and it would do no good if it fell into the wrong hands."
"Yes, but what exactly does it DO?"
"Whoever holds this powerful gem can see right into the souls of whoever it is trying to. The eyes are all that is needed to see into your soul Miss Granger, but alas, we do not want that. No normal witch or wizard is powerful enough to handle this gem, which is the reason for that ruby in the middle. The ruby stops the wearer of the gem reading the entire soul of its victim, but it still has the power to look into the outer core of the soul. It is like occlumency Miss Granger, except even more useful. As in occlumency, it can be stopped if you are taught, but this gem, oh nothing can stop this gem."
Hermione stared at the gem in her palm. Could something as small as this be as powerful as he made it out to be? It seemed unlikely, but as people say, size is no matter. She looked up at the man and smiled.
"Thank you, Mister . . .?"
"Dumbledore, Aberforth Dumbledore."
Hermione's eyes widened. She smiled once again, pocketed the gem and began to turn the wheelchair around. With one final nod to Aberforth Dumbledore, she exited Keys for all occasions and began her way back home.
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The sky was dark and clear, the moon not at its full, but still a beauty. Hermione stared up at it once again as she sealed a letter addressed to Dumbledore, to tell him that she had been to the store, and that she was ready to face what lay ahead of her. She wanted to write of Draco's problems, but if the letter was intercepted . . . she decided against it, and instead asked if Dumbledore himself could meet her sometime tomorrow, and bring Snape with him. Of course, she needed an owl, but that was not a problem, next morning she would pay the daily prophet owl one sickle extra and see whether it could deliver it for her.
She lifted the gemstone that Dumbledore's brother had given her. Twirling it in her fingers, she lifted it up to the light and examined it. Nothing seemed too special about it, but then again, wasn't it always the little things that mattered the most? She tied the ribbon around her wrist and adjusted it so that it fitted perfectly. She decided to never take it off, in case someone got their hands on it. Falling into the wrong hands would make everything even more complicated.
Hermione looked behind her at a sleeping form of Draco, the covers thrown away from him, his lips mumbling something she couldn't quite make out. She sighed and tucked the letter away in a drawer, gathering a spare duvet in her closet and taking it into the living room. She settled herself down on the sofa, and tried to get some sleep, the next morning was bound to be a busy one.
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Hermione awoke next morning to the smell of bacon. She opened her eyes, the sun's rays greeting her. Yawning, she stretched and looked in the direction of the smell. Her eyes widened as she saw who it was.
"Draco! You shouldn't be up so early."
Draco looked up and held two plates. He took them both over to Hermione and placed one of them in front of her on the coffee table. Placing the other opposite her, still on the coffee table, he sat on the floor and began to eat without a word. Hermione eyed the bacon and scrambled eggs on the plate. They looked so nice, and tasty . . . but why?
"Don't worry, I didn't poison them or anything, and my house elves do cook for me, but my mother wanted me to learn how to cook just in case. It's a thank you, for . . . having me."
Hermione smiled, she knew how hard it was for someone as stubborn as Draco to say something like that. "Still, you shouldn't be up."
"Granger, you've read about that curse, you know what it does."
"That's why you shouldn't be up!"
"This is better than staying in bed the entire time, I'd much rather do something with my remaining time than waste it away having a lie in."
Draco's eyes glazed over with a cold surface, making him more stone like than Hermione thought possible. They ate in silence, before Hermione decided to get dressed and washed. When she came out, she waited for the Daily Prophet owl, gave it a Knut and a Sickle, and sent it off with her letter to Dumbledore. Dumbledore wasn't that far; he should get the letter round about lunchtime.
Lunchtime soon came, and passed. It was now three thirty pm, and Hermione was telling Draco how to use a television. He had just about got the hang of it.
"Right, I press this button, and . . . . yes, the screen's not blank! Now it's . . . . fuzzy."
Draco looked disappointed as Hermione took the control from him and showed him how to switch channels and raise volume etc. She was just about to tell him how to use a video and DVD player, when two cracks splintered the air, making the pair turn in astonishment.
Professor Dumbledore stood, his eyes twinkling like his brothers, except much merrier, and Snape stood haughtily behind him, his posture upright and his expression stern. Hermione stood and greeted them, offering them some tea. They both shook their heads.
"Miss Granger, I received your letter today, and you wished for me to see you, what is the problem?"
