And to all: please, feel free to read and review. I have no idea if you guys like this or not :)
Chapter 12 – Mistletoe and Mysteries
Harry sat in a familiar corner in the Three Broomsticks, hidden behind the Christmas tree. Hermione, who was now of age and much better at the human transfiguration spells that they had been learning in class, and who was also better at defending herself in verbal confrontations, had left the safety of the invisibility cloak to purchase their Butterbeers.
He had laughed inwardly as he had watched Hermione transform herself magically. She now had short, straight, dark brown hair and brilliant blue eyes. The small telltale signs that she was Hermione were there of course, for those who knew her well and looked closely enough. But to strangers, she looked like a totally different person. He suspected that she knew he was laughing at her, because she took the glasses from his face with a grin and replaced them on her own before she left the cloak and strolled over to the bar.
Harry looked around at the other pub patrons while he waited for her to return. He gave up after a few seconds though, as his vision was too blurry to even make out faces. There were voices that he recognised floating around in conversations – but he couldn't discern their messages. So, instead, he retreated inwardly to his thoughts.
The last time he came here had been the cause of the fiasco with Cho. He had unfortunately abandoned his date in the wrong way, to fulfil a promise he had made to Hermione. His friend had lined up a meeting with Rita Skeeter, who had interviewed him here about Voldemort's resurrection. She had told his story to the world – and thus enabled some of the Wizarding world to prepare for the return of the war.
He'd seen Cho around school now; she'd smiled and waved at him. In DA meeting's, she chatted to him politely about Quidditch, and congratulated him on his teaching. He felt comfortable talking to her now, but he no longer felt his stomach do flip-flops when she smiled at him.
His thoughts were broken by the pleasant tinkling clunk of two Butterbeer bottles being placed on the wooden table in front of him. He saw a blurry hand slide under the cloak and felt cold metal being pressed into his hand. He quickly put his glasses back on so that he could marvel at Hermione's brilliant transfiguration skills again.
"It's okay," she said softly, "you can take the cloak off now."
"Are you sure?" he whispered back. He thought she might have forgotten that he had one of the Wizarding World's most recognisable faces.
"I charmed the tree," she explained. "If anyone looks this way they automatically see the tree only and won't worry about who is sitting near it."
Her reassuring words did not meet with the sudden appearance of Harry Potter, which she had expected.
"If it makes you feel any better, I can perform some human transfiguration on you too?" Hermione offered with the hint of a smile.
"Okay then," he said reluctantly. He trusted Hermione, and this would allow one of his dreams to come true—the dream of being able to live in the wizarding world anonymous and unknown, even if it was only for a few brief hours.
He removed his invisibility cloak and carefully folded it up. Hermione leaned over with a thoughtful expression on her face.
"Oculus Reparo." Harry noticed that his vision had gone blurry again. But he remembered this spell from their first year, and removed his glasses, placing them on the table.
"I'll take those," Hermione said as she grabbed the glasses, gave them a quick tap, and put them on. She smiled again when she saw Harry's expression. He looked a bit hesitant. She had, after all, changed his glasses from black to pink, and had changed the round frames to rectangular ones.
"Don't worry!" She laughed. "I'll change them back later."
He shrugged.
Hermione then performed some more complicated wand movements and incantations. Harry was sure that some of them had not been covered in class because he was certain he would have a faint memory of them.
"Up you get then," Hermione motioned for him to go over to the bar.
"What?" He was confused.
"Don't you want to go and see what you look like?"
Harry slowly arose from the table and walked over to the bar, where a long mirror hung along the back wall. As soon as he saw his reflection he spun around and angrily marched over to where Hermione was sitting.
"What did you do that for?" He almost yelled at her. When he had looked in the mirror, he had seen what looked like a relation of Draco Malfoy staring back at him. He now had ice-blue eyes, pale blond hair, and a permanent sneer on his face. He wasn't sure if Hermione had created the sneer, or if it was the instinctive facial expression that took over his face whenever he spotted a Malfoy.
