Disclaimer: Hermione, Ginny and the other HP characters belong to JKR, not me. Jack and Will from PotC belong to Disney.
A/N: This is where I get creative and start to deviate quite a bit from the book. But bear with me, it should all make sense in the end.
Ch.18: Felix Felicis
A little more than a month had passed since their grand adventure with the pirates. At first Hermione missed Will terribly, but she'd been dwelling on him less and less as Ron had been giving her plenty of attention ever since they'd returned to their own time. Ever since Ron had gotten up the courage to ask her to slow dance on the pirate ship, he'd been much more relaxed around her. It was much more fun to spend time with him now that he wasn't having confidence issues. Hermione hoped that it was only a matter of time before he asked her out on a real date, perhaps to visit Hogsmeade. Ginny hadn't wanted to use a daydream charm recently either. As she was free of Dean, she and Harry had been doing a lot of studying together in the library. Hermione thought that it wouldn't be long before Harry was calling Ginny his girlfriend. I hope they get together soon – those two make the sweetest couple!
Over the past four weeks, they'd been in touch with Mundungus Fletcher, who was immediately able to locate the silver locket that he'd stolen from the Black mansion. The crook also helped them find a golden cup that once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff. Dumbledore suspected it was also a horcrux because he'd remembered Riddle eyeing it when he was younger. The only thing that they hadn't been able to figure out was the last horcrux (excluding the snake and Voldemort himself). While they knew that it must've belonged to either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, after weeks of searching Harry was no closer to discovering the object than he was to escaping detentions with Snape.
It was remarkable that Harry's wand core shared the same phoenix tail-feather with Voldemort's wand, Hermione mused as she lay in bed on a Saturday morning. (Dumbledore's bird, Fawkes, had been the tail-feather donor.) This essential piece of information was exactly what the Weasley twins needed for them to invent a spell that would identify the horcruxes. If Harry cast a revealing charm fairly near the horcrux, it would glow green. Once he was sure that the object in question was indeed a horcrux, he could destroy it properly, and blast that particular seventh of Voldemort's twisted soul into a million pieces. But all their hard work would be in vain if they couldn't find that last horcrux.
"C'mon, Mione…time for breakfast," Ginny called, shaking her friend.
"I'm up…I'm up," she growled. "Must we go down this early?"
"There's no time like the present," Ginny pointed out brightly. "Besides, maybe Harry will have thought of a plan to go after the third horcrux...he said he'd work on it last night."
Hermione grumbled all the way down to the common room – she hadn't been sleeping too well over the past few days. Although Harry was known for having nightmares, she'd just had a very disconcerting one involving Ron and the Death Eaters. She wouldn't be able to stand it if something ever happened to the youngest Weasley boy. If Ron didn't ask her out soon, she was going to explode. She was sure that he had feelings for her – why couldn't he just tell her already? They reached the common room at last.
"Good morning, Harry," said Ginny, smiling at him and a sleepy Ron as they met just before breakfast.
"'Morning, Gin," Harry returned with a grin, giving Ginny an affectionate hug.
"'Morning, Ron," Hermione said brightly. Ron just yawned in response – he was never a morning person. They quickly stepped through the portrait hole and set off towards the Great Hall.
"Have you figured out a way to find the missing horcrux yet, Harry?" Hermione asked him as they sat down at the Gryffindor table for breakfast.
"No, I haven't – but perhaps we're going about this the wrong way," Harry suggested. "I doubt the horcrux wants to be found…I think we need something that will guide us to it."
"What do you mean?" Ron asked curiously, his mouth full of kipper.
"I mean I think it's time I used some of Slughorn's Christmas present," Harry said grimly. He produced a tiny, gleaming bottle from his robe pocket and poured a couple drops of the colorless solution into his pumpkin juice.
"Why, it's your Felix Felicis potion…how come you're using it now!" gasped Ginny, looking positively alarmed.
"Because I think a little luck is all I need," said Harry, drinking his juice in one fast gulp. Harry's three best friends watched him closely as the potion began to affect him. At first nothing happened, but then a confident smile slowly spread over their friend's face.
"How're you feeling, mate?" asked Ron, curious as to what it felt like after taking said solution.
"Really good," said Harry, beaming at them all. "You know I've been thinking…" the three leaned in closer so they could hear him, as he'd lowered his voice.
"We really could use some time off…all we've been doing is work, school work, and more work for the Order. How about a change of place? I say we should go visit Marvella the Marvelous's Museum of Wizarding Art - it's only a half-hour walk from Hogsmeade."