Dumbledore sat on the sofa next to Draco, his eyes calm and steady. Snape stood where he was, his eyes eyeing Hermione up and down.
"Professor Dumbledore, if you don't mind watching Draco (Draco raised an eyebrow – He was no child!) while I talk to Professor Snape please, it's fairly important."
Dumbledore smiled and gave a nod, Snape still standing stiffly. Hermione beckoned for Snape to follow her into the study room, and finally he moved, but still rather reluctantly. Hermione shut the door behind her and made sure no one was listening. She told Snape of the curse, how she had found Draco, and what he had told her. She also said about how she didn't know how the curse was activated. That was the most serious part, if she didn't know how it was activated, how could she try and stop it?
"Well, Miss Granger, I will do what I can. I expect you want a potion from me?"
Hermione nodded, if anyone could brew one, it would surely be her old potions master.
"Well Miss Granger, I'm afraid it's not as simple as that. I shall have to do my research and find one potion that can prevent most dark curses being activated, calming the monster within you could say. Once I have found the appropriate one Miss Granger, I shall contact you, but between you and me, I don't know why you bother."
Hermione smiled slightly at Snape as he swiftly turned and headed back to the living room. She followed to find Dumbledore trying to tell Draco the history of the popular sweet, the Starburst. Draco was yawning and looking extremely bored.
"Is all that is needed to be said, said?" Dumbledore asked, the question directed at Snape. He nodded and began to make his way towards the door, stopping and turning to Dumbledore and waiting for him to come. Dumbledore arose, and smiled at Hermione.
"Miss Granger, I plead for you to start your mission immediately, time is precious, almost as precious as those stones you are looking for. Mr Potter cannot wait much longer."
Dumbledore smiled weakly again, nodded once more before walking towards Snape and the open door, with a wave goodbye, they were gone. Hermione didn't know what to do. Everyone was relying on her to help Harry, but she didn't even know what the stones were. She looked at her wrist and where the gem was. It was not big; the ruby rather small, how could something like this be as powerful as it was made out to be? She wondered where she could begin her search, maybe some gems were hidden in people in the past, or people in different countries, she didn't know, but all she did know was that no matter who they were, she would have to find them.
"So Granger, what are you going to do?"
She looked up at Draco. They had both grown more mature, and even civil. She had no idea what to do to find the gems, but she knew what she should do just to set her mind straight.
"Draco, come on, you need to get dressed," Hermione helped Draco up and gave him some more of Harry's old clothes.
"Why? Where are we going?"
"St Mungos, to visit Harry."
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Hermione hesitated as she was about to push the door that led to Harry's ward. Maybe she should turn back now, Harry probably wouldn't want to see her . . . but she knew that she needed to see Harry, for her own good. It would give her strength, make her more prepared for what lay ahead.
She pushed the door open and wheeled the wheelchair in. The ward now only contained Harry, and was closed off to most people apart from those that had their name on a special list. There were just a few candles lit by the unconscious Harry's bed, Ron was sat next to him, holding his hand.
Ron turned and gave a weak and watery smile to Hermione, "Hey."
His gaze and expression changed when his eyes landed on the well-wrapped person in the wheelchair. Draco glared at Ron as Ron turned to look at Hermione, now looking more angry than sad.
"Hermione, what is he doing with you?"
"Ron . . . I –
"He is part of the reason why Harry is in here! He, was part of the whole scheme that made all those people die! He, is OUR ARCHENEMY, the one who kidnapped you!"
"Ron, he's still a person, and anyway, there's no harm in him tagging along if he's too weak, which he is."
Ron glared at Draco as Draco did the same. Ron rose from his chair, releasing Harry's hand and taking Hermione by the shoulders, into a warm and comforting hug. He sniffed as Hermione felt her robe dampen.
"Hermione," Ron ended the hug but didn't release her shoulders. He continued to look at her, a single tear falling down his pale face, "No matter what you do, I want you to be careful, I NEED you to be careful. If Harry's gone . . . I can't deal with losing two friends at once Hermione, please . . ."
Tears began to well in her eyes as she and Ron continued to stare at each other. She gulped, "Don't worry Ron, I promise I'll be careful, and I promise I'll come back safe and sound."