Her face lit up with a mischievous smile.
"I was thinking about giving you violently red hair…" she stopped in her explanation as she registered the look that Harry gave her.
"Okay, okay, I'll fix it up," she raised the palms of her hands in mock surrender. "How about dirty blond with highlights instead?" She grinned.
"As long as my hair is not a silver blond like that snobby ferret's." He sat still as Hermione changed his appearance to something he found more acceptable.
When Harry was satisfied with his new look, the two opened their Butterbeers and began to drink. Harry savoured the taste as it met his lips and smoothly trickled down his throat.
"Mmmmm," he mumbled as he closed his eyes.
"Viktor will be here in just over a week," Hermione smiled as she looked at Harry. "I can't believe he's actually coming to visit. It has been so long since I've seen him…."
"Didn't you just see him over the summer vacation?" Harry inquired.
"Yes," she beamed. "But that was six months ago. You'll be able to take him out to play some Quidditch."
Hermione stopped talking. It didn't even look like Harry was listening to her.
"You know, over the summer, Viktor asked me to be his girlfriend," she looked over at Harry.
Harry sat listening to Hermione natter on about Krum, about how great he was, how sweet he was, how he wanted to be more than friends with her. He didn't want to talk about the famous seeker; for some reason it bothered him. And she kept talking and then glancing at him. Harry wondered if she was trying to gauge if he liked her or not, and wanted to get a telltale reaction from him. He had decided not to comply with her game, so was pretending not to listen.
As Harry was beginning to zone out, thinking about how delicious the Butterbeer was, he suddenly remembered something and interrupted Hermione.
"Why did you want to meet me in the kitchens again?" he blurted out. Butterbeer dribbled down his chin and he wiped it away with his sleeve.
Hermione looked at him as if he had lost his mind, or asked her to do something completely insane - like flying to the Ministry of Magic in the middle of the night on Thestrals that she couldn't see.
"You know," Harry prompted her. "That note you wrote me, you wanted to meet me in the kitchens for a reason."
"Oh!" Hermione gasped. "The House-Elves. More of them have decided they want to get paid and have holidays now."
"That's great," Harry smiled at her.
The door to the Three Broomsticks shut with a muffled bang as Harry and Hermione left the comfort and warmth of the pub to once again enter the fresh crispy air of the village. Their feet crunched in the few centimetres of fresh snow that had just begun to fall within the hour that they had been inside.
They strolled along the one main street of Hogsmeade, which was presently busy with shoppers. Like the Muggles, Harry had learnt that the Wizarding folk also celebrated Christmas. It was the last weekend before school finished, and for many of the Hogwarts students, it was their last opportunity to buy gifts for their families and friends before they returned home for the holidays.
Harry's spirits were beginning to pick up as he felt the soft flakes of snow cover his dirty blond hair and melted on his face. It was almost Christmas, he was happy, and there was only one more week of school left, and no Snape. He grinned and linked arms with Hermione as they walked along the shops window-shopping.
They stopped in front of an ornate-looking store. Its façade was antique looking, and colourful baubles lit up the display in the window. Admiring the glittering window display, Harry turned to see what had captured Hermione's attention. Harry now realised that they were standing outside Tiffany Lionheart's, one of the Wizarding world's most talented jewellers. Harry didn't know much about them except for the things he learnt from Ron's occasional comments. He knew that, unlike Muggle jewellery, wizarding jewellery was adorned with special qualities – with no piece of jewellery identical to another. He also knew that it was generally incredibly expensive.
"If you want to make a girl love you, you don't need any of those tacky love potions. You just need a Tiffany Lionheart original….if only I had a few galleons." He remembered Ron had said at the Yule Ball as he watched Hermione on the dance floor with Krum.
