Chapter 18
The second week of school turned out to be just as busy as the first, but with the addition of an Order meeting on Wednesday. Harry was frustrated. He was spending almost no time with Hermione, homework was piling up, he was besieged by owls, the DA was taking a lot of his time, he was physically sore from Moody's lessons and the Cadets had asked him to spar with them on Monday evenings. So much for Monday and Tuesday.
The Tuesday evening DA meeting was half again as large as the previous week. Abraxan had said a lot of things at the award presentation on Saturday – youngest Order of Merlin first class recipient, outstanding bravery and extraordinary skill to name a few. Since the hard core junior Death Eaters had been expunged from the castle, quite a few of the younger Slytherins had given consideration to joining and many went for the first meeting.
Harry again did the tennis ball exercise. There was less grumbling than Harry would have expected from the older students. Justin Finch-Fletchley muttered something about the exercise being a waste of time and Harry heard him. It was the wrong thing to have said. After they were done, Harry lined a dozen of older Hufflepuff girls up at one end of the room. He stood about fifteen feet in front of the witches and asked Justin to stand twenty feet in front of him. Harry asked, "Justin do you think you can hit me from here firing red sparks?"
Justin said, "Sure I can, Potter. No problem."
Harry nodded and said, "Of course. Go ahead and try."
Justin fired and missed, hitting Susan Bones instead. Harry said, "Please lay on the mat, Susan. Go ahead Justin, try again." Justin fired. Harry dodged to the right and Eleanor Branstone was hit. Without being told, she laid joined Susan on the mat, giggling. "Try again." Justin fired three times in quick succession. Harry managed to dodge all three, but Megan Jones and Laura Madley were hit. They joined the other two on the mat. Harry turned to the group and asked, "What just happened?"
Alyx replied, "Justin missed his target and most likely injured or killed four of his friends. At a minimum, his wand would be snapped. Seeing as he doesn't have a famous hero for a best friend, most likely he bought a ticket for a long stay in Azkaban, assuming his intended target didn't ease him out of the world first." She had been watching him with interest.
There was a bit of laughter, but Harry wasn't laughing. "We all need practice. We'll practice fundamental kind of stuff like hitting what you're aiming at as well as plenty of advanced stuff. Learning to get out of the way of a tennis ball is just as effective as learning to get out of the way of a cutting hex, except Madam Pomfrey won't have to treat 160 patients tonight."
They repeated the exercise with the tennis balls and this time everyone took it a bit more seriously. Harry had made his point with Justin without beating it to death and his friendly fire victims each embarrassed the teen by giving him loud wet kisses on the cheek. Hermione did well with the exercise herself, as it was something that she had practiced over the summer with Alyx.
Alyx and the other cadets did the ratings. Towards the end of the session she pulled Justin aside and said, "There are a lot of Aurors out there who wish that they were better at the very two things that Harry had you practice tonight. He volunteered his evening teaching something that could save your life or the life of one of your friends someday. Take it for the gift that it is." She squeezed his arm gently, winked and said, "Besides, you got kisses from four pretty girls tonight."
Justin nodded, smiled back and said, "Thanks."
… --- …
Hermione quickly finished her breakfast. She needed to read an extra chapter in her transfiguration book before class at ten. While Professor McGonagall was not as strict as in previous years, Hermione saw no reason to slack off.
She had just finished the third page when the Daily Prophet was delivered. She decided to take a quick look at the paper before finishing her homework.
Muggle Kills Lestrange, the headline read.
Hermione read the article slowly not believing her eyes at first. She realized the consequences immediately. She read it a second time taking in the details. Saturday night at the awards ceremony… Unnamed seventh year Hogwarts student… Daniel Granger, muggle father of seventh year student Hermione Granger… She closed her eyes briefly.
A few seconds later every plate with in thirty feet of Hermione shattered. She left the great hall to find Harry. She would have been horrified to learn that her reaction was so similar to that of Tom Riddle.
At the head table, the headmistress watched with some concern as her favorite student stormed from the hall.
… --- …
Hermione scribbled on the parchment that was sitting next to her dinner plate. After years of practice she was able to tune out the noise of her classmates and concentrate. But it wasn't schoolwork that she was working on. She was trying to get the last of her thoughts down before the meeting of the research team that was scheduled for just after dinner.
When she finally finished writing, she charmed the parchment so that only she could read it. Across the table Seamus snorted a laugh.
"Aw, come on Hermione. No one's going to steal your homework," he told her as he grabbed for the parchment. She scowled at him and quickly put it away.
"Who said it was homework?" she snapped, picking up her fork.
"A love letter then? Ooooh, who's the lucky bloke?" Seamus asked in a loud voice.
She just glared at him and began to eat her cold dinner. Seamus and Dean laughed and started teasing her in loud voices. They reminded Hermione of Ron and Harry at age eleven. She ate quietly just listening to them speculate on who the boy could be. When they got no response, they quieted down a bit.
"Did you know," she began in a light conversational tone. Then she continued speaking her voice getting harder with each word, "That the students who told the Daily Prophet about my father killing Lestrange have been identified?"
The upper class students at the Gryffindor table fell stone silent. Everyone knew about Voldemort's hundred thousand Galleon reward to anyone who delivered her father to him alive thanks to a follow up article in the Prophet. Her reaction to the original article was already becoming Hogwarts legend.
Dean swallowed hard and Seamus turned purple from not breathing. The silence spread from their table around the hall.
"You really should keep your voices down," she finally said. She grabbed her pack as she stood and left the room. As the doors closed behind her the silence ended and an explosion of speculation began. Neville followed Hermione quietly.
"Hi, Hermione," he said as he caught up with her.
"Hi, Neville," she replied still walking with a purpose.
"You okay?" He asked as they approached tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. She didn't answer right away. She paced three times and the door appeared.
He followed her inside, noting that the room was decidedly muggle. She sighed loudly.
"I'm fine Neville. Thanks for asking," she told him placing her pack on the table. With the exception of the large table, the room looked exactly like the dining room that had been in the house in Crawly.
"I've been wanting to tell you…" he hesitated, and steeled himself. "I wanted you to know that I think your Dad's a hero."