Ron smiled and was just about to turn back to Harry when Hermione grabbed him by the arm. Their eyes linked once more, but this time, they were both tear free. Hermione could see something . . . something deep within the pupil of Ron's right eye. She could feel her arm vibrating, making her whole body shake, making Ron's body shake as well. A warm blue aura surrounded the pair as Hermione felt her feet begin to float from the floor, taking Ron with her.
The thing in his eye was beginning to come out clearer as she continued to stare. A blinding white light of pureness forced Hermione to close her eyes, when she opened them, a small blue five sided star crystal was gleaming in between her and Ron, and her feet were now firmly planted on the ground. The blue aura had gone and Draco could be seen gaping at them.
Hermione gently took the star in her hand and frowned at it. It glistened in the candlelight and as she placed it near the gemstone of elements, and the blue star flew across to one of the corners of it, attached. It was now part of the gemstone of elements, and nothing seemed to be able to remove it.
Gold letters began to appear on the blue star, a word that was small, but clear. It read: 'Friendship'.
Hermione looked up to see that Ron was now looking at Harry worriedly, unaware that she had now found the very first gemstone that would help Harry . . . maybe she could do this, maybe she did have the strength and power to do so, but she knew it would be no piece of cake. She walked over to Harry and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
"I'll be back soon Harry, you'll be fine, I know you will."
She tried to sound convincing, but deep down inside, she wasn't very certain. From the outside, she felt fairly confident that people would believe this, but it was herself that she really wanted to convince.
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The first gemstone has been collected, and the journey begins . . .please review!
~ILUVRONWEASLEY
PS. Me not here for two weeks cus' of my holiday. Sorry! I'll be back and update as soon as possible!! :D (even before I go to school) Those of you who read CLE (CRAZY LUNATIC EXPERIMENTS) will know this already, oh and by the way – I'M GOING TOMORROW!
Disclaimer: I own nothing that is to do with the magical world, this includes, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore, Draco, Ginny, etc. I can only wish that I did own them all, but alas, my mind is not as imaginative as Jo Rowling, although I am not imagination-less.
Chapter six
THANK YOU OH SO MUCH TO THE FOLLOWING:
~AlanPatty07 ~ Okay, thanks for telling me that you might not be able to review! It is nice to know that a reviewer has stopped reviewing not because they got bored, but because they had some more important things to do . . . thank you for finding the time to even review the last chappie!
~Natyslacks ~ Thanks for the review, and for the compliment! I do try, so I hope my efforts paid off! Anyways, here's the update, I really hope it didn't take that long . . . and if it did, the next chappie will probably take even longer (due to my holiday!)
~ShortStuff10 ~ Hehe, yeah! I finally got all that junk out of my volcano before I brought it into school. I got a lollipop stick and kind of . . . dragged it out of the tiny little hole . . . oh well, it worked and that's all that mattered! How did the play go anyways? Good? Good. Lol, anyways, it was Voldemort who set the curse on Draco, you kind of need to know that, so I'm telling you, thanks for the review and bye!
~Cho Chang-Emotional Dark Hole ~ Hey, thanks for the review. It is a good thing (I'm presuming) that you feel sorry for Draco, I mean, everyone says that if you can get your readers to feel some sort of emotion, you must be able to write SOMETHING good, right?
~Happigolucki616 ~ YAY! Tis you! Cheers for the review, it's so nice of you! Thanks for all the stuff you said too, I didn't realise Hermi and Drake were cute in this ficcy . . . I just thought they were OLD, lol, anyways, CYA!
~Smileyface1314 ~ Thank you so much for reviewing! Hehe . . . holiday . . . maybe you did review the last chappie and I just forgot to put a thanks . . . if that's so, I apologise! SOZZY! Hehe, I feel hyper and sad at the same time, so weird . . .
~Burgundyred ~ Thanks for reviewing! Is it really innocent? Sorry, I didn't know. I was just watching this thing on television, like a film, and this judge was all like, 'what do you plead?' and they were just like 'unguilty' so I just kind of copied that, sorry, my mistake! Oh and YAY for the update!
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Walking down the lonely street of Diagon Alley was not something that Hermione did quite often. For one thing, Diagon Alley seemed to always be crowded, but today, it seemed gloomy and dull, lifeless and almost ghostly. She wondered what day it was, why people weren't out and about like they usually were, why the sun was out and yet it seemed to still be cold and frosty.