Hermione was staring at a gilded bracelet in the shop window. It was made from rose and yellow gold intertwined, and in the centre it had a small diamond with a ruby on either side. She noticed that Harry was also staring at it.
"Isn't it beautiful?" she murmured as she studied the bracelet through the window.
They stood in silence for a few minutes before Hermione turned from the window and resumed walking along the road, her arm linked with Harry's. When they were outside Zonko's they noticed an irritated Rita Skeeter with a photographer in tow, snooping along the street. Harry didn't even need to ask them who their next victim would be, he knew it was Hermione and himself they were seeking. He grinned at Rita, who sent an annoyed scowl his way before she continued to plough through the snow.
They spent at least half an hour in Honeydukes, sampling and eventually buying some sweets. When they stepped outside again it was late afternoon, and the crowd that had been milling in the streets earlier had disappeared. Hermione wrapped her scarf more tightly around her neck before she turned to look up at Harry.
"I just need to dash quickly into Dervish and Banges," she said. "I'll probably be a little while because I have to go all the way back up the road."
Harry shrugged. "I'll meet you outside the Three Broomsticks in thirty minutes then, and you still have to turn me back normal," he smiled at her as she nodded and waved, and set off at a quick pace back up the street.
Together, they had visited every shop in Hogsmeade. Although Harry had enjoyed their time together without anybody discovering their real identity, he still wished for some time alone, away from Hermione. He couldn't buy Hermione a gift if she was standing right next to him – and he now knew exactly what he was going to get her. Of all the people he knew, she was the one who most deserved something like this because she had always been there for him. He was going to buy her the bracelet that she had admired so much in the window of Tiffany Lionheart's.
He walked across the road a little until he came to the shop; the bracelet was still there, at its place in the window display. Following along the display window, he reached the store entrance, and turned the handle of the door so that he could walk inside. The door didn't budge, so he pushed into it a little harder. It made no difference. He put his face up close to the window of the door and peered inside.
A middle-aged woman with purple locks sat behind a glass display cabinet inside. She was absorbed, in what Harry thought, looked like a copy of the latest edition of Witch Weekly. He rapped on the window lightly so that he wouldn't frighten her.
The woman looked up from the article she was reading when she heard the tapping on the glass window. She grimaced and pointed to the door, a little above Harry's head. Harry turned to look where she was pointing. When she noticed that Harry was reading the sign, she went back to reading her magazine.
Harry read the sign: "Absolutely, positively, no students allowed!"
Harry frowned. He needed to get that bracelet for Hermione – he didn't know of another present that was as perfect as the one that lay on display in the shop window.
He knocked on the door again. The woman inside just shook her head at the sound without even turning to look at him. He knocked quite a bit louder, and didn't stop knocking. He watched as her eyebrows became drawn and her lips pursed. She was finding it hard to concentrate on what she was trying to read.
Slamming the magazine down on the counter the woman stormed over angrily to the door where Harry stood, and undid the many magical locks that kept the shop safely barred from students entering it.
"What is it?" The lady snapped at him. "Can't you read? The sign says absolutely, positively, no students allowed! And you are a student, therefore you are not allowed in." She made to close the door but Harry stuck his hand out.
"Wait!" he shouted at her. "There's something that I want to buy."
"We don't sell cheap jewellery here, young man," the woman huffed, "if you are after something a little more in your price range, may I suggest Dervish and Banges. They have quite a good selection of everyday jewellery there. I'm sure that you will be able to find something that you like, and can afford."
"You don't understand," Harry said icily. His patience was beginning to wane for this rude woman. "I have enough money." And he produced his money pouch from his cloak that contained all his spending money for the year. He opened it, and a few Galleons fell out into his outstretched palm.
The woman looked shocked and stood back, allowing Harry to enter the shop.
"You're not a Malfoy," the woman stated.
"I know," Harry said frowning. "I wouldn't want to be one either."
After she had locked the door, the woman walked over to Harry and introduced herself.