She didn't know what to say. Neville gave her a quick pat on the back and left before the silence got any heavier.
After a few minutes of thought Hermione went back into the hall and set up some wards that would tell her when someone approached. She then sat down at the table and began to pull things out her pack.
She expanded the Pensieve and carefully put Harry's memory into it. She checked to make sure she had the right one. They had removed more than one memory each to study.
She opened her potions text and started to read hoping to distract herself. It didn't work and she was relieved when the others began to trickle in.
Susan, Luna and Padma arrived first, which made sense as they were already in the castle. Flitwick, Sprout and Poppy followed soon afterward. Arabella arrived with Molly and Alyx. Alyx, while not part of the research group, had agreed to sit in on the meeting. Hermione knew that Alyx was going to be a brilliant investigator once she graduated. She had a great eye for detail. Hermione waved the door shut and sealed it knowing that Tom and Diggle were both working on other things.
One of the endless house elves brought them tea and biscuits.
"I am quite impressed by the way you handled Mr. Thomas and Mr. Finnegan," Professor Flitwick told Hermione who nodded and shrugged. She didn't want to discuss it. She had been thinking of ways to hex them since viewing her mother's memory of their idiocy.
She began by reviewing the search for the Horcruxes.
"Okay. We have identified five of what we believe are the six Horcruxes," she said. She waved her wand and a muggle wipe off board appeared behind her. She waved it again and a green marker began to write.
1 - Diary - Destroyed
2 - Ring - Destroyed
3 - Locket - Found
4 - Cup - Found
5 - Nagini
6 – Unknown
"I gave Remus the list of items that we came up with that belonged to the founders. The search team has found almost all of them. Most of them were in private collections and none of them were made into a Horcrux. We are left with five items that they have not yet found." She motioned for Padma.
"Rowena Ravenclaw had a bit of an artistic streak in her. The search team had found everything of hers except for her mason and wood chisels. They were stolen from the ministry over a hundred years ago. I suspect that an artist made off with them and they will not be located until that person dies," Padma told them.
Then Hermione motioned to Molly, "Helga Hufflepuff had an anvil that her father crafted swords on. The only thing we know about it is that was once owned by the Rivoire family. Apparently was taken by Apollos Rivoire when he left the family. I found no mention of him after 1715," Molly said.
"Do we know where he went?" Susan asked.
"The history of Pure Blood Wizarding Society for that year states that his family 'sent him off' to the new world," Molly replied. She looked a little lost. "I assumed that meant America. I checked the American Who's New and Who Knew as far back as 1790 and found no mention of the name Rivoire."
"Was Apollos Rivoire a wizard or a squib?" Sprout asked. She saw Hermione's confusion. "It would have been very unusual for a wizarding family to send a son to the Colonies that early. European magical people didn't start populating North America until after the muggles revolted against the monarchy in the late 1700's."
"Unusual, but not unheard of. There was a lot of money to be made if you had the right trade. I assume Rivoire was a smith of some sort?" Arabella asked obviously thinking about the use of the anvil.
"A gold and silversmith," Molly answered.
"Maybe he changed his name," Alyx suggested. The pure bloods at the table looked horrified. She hastily explained, "There was a war in America during the 1750's and 60's. It's called the French and Indian war by American muggles. British settlers fought the French and the Indians for basically everything east of the Mississippi River. The British won," Alyx said with a shrug.
"Maybe he did change his name. If so, we'll never find the family," Poppy told them. Then she added, "Neither would You-Know-Who."
"That leaves us with Hufflepuff's diamond bracelet and Ravenclaw's sapphire ring," Hermione told them.
"Or an artifact we don't know about," Luna said in her spaced out voice. Hermione agreed with her and then asked, "Are there any archives or libraries that we haven't searched for information?"
Arabella, who was a student of history, replied. She told them how she and Diggle had visited every magical library on the continent and then in Asia and Africa. It sounded like the trip of a lifetime to Hermione. Unfortunately the further they got from Britain, the less information they found on the founders.
"There are also archives at the Ministry of Magic that we have been searching furtively as we do not know who to trust there. Professor Dumbledore would have had access to that information. I don't like assuming but I would have to think that he would have already searched it."
"I have to agree," Hermione said. She made a couple notes.
Then they discussed the American schools. Flitwick informed them that the transfiguration teacher professor at the Salem's Witches' Institute was a former Hogwarts student. He suggested that Hermione ask Minerva about her.
Hermione was shocked when Alyx told her that the American Institute of Magic used computers and was even on the Internet. She offered to get a log on and password from a friend of hers. Hermione agreed reminding Alyx to not mention what they were for.
"A what?" Susan asked, voicing the question of everyone else in the room.
"I'll show you my computer later," replied Hermione. "I'm sorry that we got on a different subject. I actually asked you to come tonight so we can view a memory. I thought that if we got a look at Tom Riddle maybe it would give us some ideas or a fresh perspective."
Hermione reviewed briefly with them the events of Tom Riddle taking a job at Borgin and Burkes, Hepzibah Smith, the locket and the Hufflepuff cup. She told them about Hokey the house elf and how Riddle had vanished soon after the murder of Smith.
"Ten years later he reappeared," she told them. She stopped for a few seconds made a note on her parchment and then continued, "He was not unrecognizable as Tom Riddle but had not yet become what we know as Voldemort."
Everyone sat up a little straighter in their seat. She tapped the edge of the Pensieve and an image of Harry and Dumbledore watching Dumbledore and Tom Riddle appeared.
"Good evening, Tom," Dumbledore said easily. "Won't you sit down?"
They watched as Dumbledore retrieved wine for Tom and himself and exchanged pleasantries. Molly gasped when Dumbledore refused to use the name Voldemort instead opting to call him Tom. Hermione thought she was going to have to enervate everyone in the room when Dumbledore told Riddle he was 'woefully ignorant' of some types of magic. She had almost the same reaction the first time she had viewed the memory.
The look of rage and evil that took over Tom Riddle's face showed them all what he had become. Tom's challenge to let him learn the magic while teaching at Hogwarts caused most of them to flinch. It hit close to home as they thought about Severus Snape.