She turned into the fifth alleyway, wheeling the wheelchair down the three steps in front of her. Draco nearly flew out of his seat, his sunglasses going askew.
"Sorry!"
Hermione stopped and helped Draco up, making him sit on the wheelchair once more. She wiped his glasses and placed them gently back on his head, making sure they were straight.
Hermione continued to walk down the long alleyway, towards the nearing brick wall. Draco thought carefully as all this happened. Granger was so nice to him, too nice. He couldn't even insult her anymore, she wouldn't get angry anyway, angry in the way he wanted her to be. She had just changed so much, and Draco knew that that was something to do with Potter.
"Kappa."
The brick wall vanished, and a narrow pathway came into view. Carefully, Hermione descended the pathway, making her way towards a small and battered shop, a wooden sign with the words painted on them 'Keys for all occasions'. She entered, carefully steering the wheelchair into the dark shop.
"Excuse me? Anybody?"
Through the darkness shuffling could be heard. A click made it's way through the air, and a light above Hermione switched itself on. A familiar looking man made his way through, he looked old and kept a steady watch on Hermione with twinkling blue eyes.
"Yes?" That voice sounded familiar too . . .
"Where may your cat be? Inside, outside, or inside out?"
The shopkeeper's eyes seemed to twinkle with merriment and excitement. He started to walk towards the back of the shop, beckoning for them to follow him.
"Erm, sorry, Mister . . . I have a wheelchair with me, and I'm afraid its not good with stairs." Hermione said rather loudly. The man was fairly old, and she did not want to repeat herself. Suddenly, the shopkeeper turned and walked back towards them, this time his eyes fixed on Draco.
"May I ask for you to take your sunglasses off sir?"
Draco did so. The man seemed like the type you couldn't lie to, the type that you had to obey whether it was right, or wrong. His blue eyes met with those of the shopkeepers.
"Ah, how very interesting. That scar, is phenomenal, almost as great as that of Harry Potter."
The man gave a nod and turned back towards the flight of stairs. He walked down it without another word. Hermione and Draco waited, waiting until he would come back. It seemed like eternity before they heard shuffling once more. A few moments later, the man appeared, holding something luminous in his hands. He trod into the dim light and held out the thing he was holding.
"This, is the gemstone of elements," The shopkeeper handed the gem to Hermione, she held it in her hand, and knelt down to let Draco see. The stone was a beauty, but it didn't look like a stone, but more like a crystal. It was see through and in the shape of a five-sided star. Placed in the very centre was a small ruby like thing. A ribbon was somehow connected to it.
"What is it for?"
"The gemstone of elements is what is the source of your mission, Miss Granger? This gem is a powerful one, and it would do no good if it fell into the wrong hands."
"Yes, but what exactly does it DO?"
"Whoever holds this powerful gem can see right into the souls of whoever it is trying to. The eyes are all that is needed to see into your soul Miss Granger, but alas, we do not want that. No normal witch or wizard is powerful enough to handle this gem, which is the reason for that ruby in the middle. The ruby stops the wearer of the gem reading the entire soul of its victim, but it still has the power to look into the outer core of the soul. It is like occlumency Miss Granger, except even more useful. As in occlumency, it can be stopped if you are taught, but this gem, oh nothing can stop this gem."
Hermione stared at the gem in her palm. Could something as small as this be as powerful as he made it out to be? It seemed unlikely, but as people say, size is no matter. She looked up at the man and smiled.
"Thank you, Mister . . .?"
"Dumbledore, Aberforth Dumbledore."
Hermione's eyes widened. She smiled once again, pocketed the gem and began to turn the wheelchair around. With one final nod to Aberforth Dumbledore, she exited Keys for all occasions and began her way back home.
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The sky was dark and clear, the moon not at its full, but still a beauty. Hermione stared up at it once again as she sealed a letter addressed to Dumbledore, to tell him that she had been to the store, and that she was ready to face what lay ahead of her. She wanted to write of Draco's problems, but if the letter was intercepted . . . she decided against it, and instead asked if Dumbledore himself could meet her sometime tomorrow, and bring Snape with him. Of course, she needed an owl, but that was not a problem, next morning she would pay the daily prophet owl one sickle extra and see whether it could deliver it for her.