"I am Gwendolyn Lionheart, Tiffany's elder sister," she struck out her hand and offered it to Harry to shake.
"Er, nice to meet you," Harry said, shaking her hand.
"And you are?" the woman inquired eagerly. It was not often that a student had enough money to be able to enter the store.
"Harry Potter," Harry said without thinking. He didn't have to introduce himself that often, so when someone asked for his name he was usually ill prepared. He wasn't used to it, and the last time he had lied it hadn't really worked out anyway.
The woman let out a shriek of laughter. "You? Harry Potter? You look nothing like him! For one thing, where's that famous scar of yours?"
"I transfigured it," he said and changed the subject. "Can I please see the bracelet in the window?" He pointed to the bracelet that Hermione had been admiring earlier that day.
The woman bustled over to the display, reached in, and took it out gently. She then handed the delicate jewellery to Harry. The metal was cool to touch at first, but once it touched the skin it became warm.
"I see that you have a keen eye, Mr…er, Potter," Gwendolyn said as she watched Harry closely. "The bracelet you hold has many special magical properties. The three stones give it strength when the two ends are clasped together, and it passes this strength on to the wearer. It protects against most controlling spells, such as the Imperius curse. I guess you could say it is like a low energy personal shield." She smiled at him.
"How much?" Harry asked, now beginning to think he should have been more discreet with his money. She might know roughly how much he has, leaving him with not even a Knut left.
"18 Galleons, 25 Sickles and 5 Knuts. A bargain for workmanship of this quality," Gwendolyn said with a sickly sweet smile. "But, you can have it for 15 Galleons, 22 Sickles and 3 Knuts if you sign my copy of Witch Weekly and let me know who you are buying this bracelet for."
Harry turned away from the Gwendolyn and counted the money in his pouch. He had just a little more that the reduced price the woman was asking for. He could only afford to buy Hermione this gift if he acted like the celebrity that Snape took him for. But he had little choice. It was probably almost time to meet Hermione, and he didn't have enough time to find her something else.
"Where's your copy of Witch Weekly?" Harry asked as he pulled his wand from his waistband.
He left the shop and a smiling Gwendolyn behind, with a considerably lighter money pouch. Making sure that Hermione was nowhere in sight, he tucked her gift deep in his pocket and hurried over to the other side of the road. It was late afternoon, but they still had a few hours left before they needed to be back within the school grounds. As he hurried along to the Three Broomsticks, Harry spotted Ron up ahead, his eyes turned to the ground. Harry thought that he looked really lonely. Because he was in such a good mood, he thought that he might say a quick 'hi' and try and take the first step in restoring their friendship.
Approaching Ron quickly from behind, he reached out to tap him on the shoulder. But just before he could, he stopped in his tracks.
"Yeah, that's right. He still has nightmares all the time, and he's been sneaking off with Hermione," Ron said snidely to his hand that was presently up close to his face.
Harry frowned as he watched Ron walk further away. And then it dawned on him. Ron must be secretly speaking to Rita Skeeter. He felt betrayed – how could Ron stoop to such lows?
Harry stalked past the Three Broomsticks in a foul temper. He didn't even notice Hermione standing outside, nor did he hear her calling his name. He was blinded with anger and was heading in no particular direction. He felt a tug on his arm and swung around with his fist.
Hermione jumped back with shock, overbalancing and landing in the snow. Harry looked down at her and instantly calmed down, his anger turning to guilt.
"Hermione! I'm so sorry," he bent down and helped her up.
She brushed the snow off herself, slowly recovering from the shock of almost being hit by an angry Harry. "What's wrong Harry?"
"I can't believe him," Harry muttered, "he's betraying me to that Skeeter cow."
Hermione was leading him along a heavily wooded path. "Believe who, Harry?"
"Ron," he said coldly staring into the distance, his jaw firmly set.
They sat near the Shrieking Shack, on a rock close to the edge of the woods, watching the sunset. The snow was falling softly, and the calls of birds could be heard faintly.