They watched as Dumbledore asked about Death Eaters, making notes of the names that Dumbledore seemingly pulled out of the air and smiling at his mention of the local barmen. Then Dumbledore confronted Riddle on not really wanting the job.
Half of the research team saw Riddle consider his wand. All were relieved when Tom left the room and the memory ended.
"Why?" Alyx asked.
"I know that didn't tell us anything about the Horcruxes, but it did say a lot about Riddle," Hermione commented a bit crankily. She knew that she was grasping at straws but didn't want to be reminded of it.
Alyx shook her head and replied, "No, I mean, why did he want to come back here if he didn't really want the job?"
"To teach children his noble cause," Sprout answered sarcastically.
"No. Professor Dumbledore would have never allowed it," Alyx said, rubbing her tattoos as if they could give her the answer.
"He allowed Snape to do it," Luna pointed out as if she had not been in his class for five years. No one had an answer for that.
After a minute of contemplation Hermione snatched her wand up quickly startling the rest of the group. She put her wand to her head and pulled out a memory and then another. Then she turned to the wipe off board. With a wave of her wand the list of Horcruxes disappeared and the red marker began to write.
The others watched silently as Hermione focused on the board. After she was satisfied she went to start the Pensieve and then hesitated. She looked Molly in the eye and the red headed woman seemed to understand. Molly looked on as the Pensieve revealed two of her dead children and the one that was lost in the muggle world.
The great hall was filled with children in pajamas. Percy was bragging up Ron and more or less Harry very loudly. Ginny was sitting between her parents a little way down the table. Hermione, Harry and Ron sat off by themselves talking. Having just been un-petrified she wanted to know everything.
"He framed Hagrid for Myrtle's murder. He told me that Dumbledore kept and annoyingly close eye on him after that. He couldn't get back into the Chamber while he was in school," Harry was saying.
"So he made the diary so that he could control someone else into doing his dirty work?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded and she continued, "And Lucius Malfoy gave it to Ginny. How nasty do you have to be to do that?"
The memory ended. She hastily tapped the Pensieve again. This time she saw the living room from the burnt down house in Crawley.
Emma said, "Harry you mentioned that Riddle came back shortly after he had finished at Hogwarts and had asked for a job. Does anything seem odd about that?"
Harry thought long and hard, trying to recall the different conversations that he'd had with the headmaster. After a few minutes one came to mind. "I remember talking to Riddle when I was in my second year. He said that Dumbledore began keeping an eye on him and, he wasn't able to get back into the Chamber of Secrets."
Hermione nodded, and replied, "Maybe that's why he wanted to come back to the castle, to be able to go back and retrieve something that he'd left there."
The second short memory ended.
They all looked at the wipe off board.
TM Riddle
1926 – December 31 b.
1938 – Began Hogwarts
1943 – Learns about Horcruxes
1943 – late spring - Opens Chamber of Secrets
1943 – Murders Myrtle
1943 – Kills Riddle Sr. and Paternal grandparents
1943 – Creates diary
1944 – Made Head Boy
1945 – Finishes Hogwarts with honors
1945 – Asks to remain at Hogwarts and become a teacher
1945 – Works at Borgin and Burkes
1945 – Dumbledore defeats Grindelwald
1955 – Applies for DADA job
"When did Dumbledore defeat Grindelwald? What month?" Susan asked.
"June," Molly said instantly. "It didn't take him very long after he left to go to Bavaria."
"Tom Riddle might have had had another opportunity to visit the Chamber of Secrets. June 1945," Hermione mused. "Maybe he'd left the other Horcrux down there and couldn't get it because Dumbledore came back so soon."
"He applied for the Defense job in 1945 and again in 1955, but he didn't want the job. What did he want? Access to the school? Dumbledore wouldn't even consider him. I reckon he couldn't access the Chamber of Secrets during that visit," Alyx said.
Later, Hermione gave Harry their conclusion. He wasn't real happy but he agreed with their findings.
They needed to search the Chamber of Secrets.
… --- …
They met Friday morning after the first class had started. Fred and George had offered to demonstrate some of their products out in the Quidditch field to cover for the missing professors who all wanted to visit the mythical Chamber of Secrets. Hagrid and Poppy were outside with the students. Fred and George had been given strict instructions not to cause so much as a scratch on any of the students and promised to be on their best behavior.
Thus the corridors were empty as they made their way to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Harry had explained how the chamber had been hidden in his second year and was a bit surprised that none of the staff or Professor Dumbledore had ever asked to go see it.
Molly and Hermione had insisted on joining the Horcrux team for the day. Harry brought Brigid the phoenix and the sword along. In truth, he had a very bad feeling about returning to the chamber.
Myrtle appeared as soon as she had heard the voices. "What are you doing…Oh, hello Professor."
"Good morning, Myrtle," replied Minerva. She had been classmates with Myrtle when she had died indirectly at the hand of Tom Riddle.
"Are you going down there again?" she asked to Harry.
He nodded grimly and went to the tap. For a minute he stared at the little snake scratched in the copper pipe. The others watched in rapt silence as he hissed, "Open" in Parseltongue.
A moment later the top slid away as it had before revealing the slide that led into the darkness. Hermione had asked Lavender to take photos as her camera had a large flash unit.
Myrtle zoomed by and said, "Remember, if you die, you can share my toilet."
Hermione sniggered and Harry said, "Thanks Myrtle, but not today."
She looked morose said "OK… Bye," and floated back to her u-bend.
"I'll go first," said Harry. "The slide is pretty long. You'll be on it for about two minutes or so. You'll want to move away from it when you finish because the next person will be coming. Give yourselves about fifteen seconds after the person in front of you goes."
"I'll wait outside and keep any students from coming in," said Arabella.
Harry rode down the slide. It was just as mucky as he remembered, lubricated by years of hand soap and water from the wash basin drain. The ride was either longer than he had remembered, or his twelve year old self was able to slide down faster than he could at seventeen.
Harry had his wand lit as he slid down. He was amazed at the smoothness of the cut of the tunnel leading down. Minerva and Hermione arrived next. Harry stood by the end of the slide and helped each person up as they finished their ride. Hermione put a Scourgify spell on everyone to clean the muck off the bottom of their robes.