She lifted the gemstone that Dumbledore's brother had given her. Twirling it in her fingers, she lifted it up to the light and examined it. Nothing seemed too special about it, but then again, wasn't it always the little things that mattered the most? She tied the ribbon around her wrist and adjusted it so that it fitted perfectly. She decided to never take it off, in case someone got their hands on it. Falling into the wrong hands would make everything even more complicated.
Hermione looked behind her at a sleeping form of Draco, the covers thrown away from him, his lips mumbling something she couldn't quite make out. She sighed and tucked the letter away in a drawer, gathering a spare duvet in her closet and taking it into the living room. She settled herself down on the sofa, and tried to get some sleep, the next morning was bound to be a busy one.
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Hermione awoke next morning to the smell of bacon. She opened her eyes, the sun's rays greeting her. Yawning, she stretched and looked in the direction of the smell. Her eyes widened as she saw who it was.
"Draco! You shouldn't be up so early."
Draco looked up and held two plates. He took them both over to Hermione and placed one of them in front of her on the coffee table. Placing the other opposite her, still on the coffee table, he sat on the floor and began to eat without a word. Hermione eyed the bacon and scrambled eggs on the plate. They looked so nice, and tasty . . . but why?
"Don't worry, I didn't poison them or anything, and my house elves do cook for me, but my mother wanted me to learn how to cook just in case. It's a thank you, for . . . having me."
Hermione smiled, she knew how hard it was for someone as stubborn as Draco to say something like that. "Still, you shouldn't be up."
"Granger, you've read about that curse, you know what it does."
"That's why you shouldn't be up!"
"This is better than staying in bed the entire time, I'd much rather do something with my remaining time than waste it away having a lie in."
Draco's eyes glazed over with a cold surface, making him more stone like than Hermione thought possible. They ate in silence, before Hermione decided to get dressed and washed. When she came out, she waited for the Daily Prophet owl, gave it a Knut and a Sickle, and sent it off with her letter to Dumbledore. Dumbledore wasn't that far; he should get the letter round about lunchtime.
Lunchtime soon came, and passed. It was now three thirty pm, and Hermione was telling Draco how to use a television. He had just about got the hang of it.
"Right, I press this button, and . . . . yes, the screen's not blank! Now it's . . . . fuzzy."
Draco looked disappointed as Hermione took the control from him and showed him how to switch channels and raise volume etc. She was just about to tell him how to use a video and DVD player, when two cracks splintered the air, making the pair turn in astonishment.
Professor Dumbledore stood, his eyes twinkling like his brothers, except much merrier, and Snape stood haughtily behind him, his posture upright and his expression stern. Hermione stood and greeted them, offering them some tea. They both shook their heads.
"Miss Granger, I received your letter today, and you wished for me to see you, what is the problem?"
Dumbledore sat on the sofa next to Draco, his eyes calm and steady. Snape stood where he was, his eyes eyeing Hermione up and down.
"Professor Dumbledore, if you don't mind watching Draco (Draco raised an eyebrow – He was no child!) while I talk to Professor Snape please, it's fairly important."
Dumbledore smiled and gave a nod, Snape still standing stiffly. Hermione beckoned for Snape to follow her into the study room, and finally he moved, but still rather reluctantly. Hermione shut the door behind her and made sure no one was listening. She told Snape of the curse, how she had found Draco, and what he had told her. She also said about how she didn't know how the curse was activated. That was the most serious part, if she didn't know how it was activated, how could she try and stop it?
"Well, Miss Granger, I will do what I can. I expect you want a potion from me?"
Hermione nodded, if anyone could brew one, it would surely be her old potions master.
"Well Miss Granger, I'm afraid it's not as simple as that. I shall have to do my research and find one potion that can prevent most dark curses being activated, calming the monster within you could say. Once I have found the appropriate one Miss Granger, I shall contact you, but between you and me, I don't know why you bother."
Hermione smiled slightly at Snape as he swiftly turned and headed back to the living room. She followed to find Dumbledore trying to tell Draco the history of the popular sweet, the Starburst. Draco was yawning and looking extremely bored.
"Is all that is needed to be said, said?" Dumbledore asked, the question directed at Snape. He nodded and began to make his way towards the door, stopping and turning to Dumbledore and waiting for him to come. Dumbledore arose, and smiled at Hermione.
"Miss Granger, I plead for you to start your mission immediately, time is precious, almost as precious as those stones you are looking for. Mr Potter cannot wait much longer."