"I miss him a lot, you know," Harry said softly, staring hard at the gaping holes in the boarded up windows of the Shrieking Shack.
"I know," Hermione whispered.
"I just wish I could have seen what was happening, how I was being used as a pawn…"Harry trailed off.
"I wish I had listened to you, Hermione. He wouldn't have died then." Harry said with such a quiet voice that Hermione had to hold her breath to hear him.
"Harry, there was nothing you could do to stop it. If Voldemort wanted you in the Department of Mysteries, he was going to get you there somehow. If he wasn't manipulating you…he probably would have kidnapped someone for real…"Hermione tried to console him.
"It's okay, Hermione," he smiled faintly, a solitary tear sliding down his face that was flushed from the cold, "I'll always live with the guilt of what I did."
They sat for what seemed like an hour in silence. Hermione snuggled closer into Harry. The temperature was beginning to drop quickly.
"Look," Hermione broke the silence, pointing above their heads. She was pointing to mistletoe. He could have sworn that it wasn't there before, and he had a sneaking suspicion that the young woman sitting next to him had conjured it. Harry wondered why all girls needed mistletoe to be present in order to kiss him.
Hermione lent over, cheeks flushed, her hand reaching out to nestle behind Harry's neck. She brought Harry's face close to hers and kissed him softly. Harry revelled in her soft lips and sweet smell of strawberries. He began to feel his cheeks heating up and felt his heart racing in his chest.
A rustle of leaves broke the two apart suddenly. Harry immediately whipped out his wand, and Hermione jumped to her feet. A shrouded black shape hobbled into the clearing, turning its head to check the surrounding area.
"It's Professor Snape!" Hermione gasped.
"Shhhh!" Harry whispered as he pulled her back into the cover of the trees.
"Mel?" Snape called questioningly, looking towards where Harry and Hermione had been standing a second ago. He shook his head as if to rid the thought from his mind and continued hobbling towards the Shrieking Shack.
"What's he doing here? Who's Mel?" Harry whispered suspiciously.
They watched Snape hobble away, leaving large gashes in the pristine snow.
"He looks terrible, well, more than usual anyway," Harry whispered feverishly, "he should be in the hospital wing after what happened. How can he be out here, if he's been unconscious for the past couple of days?"
"Maybe Dumbledore found the spell to reverse the one he was attacked with?" Hermione whispered back, her eyes transfixed on her professor.
They watched Snape disappear around the side of the Shrieking Shack furthest from them. Harry moved from his crouched position and took a step forward. Hermione grabbed on to his elbow and pulled him back down.
"Harry, no, it's too dangerous!" she warned him.
"We need to follow him, he could be up to something," Harry prised Hermione's fingers one by one from his elbow and stood up.
"We should let Dumbledore know," Hermione said quickly, trying to change Harry's one-track mind. "And Harry, Dumbledore trusts him! He probably already knows what Professor Snape is doing out here!"
"No! It could be too late!" Harry said turning to leave their hiding spot. "And if we leave it any longer we're going to lose him altogether." He took a step.
"Well," he paused, "are you coming?"
"Well, I certainly can't let you run off by yourself now, can I?"
Hermione scrambled up and closely followed Harry, who had quickly pulled on the invisibility cloak. Hermione was careful to erase their tracks from the snow, they had enough close calls in the past to realise the importance of completing this task.
They quickly made their way down the slope and around the edge of the Shrieking Shack and came to a quick stop. In the distance Snape stood in conversation with another individual who was also wearing a dark, hooded cloak. The pair abruptly turned and hurried into the woods.
"Quick!" Harry whispered, and they raced into the woods as quickly and as quietly as they could.
"Shhhh," Harry whispered. They stopped running and stood listening. There was a faint rustle a few metres away.