Soon the professors and the members of the horcrux team had arrived.
With all of their wands lit, they could see the skeletons of the many small animals that had littered the bottom of the floor. Harry's concern with reentering the chamber was chiefly that there might well have been more than one basilisk. He wasn't eager to find another.
They made their way in silence. By unspoken agreement, the Horcrux team didn't bother Harry with a bunch of questions about his first time in the chamber. Slowly they made their way along the corridor until they reached the first shed snakeskin. Minerva gasped, "Merlin Harry, you said that the basilisk was big, but this is huge!" It was too, at least thirty feet long and obviously as wide as a steel drum.
"That was an old one. It grew quite a bit since then," Harry said grimly. A flash went off as Lavender took a photo.
As they made their way down the tunnel Remus looked sadly at Harry who now resembled James so much. Remus took that back, Harry was very different from his father. James Potter never had shouldered the weight of the wizarding world. Soon they got to the rockslide where Lockhart had tried to Obliviate them. The entrance that Ron had been able to dig out was still largely blocked, much too small for the adults. Harry and Ginny had been much smaller at the time.
They looked at the roof of the tunnel warily and Flitwick carefully began levitating some of the rocks out of the way. Remus asked Tonks and Justin to wait on this side of the tunnel collapse to be able to get help in the case of another collapse. Justin gave a sour look until Tonks gave him a scathing stare. After the others had moved on she said "Sturgis spent six months in Azkaban for the Order following Dumbledore's orders and never said a word. You can stand watch for three efen hours. Don't be a wanker. Do your job."
Several minutes later Harry and the others reached the pillared entrance. Again Harry hissed "Open," as Lavender took another photo.
Harry hid his annoyance and they moved on. Too soon they became aware of the smell of slowly decomposing flesh. A minute later they came across the gigantic carcass of the dead basilisk. "God in heaven," muttered Hermione. "I had no idea it was that big. You seriously underplayed that story Harry." Seeing his dark look and lack of response she took his hand and whispered, "I'm sorry Harry. Everything will be OK."
Molly stood frozen, staring at the dead monster. She couldn't stop thinking about her Ginny controlling this creature, and that Harry had killed it and saved her life. How could he have done that? He was only a boy. Arthur put his arm round her, trying to comfort her, but knowing that there was nothing they could do to bring her back.
Remus, Hooch, Lavender and Roger helped Professor Sprout harvest the useable materials from the basilisk. They spent the next hour carefully removing the fangs and big sections of the hide, both of which were virtually priceless and next to impossible to find.
The torches lit themselves as they entered the rest of the chamber. At the far end, there was a large pool of dried ink on the floor - all that remained of the diary version of Tom Riddle. Harry looked at Molly and Arthur sadly and said, "We should get started."
Bill said, "If you find any object, call me before you touch it. It might be the horcrux, or it could be cursed."
Within minutes they began finding things, mostly books and manuscripts. Some were quite ordinary except for their heritage; others appeared to be priceless originals written by Slytherin himself.
Then Minerva found it. On a table off in one of the side corridors were volumes and charts describing the Horcrux creation process and a wooden object with a carved shaped head. The shaft had an inscription on it - Gryffindor.
"Don't touch it," cried Bill." He ran his wand along the object and set up a silver instrument by the object. Bill tapped the instrument and a minute later it emitted a smoky image of a seventeen-year-old Tom Riddle.
Harry and Hermione began smirking and laughing to some private joke. Hermione whispered something in Harry's ear and he bit his lip hard to keep from laughing.
Ten minutes later a very frustrated Bill and Minerva came up to the pair. McGonagall asked, "Please tell us exactly what is so funny, Mr. Potter."
Harry asked, "Do any of you know what that is?"
Everyone shook their head.
Harry asked, "Bill, aside from it being a horcrux, is it cursed in any way?"
Bill looked at it again warily, shook his head and said, "No. It's OK to pick it up, whatever it is."
Harry picked it up, pulled a small white object out of his pocket, carefully set it on the ground and tapped it with the object. The ball rolled about four feet and hit Hermione's foot.
He smiled, picked up the ball and said, "This was Gryffindor's putter. He must have helped invent the game of golf."
Hermione rolled her eyes and muttered, "At least he didn't leave his… oh never mind."
They gathered up the objects that they found and very carefully made their way back to the entrance. In several trips Brigid carried them back up to the girl's bathroom. They put the basilisk pieces in a locked room and met back at Minerva's office for a few minutes. Harry mentioned that the next Order meeting would be next Wednesday then asked Bill, Molly and Arthur to come visit with him in his room.
The Professors made their way outside where Fred and George had delighted the students with their wares, which were substantially charm work and potion based. The students applauded Fred and George and the staff thanked them. Of course the ever-entrepreneurial twins had passed out samples and owl-order forms. None of the students had noticed that most of the staff had been missing for the last three hours.
… --- …
Bill, Molly and Arthur sat down on one of the sofas in Harry's sitting room. Molly had been especially moved by the experience of seeing where two of her children had almost died.
Arthur knew that Harry was still carrying an unspeakable amount of guilt over the loss of Ron and Ginny. He said, "Harry we miss them too. I'd say more than you could know, but I believe you do know how we feel. I realized something today. You helped give us four extra years with Ron and Ginny. For that Molly and I thank you with all of our hearts."
Harry looked into Arthur's tired eyes and nodded. He suddenly felt guilty over dating Hermione. Molly seemed to have sensed it and said, "Harry please don't feel guilty over having feelings about Hermione. You're not betraying Ron, you're not betraying Ginny and you're certainly not betraying Arthur and I. You will always hold a special place in our hearts, dear."
Harry looked at her, and felt like a boulder had been lifted from his shoulder. He nodded and said, "Thanks." There was another lump in his throat so he couldn't say more.
A moment later, Arthur got up and Molly followed. Arthur said, "Thank you for the opportunity to let us see that place for ourselves. It helped us. Thank you."
Bill nodded, and they left.
… --- …
Saturday morning Harry sat back in the soft chair by the bed and continued to stare at the woman asleep in his bed. After the trip to the Chamber of Secrets neither of them had wanted to sleep alone. Harry was unbelievably glad she was there.