Dumbledore smiled weakly again, nodded once more before walking towards Snape and the open door, with a wave goodbye, they were gone. Hermione didn't know what to do. Everyone was relying on her to help Harry, but she didn't even know what the stones were. She looked at her wrist and where the gem was. It was not big; the ruby rather small, how could something like this be as powerful as it was made out to be? She wondered where she could begin her search, maybe some gems were hidden in people in the past, or people in different countries, she didn't know, but all she did know was that no matter who they were, she would have to find them.
"So Granger, what are you going to do?"
She looked up at Draco. They had both grown more mature, and even civil. She had no idea what to do to find the gems, but she knew what she should do just to set her mind straight.
"Draco, come on, you need to get dressed," Hermione helped Draco up and gave him some more of Harry's old clothes.
"Why? Where are we going?"
"St Mungos, to visit Harry."
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Hermione hesitated as she was about to push the door that led to Harry's ward. Maybe she should turn back now, Harry probably wouldn't want to see her . . . but she knew that she needed to see Harry, for her own good. It would give her strength, make her more prepared for what lay ahead.
She pushed the door open and wheeled the wheelchair in. The ward now only contained Harry, and was closed off to most people apart from those that had their name on a special list. There were just a few candles lit by the unconscious Harry's bed, Ron was sat next to him, holding his hand.
Ron turned and gave a weak and watery smile to Hermione, "Hey."
His gaze and expression changed when his eyes landed on the well-wrapped person in the wheelchair. Draco glared at Ron as Ron turned to look at Hermione, now looking more angry than sad.
"Hermione, what is he doing with you?"
"Ron . . . I –
"He is part of the reason why Harry is in here! He, was part of the whole scheme that made all those people die! He, is OUR ARCHENEMY, the one who kidnapped you!"
"Ron, he's still a person, and anyway, there's no harm in him tagging along if he's too weak, which he is."
Ron glared at Draco as Draco did the same. Ron rose from his chair, releasing Harry's hand and taking Hermione by the shoulders, into a warm and comforting hug. He sniffed as Hermione felt her robe dampen.
"Hermione," Ron ended the hug but didn't release her shoulders. He continued to look at her, a single tear falling down his pale face, "No matter what you do, I want you to be careful, I NEED you to be careful. If Harry's gone . . . I can't deal with losing two friends at once Hermione, please . . ."
Tears began to well in her eyes as she and Ron continued to stare at each other. She gulped, "Don't worry Ron, I promise I'll be careful, and I promise I'll come back safe and sound."
Ron smiled and was just about to turn back to Harry when Hermione grabbed him by the arm. Their eyes linked once more, but this time, they were both tear free. Hermione could see something . . . something deep within the pupil of Ron's right eye. She could feel her arm vibrating, making her whole body shake, making Ron's body shake as well. A warm blue aura surrounded the pair as Hermione felt her feet begin to float from the floor, taking Ron with her.
The thing in his eye was beginning to come out clearer as she continued to stare. A blinding white light of pureness forced Hermione to close her eyes, when she opened them, a small blue five sided star crystal was gleaming in between her and Ron, and her feet were now firmly planted on the ground. The blue aura had gone and Draco could be seen gaping at them.
Hermione gently took the star in her hand and frowned at it. It glistened in the candlelight and as she placed it near the gemstone of elements, and the blue star flew across to one of the corners of it, attached. It was now part of the gemstone of elements, and nothing seemed to be able to remove it.
Gold letters began to appear on the blue star, a word that was small, but clear. It read: 'Friendship'.
Hermione looked up to see that Ron was now looking at Harry worriedly, unaware that she had now found the very first gemstone that would help Harry . . . maybe she could do this, maybe she did have the strength and power to do so, but she knew it would be no piece of cake. She walked over to Harry and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
"I'll be back soon Harry, you'll be fine, I know you will."
She tried to sound convincing, but deep down inside, she wasn't very certain. From the outside, she felt fairly confident that people would believe this, but it was herself that she really wanted to convince.
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The first gemstone has been collected, and the journey begins . . .please review!
~ILUVRONWEASLEY
PS. Me not here for two weeks cus' of my holiday. Sorry! I'll be back and update as soon as possible!! :D (even before I go to school) Those of you who read CLE (CRAZY LUNATIC EXPERIMENTS) will know this already, oh and by the way – I'M GOING TOMORROW!