"Follow me," Harry mouthed to Hermione, and they ran in the direction of the noise. They ran for at least ten minutes in silence before they were climbing through a bush, breaking through the cover of the forest, and stepping into a clearing.
Harry stood panting, his face scarlet. He gulped down the biting cold air, each breath searing his throat. His hair was plastered to his head from his sweat. He looked at Hermione who had one hand resting on the trunk of a tree; her eyes closed as she, too, tried to calm her breathing.
They abandoned the cover that the invisibility cloak offered when they found it became difficult to run though the woods so close to each other. They were making too much noise; Snape might hear them. Harry was also concerned that he would tear the delicate fabric of the cloak in the rough brambles while they thrashed through it.
"Lumos," Harry whispered. It was night time, inky darkness caved in all around them. The clouds above blocked the light of the moon and stars. His wand tip lit up and he pointed it in all directions. The clearing was empty.
"This way," Harry whispered as he walked quickly across the clearing to where a small stream gurgled.
They lost sight of Snape and his accomplice as quickly as they had found them. But Harry was determined not to give up; he wanted to catch Snape in the act once and for all.
"Harry," Hermione pleaded, her body revealing that she was shivering, "please, let's go back. It's past dinnertime, it's too dark to be out here and we lost them hours ago. We're not going to find Professor Snape out here. They probably apparated as soon as they entered the forest."
Though Harry could have continued looking all night, he agreed with Hermione. He also didn't want to keep her out in the dark and the cold any longer.
When they reached Hogwarts, eerily empty corridors greeted them. It was a few hours since dinner had passed, and Harry guessed that the students and staff of the school had returned to their dormitories for the night. He felt tired and cold, and couldn't believe how stupid he had been to risk their lives again. He should have listened to Hermione.
They woke the Fat Lady from her sleep and crept into the Gryffindor common room. The last embers of the usually vibrant fire were dying in the hearth. Hermione quickly restored their original appearances before they tiptoed towards the staircase. Hermione reached out to Harry for a goodnight hug, when they heard a soft fizz and the common room lit up brightly.
Harry and Hermione spun around when they heard soft footsteps behind them.
Professor McGonagall stood in all her glory. She wore a cross expression and a large, fluffy tartan dressing gown that didn't do anything good for her figure.
Her nostrils flared in anger. "You have been missing from the school for hours! We had no idea where you were!"
"Professor, we…" Hermione was cut off.
"We thought something terrible had happened! We've been terribly worried," Professor McGonagall lowered her voice slightly and her voice shook, "members of you-know-what have been searching for you."
"Professor, we saw Snape in the forest, we were trying to follow him…" Harry tried to quickly explain.
"It's true Professor," Hermione said meekly.
A flicker of concern flashed across McGonagall's wrinkled face before it returned to the stern look it was accustomed to wearing when disciplining troublesome students.
She huffed. "You look like you have been frolicking about in the forest!"
Harry stared at the floor, his face beginning to prickle. He thought his Professor had a point though, Hermione's hair was full of leaves and he had wet and muddy patches all over his clothes.
"You both should know better," she sighed with disappointment, "I expect more from you, Miss Granger and Mr Potter, than any other students in the school. One hundred points from Gryffindor!"
She stared at one and then the other. "I am too tired, and am too disappointed and angry at you both now to reprimand you any further. Therefore I will see you after class on Tuesday. Now off to bed!"
Professor McGonagall watched them both as they climbed the stairs to their dormitories. Harry was just about to open the door to the boy's dormitories when Professor McGonagall called to him.
"And Potter!" came her shout from the floor below, "what is with your glasses?"
Harry walked into his dark dormitory and sunk into his mattress. His face was still prickling and he was a bit scared of what would happen tomorrow, or even on Tuesday. He decided he would get Hermione to fix his glasses for him tomorrow; hopefully he would be able to catch her. She might be avoiding him due to embarrassment. He lay down, conscious of the fact that Ron was glaring at him in the darkness, until eventually he fell asleep.