"Why would we ever want to go there?" asked Ron, skeptically.
"I just have a feeling that it's the place to be today," Harry assured him. Then he turned to Ginny. "Hey Gin, might I have a word?"
"All right," said Ginny, following him out of the Great Hall. Ron and Hermione looked at each other knowingly.
"He asked me last night if it was alright with me if he could ask her out," said Ron, confirming her suspicions.
"I'm assuming you said yes then," Hermione concluded logically. Ron nodded.
"He's my best mate…I can't think of anyone else who'd be better suited for her than Harry. He's certainly loads better than that egotistical git Michael Corner." Ron wrinkled his nose in disgust and Hermione laughed.
"It figures that he needed a bit of mental reassurance from Felix to ask her out," Ron grumbled but Hermione just smiled. Just then Harry and Ginny returned holding hands, each looking considerably happier than they had been before. But before Ron and Hermione could congratulate them, they received some rather loud jeers and catcalls coming from the Slytherin table.
"Oi, lovebirds!" yelled Draco Malfoy, egged on by Crabbe, Goyle, and Nott.
"Shut it Malfoy," said Harry quietly, putting his arm around Ginny. The entire hall grew quiet, as the students were unabashedly eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Hey Weasley," Malfoy continued, "How much is Potter paying you to be his girlfriend? I didn't know your family was that desperate…" At the mention of his family, Ron's ears grew red. He started to stand up but Hermione held him down.
"Look Malfoy," threatened Ginny in a dangerously low voice. "I wouldn't say any more if I were you…or I just might slip a few drop of shrinking potion into your morning pumpkin juice. And from what I hear, certain things of yours cannot afford to be shrunk." She raised her eyebrows for affect and Harry howled with laughter at Draco's pained look. Hermione couldn't decide whether to grin or frown, and Ron just stared incredulously at his sister.
"Let's go, Harry," smirked Ginny and they walked away, still laughing at the red-faced Slytherin. Hermione and Ron followed soon after…they wanted to congratulate Ginny for putting Malfoy in his place.
"That was bloody brilliant," Ron gasped out as soon as they'd safely reached the common room. Ginny shrugged.
"I've been waiting to embarrass him for years…now just seemed like the perfect time." She grinned at Harry who visibly blushed.
"So, are we still on to visit the art museum?" Hermione asked, breaking the unsettling silence.
"Sure," said Ginny, smiling at Harry again. "Let me just go grab my winter cloak." The girls retreated to their dormitories, dressing in layers as they'd be braving the cold weather while walking to the museum.
"I can't believe Harry asked you out!" exclaimed Hermione. "You've had a crush on him since…"
"…the first day I met him, before I even came to Hogwarts," Ginny admitted wryly. Seeing Hermione's wistful look, she changed the subject.
"I wonder why Harry wants to go to this museum so badly?" she wondered aloud, pulling on a red and gold scarf.
"No idea," answered Hermione. "But we just have to trust him…I'm sure he knows what he's doing. Or rather the potion knows," she added as they raced down the stairs. The boys were waiting for them, dressed in their warmest clothing.
"Shall we?" said Harry, offering his hand to Ginny who nodded at her boyfriend.
"Let's go," answered Hermione, pulling on Ron's sleeve to get his attention. Ron didn't seem like he'd adjusted to the idea that his sister was going out with his best friend. But he followed them through the portrait hole without any unnecessary comments.
Although the blowing wind and snow made the trek almost unbearable, (Ron lent Hermione his maroon wool hat since she'd misplaced hers) they made it to the museum without any real trouble. As usual, the group looked to Harry as to what they were to see first.
"Oh I dunno," Harry answered casually. "I think we should just sort of wander around a bit. See if anything strikes our fancy." Shrugging, they followed their friend into one of the more popular wings that housed modern wizarding art. Several wizards and witches noticed the presence of the Boy-Who-Lived, but luckily no one approached Harry asking for an autograph. Sighing with relief, Hermione let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when the patrons gave Harry and his friends some well deserved space.
Once they began to look at the exhibits, Hermione had to raise her eyebrows at some of the more abstract pieces, such as a figure of a house-elf made entirely of Bertie Bott's Every-flavor Beans. But she couldn't help but admire Olga Oglestead's famous painting of Merlin handing wizard-kind the secrets of magic. Turning a corner, right in front of them loomed an enormous gleaming glass statue of Rowena Ravenclaw.