They had not gone any further than some heavy snogging and a few touches that had been mostly instinctual. He was being very careful not to push her into something that she was not ready for, but the physical connection that they had made was growing. Every night, before they parted for bed, it was getting harder to not put his hands or his mouth on places that were filling his better dreams.
His dreams seemed to be fueled by too many years of listening to Seamus brag up his exploits. Harry had no idea if the things that Seamus said were true or not. But he believed that Hermione would smack the snot out of him if he tried any of those moves.
However that didn't stop him from dreaming about it.
He had awoken first today and realized that he was poking her in the back. After he had shifted his hips away from her she had snuggled back into him purring like Crookshanks as she shifted her hips to match his.
He had given Hermione a very large hickey the night before. Neither was very impressed by it, and Harry had apologized later for having done something so foolish.
Hermione continued to breath deeply, her breath pushing the hair covering her face up with each time she exhaled. Harry had been amused to discover that no matter what Hermione did to her hair at night it always escaped the braid or pony tail. He rather enjoyed brushing her hair out for her each night.
There was a light pop and one of the house elves appeared with a tray of breakfast. Harry thanked him and the elf escaped quickly. He conjured a red rose and set it on tray and the tray on his chair.
"Hermione?" He said brushing the hair back from her face. She moved her arm up over her eyes and rolled over.
"Hermione. It's time to get up," he said louder. She groaned. He remembered Dan saying something about not talking to Emma until she had been awake for a hour.
"Come on Hermione. We've got things to do today," he said giving her a little shake.
"Let someone else do them," she muttered. My dream was just getting good, she thought grumpily.
"I've got breakfast for you. All your favorites," he said. He got off the bed and picked up the tray. Hermione glared at it as she sat up. Breakfast? What was breakfast compared to a dream inspired by too many years of listening to Lavender talk about her sexual exploits?
"Harry it is six o'clock on Saturday morning. What is it that can't wait?" She asked as he sat the tray in front of her. He handed her the rose and ignored her question.
"You need to be ready to go by ten and I know that since you will not be in the library at all today and possibly tomorrow, you'd want at least an hour to study," he told her. She inhaled the fragrance from the rose and some of the crankiness left her eyes.
"No library?" She asked warily.
"Nope. No books, no library, no writing essays. We are going to relax," he said firmly. He knew full well that her homework was already done. He had watched her finish it the night before.
"Well, all right, I guess. What are we going to do?" She asked. He grinned.
"It's a surprise. You need to pack. We're leaving for the weekend," he told her.
"If I don't know where we are going, how can I pack?"
"Ah well. Let's see… Muggle clothes. Dress to be outside today. I believe it is supposed to be round 15 today though colder tonight. Wear comfortable shoes. Something nice to wear to dinner tonight and you'll need clothes for tomorrow afternoon."
"Afternoon?" She asked picking up a slice of bacon. Her brain was still waking up.
"I thought we would pop over and see your parents," he said. She smiled.
"And you and Dad can get nine holes in?" She asked already knowing. He tried to look sheepish, but it didn't work.
"Am I that transparent?" He asked. She nodded her head and popped the bacon in her mouth.
They ate breakfast and then Hermione showered. Harry had woken at five and taken care of his body's reaction to having a beautiful woman pressed against it as he slept. His shower was out of the way.
Hermione packed quickly. Harry watched and made a few comments about the clothes she was taking. When she finished he went to find the headmistress to let her know where they would be for the weekend. After he left, she pulled out the box of condoms and stared at it for a full minute. She put the box away without opening it. Then she set off to the library.
Professor McGonagall agreed that they needed to get away. She knew the enormous pressure that they were both under and didn't want either of them to crack. School had been in session for two weeks and she could see the pressure that they were under already taking its toll.
McGonagall knew that some students would accuse her of favoritism. She had given them privileges that no other student had ever been allowed. But these were not just normal students - this was Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. They, along with Ronald Weasley, had saved the Stone at the age of eleven to begin a career at Hogwarts that was unparalleled.
The Ravenclaw girl, Lisa Turpin, who had made the disparaging remarks about Hermione being head girl, was not the only student to grumble about McGonagall's choices. She would not have known about it but for Emma Granger's almost too casual of a mention. It had taken McGonagall a week to find out who had said it.
She had taken no course of action and as always Hermione had ignored the remarks. It was admirable, but McGonagall could see that it just added to the head girl's stress level.
Harry found the Professor in her office. He handed the headmistress a sheet of parchment. She looked over his itinerary and smiled.
"When will you be leaving?" McGonagall asked looking over her square glasses.
"As soon as I can drag her out of the library," he commented. McGonagall smiled.
"Dinner time then?" she asked. He laughed.
"The seventh year prefects are going to patrol with the Auror Cadets tonight," he informed her.
"Very well. I spoke to Minister Abraxan last night. She offered the use of her winged horses and a carriage for your travels. I didn't tell her you were spending the weekend as muggles. She reiterated that if you need any help at all from the ministry to contact her," McGonagall told him. He nodded.
He left the office and set off in search of Neville. He found his friend in the Gryffindor common room playing chess with Dean Thomas. Harry pushed down the feelings of sadness as he thought of Ron. He also ignored the anger that flared when he saw Dean.
After Neville won, by a large margin, Dean left to find someone to sympathize with. He didn't go far as Harry heard him and Wendy Williams discussing football as he followed Neville up the stairs to his dorm.
Harry gave Neville his map and invisibility cloak. He informed Neville that he and Hermione were leaving the castle for the weekend and that Neville had permission to wander at all hours. He suggested that Neville find time to introduce himself to Mrs. Figg so that her kneazles would know to leave him be. Harry also noted that Luna Lovegood also had the same privileges.
They both agreed that no one else needed this information.
Around nine thirty Harry hauled Hermione out of the library under threat of being stunned. They were dressed as muggles albeit more dressed up than regular muggle teenagers. Hermione thought that the clothes they were wearing would have not looked out of place on her parents when they were at work.
They flooed to the Three Broomsticks from McGonagall's office and then he slipped an arm over her shoulder.
