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: Love Sex and a Bottle of Vodka :

: Chapter Twenty-Two :

"Wait, I don't understand, what's going on?" Hermione asked, as they skidded into the Library. Harry seemed to know exactly what he was looking for as he produced a book and flipped through the earmarked pages. He shoved the open page into Hermione.

"Read this." Hermione studied the page, Draco reading over her shoulder. A smile started to grow on Draco's face.

"This is it," he said, quietly. "This is it."

"Is there even a name for this procedure?" Hermione asked, trying to remain sensible.

"The alluminatum," Harry said. "We can look up exact incantation and directions right here, right now."

"You're crazy," she said, looking at her friend. "I don't…you can't possibly think that a group of seventeen year olds can pull off a magical procedure this complicated, this outdated and not expect a…the…the consequences if this goes wrong!"

"No," Harry answered, slowly. "I'm not saying that a group of seventeen year olds can pull this off but I'm saying that we can."

"Harry's right," Draco said. "You're the best witch of our year. Harry's not half bad himself." Harry cuffed Draco's shoulder.

"And neither is Draco," Harry finished. "You didn't honestly think we would let you go without a fight, did you?" Hermione stared at the page until it turned blurry. She blinked several times and when her vision cleared, there were several spots of blood on the page.

"Okay," she whispered. "We'll do this." That was all the prompting Harry needed as he rushed to find the alluminatum procedure in detail.

"I don't…magic depends on how well you know yourself," Hermione said. "I don't…if this mind break that has happened to me…do you think it'll affect the procedure in any way?" Draco looked at Hermione carefully as he thought it out.

"I don't know," he honestly said. "But think about it, Hermione. Close your eyes and forget everything right now. Just let it go." She did as he said.

"Can you tell me who Hermione Granger is?" Hermione felt her eyebrow descend in concentration. Could she? Who was she, honestly? After all the changes and memory losses, who was she really?

An image appeared in her mind's eye, blurry at first. As it made itself clear, Hermione saw Harry, Ron, and Ginny. There were her parents. Her first wand. Her first day at Hogwarts. And there was that extended hand in the hallway when she felt so alone, and the sad, kind smile. There was Draco. Okay, she knew what was around her. Now she just…works her way in. Messy, tangled brown hair, brown eyes, that little smug smirk that she catches herself making when she gets something right. The innate sense of righteousness that she's sometimes ashamed to admit. And her fierce loyalty to her friends. Yes. That was who Hermione Granger was and that is who she still is.

"Yes," she said. At that moment, Ginny and Ron burst through the doors.

"Will someone tell me what's going on?" Ron demanded. Hermione exchanged a look with Draco and Ginny.

"It'll take an awful long time," she started.

"And we don't have time," finished Harry, who appeared with the incantation.

"So, how bad is it? What are the preparations?" Draco asked. Harry studied the list.

"It's actually not that bad," he said. "All things considered, it could be a lot worse."

"Well?" Ginny prompted. "Let's hear it."

"Well, firstly, we're not to be disturbed. None of our concentration must break during the procedure or else…well, let your imagination figure it out. The procedure will take roughly six hours."

"Six hours?" Hermione echoed. "The faculty, they'll be breaking down any door to get to us if we don't go to Dumbledore's office in an hour." She checked her watch. "Forget that, in twenty minutes!"

"The faculty? Dumbledore's office?" Ron burst out. He had been doing his best to keep quiet but his head was in a whirlwind. What was going on?

"Is there anything else needed? Any other supplies?" Ginny asked.

"No," Harry said, frowning. "Just us. But Hermione's right. Could we use an empty classroom? Put a Silencing charm on it?

"I know how to conceal the door from the outside," Draco offered.

"The faculty could probably still track us down," Hermione said, starting to fret. Ginny looked at Harry, Hermione, and Ron incredulously.

"Are you all really that daft?"

"Well, if you have a better idea, I suggest you share it," Ron said, irritably. "Or at least tell me what is going on!" Ginny looked at them, eyebrow cocked in near amusement.

"You've all forgotten. We have the Room of Requirement."

"Room of Requirement? Is this a Gryffindor thing?" Draco asked, looking at the expressions of mutual understanding among the others.

"No, it's a 'let's head on up to the seventh floor and we'll tell you on the way' thing," Harry said and started off at a run towards the exit of the library, Draco on his heels. The rest soon followed. As Hermione ran after them, Ron muttered to Ginny, "Since when did we hang out with Malfoy?" His sister gave him a pointed look.

"Just go along with it, okay? It'll be easier." Ron shrugged and the two followed the rest up three flights of stairs to the seventh floor.

Finding the room was relatively easy. Harry had been fretting that it might already be in use.

"Please let us find it," he muttered, as they run up and down the corridor. After only two short minutes, they found an innocuous looking door that they had not passed before.

"I think this is it," Hermione said, and paused for a moment, her hand on the doorknob. Then she pushed it open and they found a carpeted, window-less room with five cushions on the ground. When they entered, the door closed soundlessly behind them and Ginny locked it from the inside. Somehow, Hermione felt she wouldn't be surprised if the door had completely hidden itself from the outside. The room was pleasantly warm and almost any sound was immediately swallowed up in a way she could not quite understand.