"Ready?" He asked. She nodded and he side-along apparated them to their destination.
He carried both of their bags and Hermione looked around. She wondered if Harry knew how famous The Howard Hotel was in the muggle world.
She was examining the architecture and decor as Harry spoke to the manager. The manager was flustered and Hermione approached them to see what the problem was.
"Mr. Potter, when your reservations were made we had no idea that you were of the Godric Hollow Potters. I apologize for not having the Marchmont suite available for you," the manager was saying.
Harry shook his head as if to clear it and then asked, "You know my family?"
"Of course. Your grandparents stayed here many times and your parents spent their honeymoon here. Tragic what happened to them," the older man commented.
"Yes, it was," Harry, said wondering if the man knew the truth. He continued, "The Marchmont suite is probably too much for our needs anyway, Mr. Downright. We'll only be staying the night. Whatever you have for us will be fine."
"We have you put in the Charlotte suite. It's one of our junior suites but should suit you. Gavin is assigned as your personal butler. If you need anything you may call on him," Mr. Downright said motioning to a man standing nearby. Gavin approached quickly when summoned. Harry was just glad he didn't bounce around like Dobby.
He offered Gavin his hand to shake and then introduced Hermione. They followed the butler to their suite and were amazed. The butler pointed out the amenities that they were in the room. He was surprised that neither of the teens seemed to have any interest in the cable television, the Playstation, the brand new Internet connections or the world radio stations.
He mentioned the five star dining at the Atholl and the 24-hour room service. While Hermione was in the bathroom he told Harry that a romantic table for two in their private quarters was not unusual. Harry smiled at the thought.
"I have reservations at The Witchery for dinner. What do you suggest we see in Old Town?" he asked as Hermione joined them.
"What are some of your interests?" Gavin asked, as he seemed to mentally think about it.
Spell creation, advanced warding and stopping Death Eaters, Hermione thought. She spoke out loud, "Are there any bookshops close by?"
Harry snickered and she gave him a smirk.
"If you are interested in books then you must see the National Library of Scotland and the Edinburgh Central Library. They face each other down past the offices of Parliament. There are a number of bookshops in the area also," Gavin told her.
"We are not spending all day at the library, Hermione," Harry told her trying to look adorable and not sound whiney. She laughed.
"I know, dear. I'll try to keep it at four, maybe five hours," she replied teasing.
"I've read about shops in the Grassmarket area…" Harry said in a leading question. The older man nodded.
"There are many shops along the Royal Mile also. My personal favorite is the Fudge House on Canongate." Gavin brought them a map and made a few other suggestions.
They were holding hands as they left the hotel. Edinburgh Castle looked impressive but since they spent almost ten months of the year at Hogwarts neither was interested.
They started with Grassmarket and checked out some of the shops.
Mary Mallinson Antiques held quite a surprise as they found a Pensieve. While Hermione was examining some ancient swords Harry bought it and had it shipped to the mail drop Remus had set up for him. He also bought a painting. Caberet Antiques didn't have any magical items but Hermione seemed to have fun looking at the old items. Harry was a bit bored.
He pulled her into the Scotland T-shirt Company and they had a laugh at some of the slogans. Harry bought himself five shirts, each worse than the last, in Hermione's opinion. He just seemed so happy to do it that she didn't tell him that neon green and electric purple were not his colors.
While Hermione explored the Old Town Bookshop, Harry slipped off to Cool Joe's jewelers. He wanted to get that mother's ring Hermione had not been able to buy. He also picked up a couple other items and had all of them shipped to his mail drop except for the one that he planned on presenting to Hermione for her birthday.
They browsed the clothing boutiques of Pine and Old Lace and Odd One Out. They got the giggles knowing that some of the old style clothing would have made many a witch or wizard happy.
They agreed that Gerry's sweet shop was nice but it was nothing like Honeydukes. Hermione mentioned that her father's downfall in sweets was fudge and that she would like to visit the Fudge House that Gavin had suggested. Since it was at the other end of the Royal Mile they decided to explore their way to it.
They walked from Grassmarket to George IV Bridge and found the libraries that Gavin had mentioned. Hermione didn't enter either of them. She just made a note of a safe place to apparate near by. She mentioned bringing Emma and Harry chuckled.
"You'll be gone for days," he teased. She squeezed his hand as they walked on.
"Think of the number of holes you can play," she retorted and he laughed again.
They made their way down High Street stopping in the Museum of Childhood for a brief time. Harry hadn't realized that seeing all of the childhood things that he had not been given would make him feel so bad. He tried to hide it, not wanting to ruin the good time they were having, but Hermione knew. After they left she gave him a long tight hug.
Subdued a bit they walked down North Bridge and stopped for a light lunch at Pizza Hut. Both were willing to skip Bella Italia based solely on its name. While Harry finished his coffee from Ban Bou's, Hermione had discovered Southside Books.
Hermione found the fudge shop and bought her father a treat. They also bought a couple bars for each of their professors.
At Historic Connections, they finished a great deal of their Christmas shopping.
Then they checked out Nicholson's Highland wear but Hermione couldn't talk Harry into buying kilt. When they examined the sgian dubh's daggers, they agreed that having a weapon that they didn't know how to use would be useless. Harry mentioned that Moody could probably teach him and Hermione became silent.
"You're not still bothered about my getting advanced lessons are you?" He asked as they left the shop and strolled towards Holyrood Palace.
"No, not really," she said lightly squeezing his hand.
"You never told me why it bothered you," he suddenly realized.
"I felt, well feel really, like you're leaving me behind," she said with a shrug. She saw the look on his face and continued, "I don't like not being there. I know my place Harry, but for years it was right beside you. It's hard to let someone else step up."
He didn't know how to respond. He wanted her by his side. He wanted to know that the person next to him was someone he could trust without question. He trusted the order members and to a larger extent the ministry Aurors. But they didn't share the history that he and Hermione did. None of them had risked everything at the age of eleven, yet 'I don't want you to have to learn how to kill people.' Harry put it away. It was a horrible thought.
Hermione changed the subject abruptly, effectively ending the topic. It was awkward but they were both grateful.
Instead of walking all the way back to the hotel they apparated directly to their room. They still had several hours until dinner so they decided to rest.
It wasn't cool enough to need a fire in the wonderful marble fireplace but Hermione examined it. She was surprised to find some floo powder residue in the bottom of it. She mentioned it to Harry and they decided to block the floo and put up anti-apparation wards. Both could hear Moody barking about constant vigilance.
Harry decided to take a short nap. Hermione opened one of the books she had bought and took pleasure in reading for something besides school and Order work.
Harry was still asleep, so she took a shower in the wonderful marble bathroom. It was a lot like the prefect bathroom at school but without the Roman pool. After her long shower, she put on her new under garments. She had never worn anything quite like them, but an-anti itching spell helped with the lace.
After putting on one of the fluffy comfortable robes, provided by the hotel, she woke up Harry. Unlike her, he popped out of bed fairly quickly. While he went to shower she finished dressing.
Her dress was black and covered less skin than she normally would have liked. She tried to remember exactly why she had bought such a revealing garment. She transfigured it to have larger straps for a dual purpose: to hide her red bra straps and to keep her cleavage from bursting out. She added a quick sticking charm to keep the bra straps from moving.
The low neckline showed the hickey. She scowled at it and placed a glamour charm over it. She again she wondered what Harry had been thinking when he had given her the mark. Of course she had not exactly been complaining at the time.
Harry came out of the bathroom with his hair still wet. It was slicked back in the same style Malfoy had worn his. She knew as soon as it dried it would be the adorable mess she loved to run her hands through.
"You look wonderful," he complimented.
She was focused on the wand holster that she was attaching to her leg. Her dress had a pocket that her wand poked through. As she struggled with it Harry knelt in front of her and helped her. She swallowed hard as his hands touched her upper thigh.
She kissed him softly and then pulled him into a gentle hug.
He fought with his tie as she fought with her hair. After years of experience with both they should have had an easy time of it. They didn't. They won their battles about the same time.
His suit was a navy color that looked nice on him. She told him so and he looked in the mirror again. His hair had once again started to stick up. He pressed it down and then removed his hand. It popped back up.
"I can relate," she told him as they stood to leave.
She wore comfortable flat shoes that she could run in if she needed to. She hated that she had to think of such things. He helped her with her transfigured cloak.
It wasn't a long walk to The Witchery. As they approached the castle Hermione could see a ghost standing in one of the castle windows.
"Maybe we should have explored the castle," she commented pointing it out to Harry. He put his arm around her.
"Next time," he promised. She smiled and gave him a quick kiss. He stopped her and pulled her close. The second kiss lasted longer.
They arrived at The Witchery, where they were seated in the Secret Garden after a short walk down a stone staircase. The room was beautiful, reminding Hermione of Hogwarts in more ways than one.
"Good evening Sir, Miss. I am Jeffery and I will be your server this evening. May I suggest a wine to go with your dinner?" their waiter asked.
"What do you recommend for dinner?" Hermione asked after he had filled their water goblets and agreed to return with some apple spice black tea. Wine may have been okay when they were safe at home, but neither wanted to be impaired in any way while in public.
"The roasted sea bass and caponata lasagna is excellent or the roast duck if you are not fond of food from the sea," he told her.
"Either sounds lovely," she said.
Jeffery then recommended a platter of Scottish seafood for two that included two half lobsters. He left them to discuss it as he went to fetch their tea. Harry confessed to Hermione that he had never had seafood outside what they were served at Hogwarts.
"You only live once," he said as he decided to try it. He wrinkled his nose and apologized knowing how it sounded. She waved him off with a short gesture.
"Don't apologize. It's true. Besides, you need something to be brave about other than the hyphenated one," she told him. He smiled softly at her humor.
"So trying new foods it is," he said raising his water goblet. She raised hers in return and they both laughed.
Jeffery returned for their order and poured their tea. As he left the table, Harry looked around taking in the place. The room had windows overlooking a terrace that Harry assumed was too cold to dine on.
A stone turret showing a coat of arms seemed to be the centerpiece of the room. He recognized it as the Duke of Gordon, keeper of the keys of Edinburgh Castle. He mentioned this to Hermione who seemed a little impressed. He grinned sheepishly and confessed that he had read it while researching a place to spend their day. He glanced at the tarot symbols on the ceiling and pointed them out to Hermione.
"Do you remember what they mean?" She asked remembering her mothers reading.
"Of course not. I only remember important things," he said reaching in to his pocket. He placed the box on the table and pushed it towards her.
"What's this?"
"I saw it and it had your name all over it," he told her with a smirk. Then he added, "Happy Birthday."
"My birthday's not until Friday," she said picking up the box.
"I know, but we've never really celebrated at school," he replied.
She opened the box and revealed a bracelet made of platinum links. Eight of them were shaped in letters that spelled her name. There were sapphires separating the links.
"It's beautiful," she gasped. He helped her with the clasp. She stared in wonder, "It's too much Harry, thank you."
"Nothing is too much," he replied. Then he continued, "You're much more important than some stupid tarot symbols."
"I didn't tell you about Mum's reading did I?" She asked picking up her teacup. He shook his head and she explained.
"Twins?" he chuckled.
"Then Lavender started in on how they might not be hers, they will just be in her life," Hermione told him. Harry thought about that and his soft laughter continued. "Oh it's funny is it? I think it helped Mum decide to bless me with 'The Talk' again."
"The talk?" Harry asked still amused.
"Oh yes. Better straighten up or I'll sic her on you," Hermione said with a wicked smile. He got serious quickly.
"She wouldn't… would she?" He asked.
"I doubt it. She'd probably ask my father to do it."
"Dan wouldn't…" Harry trailed off for a moment and considered her words. "He would, wouldn't he?"
"You better believe it," Hermione said almost smirking.
They were quiet for a few moments then Hermione excused herself to use the restroom. On the way back she palmed her wand and set up warning wards in three different places around the room. When she sat back down Harry was looking at her, questioning.
She explained and then commented, "Moody makes an impression."
"That he does," Harry agreed.
She decided to change the subject because she didn't want to ruin the night.
She teased him about playing golf with her dad. He teased her back by inviting her to come along. She declined, quickly making a smart remark about not needing to know those manly things, which made him laugh.