"Okay," Draco said, glancing at the parchment that Harry had been holding. It looks like three will be anchors and one will travel into Hermione's mind." Draco looked at everyone. They were all equally qualified for the job of the traveler; they all knew Hermione well.

"Ginny and Ron would make good anchors," Draco decided, suddenly. "Their family ties would strengthen the rope."

"Rope?" Hermione echoed.

"Essentially, what is happening is that the anchors create a lifeline. So if you were to get completely technical, there is only one anchor. He would be nearest to this world, if you will," Harry said, trying to explain. Seeing the confused expressions, he tried again.

"Imagine you are swimming," he said. "The boat is the real world. The water is Hermione's mind. And to swim through the waters without a rope connecting to the boat would be to kill yourself. Two would be the robe. One would be the anchor that connects the boat to the rope. And one will be the swimmer."

"And I'm the ocean," Hermione finished, dryly. Harry shrugged.

"That's the best I can explain it, I'm afraid."

"I'll be the swimmer," Draco suddenly said. "Harry is the anchor. Ginny and Ron are to be the rope."

"What?" Harry said. "But Hermione has forgotten you from this summer. How do you expect to navigate through her mind if she doesn't remember you?"

"On a conscious level," Draco argued. "I haven't been erased completely. That's what Dumbledore said."

"But still," Harry said, wanting to argue further. Draco shook his head.

"No time, it's settled." Draco turned to Ron and Ginny.

"If anything, anything starts to go wrong, cut the rope from Harry immediately. If there's even the slightest possibility that it'll fail, I don't care if it'd be killing yourselves and me and Hermione, you cut yourselves from Harry. If you don't, I swear there will be hell to pay if any of us survive."

"Stop it," Harry said. "Why are you singling me out? I don't need to be protected, I don't-"

"Harry!" Harry was stunned into silence by the sound of the other boy's shout. The others were silent. The tension was thick and suffocating.

"Don't you understand," Draco said, searching Harry's face. "Don't you understand at all what we're risking? We can't afford to lose you. The whole wizarding world can't. This is an enormous risk we're taking right now, even using you as an anchor."

"He's right, Harry," Hermione said, softly. "You shouldn't even be doing this but I know we can't stop you. But if needed, we'll all sacrifice our lives for you. We have to." Harry looked at Ginny and Ron who looked as though they shared opinion.

"Fine," he said. "But let's pray that it won't have to come to that." They all settled down onto the pillows and looked at each other. They all mirrored each other's pale, wide-eyed expressions.

"This is it," Draco murmured. "No practice, no trial runs, we have to get this on our first shot."

"We'll do it," Ginny said, confidently. "I trust us." Draco looked over at Hermione who looked pale but calm.

"Okay," she said, exhaling. "Let's do it."

Ten

Ron scratched at his ear one last time before settling down to concentrate and follow the incantation that they had to memorize only a minute earlier. He was surprised to find that he wasn't stumbling over the difficult words.

Nine

Professor Flitwick looked at the complicated spell needed to dissolve Hermione's memory and shuddered. He had thought he would live his life without having to do something as permanent as this spell.

Eight

Hermione felt a strange, buzzing feeling wash over her as the incantation began. She hoped they would get this right.

Seven

Snape wiped sweat from his brow as he hurried to Professor Dumbledore's office with the potion still bubbling in the phial in his hand. He ran through the ingredients and procedure in his head, double-checking his work although if he realized a mistake, it would be too late now to fix it. The potion in his hand was what they would use and he'd have to trust himself to know he created it correctly.

Six

McGonagall waited impatiently and nervously. She never thought that Hogwarts would lose a student this way. She looked at Dumbledore; he merely regarded her with his usual, calm expression.

Five

Dumbledore looked at the bug buzzer on his desk and pressed it. The eyes of the bug glowed red and it started to buzz and he knew its mate was somewhere in the castle and with its mate would be his students.

Four

The other buzzer started vibrating on a forgotten table in the library.

Three

Draco took a deep breath to calm himself. He felt himself shake loose from his physical body as he felt a thick rope fall over his head and wrap itself around his stomach. It was bright red, like the Weasley's hair. He couldn't help smiling.

Two

Harry felt his magic pool and spread around him, anchoring him securely to the physical world. Wrapped around his wrist was one end of the crimson rope. He gripped it tightly despite the burning.

One

Snape entered Dumbledore's office to find Dumbledore standing before his desk with a grave expression on his face. McGonagall's face was equally stony and Flitwick had a hand pressed to his temple. Standing next to Dumbledore was the librarian, Irma Pince. She held out the bug buzzer that was still vibrating in her hand.

"The children are gone," Dumbledore said. The faculty members looked at one another.

"Then we must find them," McGonagall said. She stood up to move towards the door.

"You might all stand there looking grave and concerned but I refuse to stand around while my students endanger themselves." That seemed to revive the faculty as they suddenly came to life and followed her out the door.