She offered to share with him the details of 'The Talk' and he told her that they should wait until they got back to their room. She laughed at that.
Their food was wonderful and both were very glad for the good company. Jeffery took very good care of them and Harry tipped him very well. After splitting a chocolate torte with peppermint sorbet, they started back to their hotel. It was a nice evening so they took their time enjoying the night.
They stopped several times to kiss each time taking longer to start walking again.
When they entered their suite Harry pushed Hermione against the door as it closed and pressed his mouth on hers. Hermione leaned against the wall and Harry pressed himself against her. She felt familiar warmth as his tongue explored her mouth.
"I have been wanting to do that since I woke you up this morning," he said panting slightly when they finally broke apart.
"What took you so long?" she demanded pulling him back towards her. The second kiss lasted even longer. After several minutes he pulled away almost curtly and walked away.
Hermione felt all of her self-doubt rise once again. She followed him into the room with the bed. He was checking voice mail on his cell phone. She sat down on the edge of the bed and took off her wand holster.
"Anything interesting?" she asked dryly when he hung up.
"Not really. If it was an emergency McGonagall would have sent someone to find us," he said. She nodded knowing that they could never really get away completely.
"Harry, can I ask you something?" she asked calling on her Gryffindor courage.
"Of course," he replied.
"Why did you stop kissing me?" she asked. Seeing the look on his face she continued hastily, "You just stopped and walked away. It was abrupt."
"I was about to do something kind of inappropriate and I didn't want you to slap me," he said honestly.
"What were you going to do?" she asked, her eyes wide. He was blushing now. She encouraged, "Tell me."
He sat down next to her and took her right hand in his.
"I was going to put my mouth right here," he said as he ran one finger in the valley between her breasts.
"Why would I slap you for that?" she asked. He pulled his finger away but she took his hand and pulled it back.
"I don't want to do something that makes you uncomfortable," he said.
"I know, but you being a gentleman is driving me up the bloody wall," she growled. He blinked. Had she just sworn?
"What?" He asked in total confusion.
"Sorry. I'm just… really horny," she confessed. His mouth dropped open and then he began to laugh.
"What a coincidence, so am I," he said falling back on the bed. She lay down next to him and snuggled closely. He stroked her hair gently loving the feel of it.
"I don't think either of us are ready to have make love, Harry. But there are other things we can do," she said thinking about Lavender's stories. She trailed her hand up and down his tie and he shivered.
"There is something…" he told her. Seamus' exploits were running in his head. He rolled up on his side and then leaned down and kissed her gently.
"Something?" she asked softly. He nodded but didn't speak. "I promise I'll tell you if you do something that makes me uneasy, Harry."
Again he abruptly moved away from her, standing up in one motion. She was about to keep her promise when he pulled her up to her feet and slid his arms around her.
"Right now, I want to dance," he said simply. She nodded looking in to his eyes.
They found a channel on the radio that played soft music. Neither listened to the words, neither cared. Hermione wasn't aware of the music most of the time. Harry's idea of dancing involved his lips on her neck and ears as they rocked back and forth.
After the third song her hands began to wander. She ran her right hand down the inside of his thigh just as he had earlier while helping her with her wand. He groaned a little and nipped her neck with his teeth.
His hand slid up under her dress and felt her leg, then her hip and then her behind. His mouth was on hers when he moved his hand around to her front and found the wetness that dampened the front of her knickers. She moaned into his mouth.
He removed his hand slowly. She was about to object when she he started fumbling with the zipper on the back of her dress. When she had put on the red lacy underwear she hoped that he would see them.
She tried to cancel the sticking charm that was keeping her straps up. He looked at her puzzled, "How do muggle women do it?"
"Beats me," she said placing her wand back on the bedside table.
… --- …
She snuggled against him drifting to sleep as he pulled the covers over them.
… --- …
Harry and Hermione awoke fairly early Sunday morning. They were slightly awkward around each other until they discovered that the bathtub was big enough for two. After that, the shyness that had seemed to have developed went away. They spent most of the morning learning new things about each other.
They both agreed that they would not continue their exploration of each other while at the castle. It wouldn't be right, they agreed. They had the privilege of leaving whenever they wanted and Harry didn't foresee it as being an issue. He would take Hermione away every weekend if she wanted.
They ate lunch at number twelve with her parents. Harry clarified the positions that he wanted the Grangers to have in the Order.
While Dan and Harry escaped to the golf course, Hermione and Emma had another conversation. Emma had been shaken by the direct threat to her husband. It made things even more clear in her mind. Three people that she loved were on the top of a madman's list of people to torture and murder.
Hermione did her best to comfort her mum. She was only slightly unnerved by the role reversal that was happening. She hated seeing her mum so shaken.
They were back at school by dinnertime and Hermione decided to visit Gryffindor tower that evening. She helped Wendy Williams and Erin Erickson with their potions homework. Lavender took the time to tease Hermione about the twins again.
Dean and Seamus were sitting by the fireplace avoiding Hermione. She was reading a passage in the sixth year potions text silently when the boys both began to choke. A massive, slimy bat made its way out of Dean's nose first. They began to yell causing quite the commotion.
Everyone in the tower was watching them fight the bogies, so no one noticed the single book float gently off a table and back down.
Professor McGonagall entered the room and quieted the chaos with little more than a stern look and wave of her wand. It took her several tries to get rid of the hex.
"Hermione did it!" Dean yelled as best he could, still gagging.
Hermione offered her wand up with out a word. Professor McGonagall performed the Priori Incantatem spell and found Wingardium Leviosa. She stared hard at the head girl trying to decide if Hermione was trying to not laugh or not cry. Wendy and Erin were both laughing so hard that they were crying.
McGonagall gave them all a short lecture on unbecoming and unacceptable behavior. She left the room with one last look at her students. She somehow managed to not smile until she was safely in her office, alone.
She knew that the Old-Crow should thank Dee, Steve and Hilary. She knew that if enough people sent an owl, that Dee would post the extended version on the Yahoo group. She knew that the really clever people could find the link on the Old-Crow's page. She knew that she hadn't heard the whole story.