"Ooh, it's beautiful!" Ginny sighed, staring up at the giant glass witch who smiled at all who gazed upon her. Harry ogled the statue curiously – his eyes were drawn to the only part of Rowena that wasn't transparent, her heart. It was a vivid jewel-encrusted crimson in stark contrast to the rest of her body. It seemed that the artist had wanted the focus of the statue to be the witch's heart, symbolically of course.
"Yes, Rowena Ravenclaw was known for being a great philanthropist during her time; her glowing red heart is an allegory for her fabled generosity," Hermione explained to Harry after noticing his puzzled expression, sounding like she'd swallowed a textbook as usual.
After glancing around furtively and making sure no one was watching besides his friends, the Boy-who-lived muttered something and gold sparks shot out from his wand at the statue.
"Harry, no way – what are you doing?" Hermione moaned frantically. "You can't deface that statue…it's a famous piece of art…" She trailed off when she saw the heart give off a faint green glow. Ginny's, Ron's, and Hermione's jaws dropped when they realized its meaning.
"I think we've found our horcrux," said Harry triumphantly.
"Wow," breathed Hermione, still starting at the glowing heart. "How did you know what to look for, Harry?" He grinned at them.
"Felix suggested that I test it…I thought there was something awfully striking about the statue; it is Ravenclaw after all," he reminded them.
"Funny You-Know-Who wouldn't use something of Gryffindor's," mused Ginny.
"Well, I think the question we're all wondering about now," said Ron, "is where can we get more of that Felicis stuff?" Hermione bopped him in the arm.
"I think what you meant to say is how are we ever going to get the heart out of there without damaging the statue?" Harry and Ron both looked at her strangely, as if she'd gone mental.
"Hermione, it's a horcrux," Harry said emphatically. "I doubt the museum will care if we destroy the statue to get to a part of Voldemort's soul." Hermione smiled inwardly when she noticed that for the first time, Ron didn't flinch at the mention of the Dark Lord's name.
"All the same," began Ginny, "they probably wouldn't like the fact that Voldemort was hiding a part of his soul in their museum – it'd be bad business, not to mention it would raise suspicions as to how unsafe buildings really are from him."
"And we don't want Voldemort getting word that his horcrux was destroyed," Hermione reminded them.
"Oh yeah," Harry said slowly. "I didn't think of that…"
"So what do we do?" prompted Ron. "We can't just leave it there."
"No we can't," said Hermione, grimly. "I say we come back tonight, break-in the museum, steal the horcrux, and replace it with a fake heart." Everyone stared at her like she'd just suggested snogging Filch.
"You actually want to break-in to the museum?" Ron asked dubiously.
"That's what I said," Hermione repeated her plan. "You sound surprised, Ron," she teased the poor boy.
"Well, I never thought that'd you'd ever suggest that we break a law…" Ron was looking at her with a newfound respect.
"It's not something I want to do on a regular basis," she explained. "But it must be done if we are to thwart Voldemort."
"I agree with Hermione," Ginny said, giving her friend the thumbs-up.
"It shouldn't be that hard to sneak out tonight," Harry mused, warming up to the idea. "My potion doesn't stop working until midnight at least."
"So it's settled then," said Ron as they worked their way back to the museum entrance. "We can use your invisibility cloak as an extra precaution." Harry frowned as they stepped outside and the freezing air hit their faces.
"I'm not sure if it will fit over all four of us," he said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "But there is a charm that we could use instead – remember the one McGonagall put on us before we attacked the Death Eaters?"
"That would work best," Ron decided as they girls nodded.
"So when do you think we should meet tonight?" Ginny asked, hugging Harry for warmth as they walked.
"How about around eleven," Hermione suggested. "The museum closes around ten, so that should give them plenty of time to clean and lock up. Buy the time we arrive we shouldn't have to deal with anything more than a security guard." They all agreed that eleven sounded like a reasonable time and agreed to meet then.
Hermione could hardly wait until later that evening – after all, this would be her very first planned felony. She'd already transfigured one of her pillows into a heart that looked almost identical to the one in the statue. All she had to do was wait until it was time to leave. Of course Hermione was never one to wait around doing nothing…she re-read Hogwarts, A History for the umpteenth time, trying to see if there were any secret ancient enchantments that Dumbledore might've forgotten that was already protecting the castle from intruders. By the time eleven rolled around, she sighed and gave up… but it was time well spent. It'd been awhile since Hermione had time for pleasure reading. Grinning, Hermione climbed out of bed, scurried over to the fifth years' dormitories and shook Ginny awake.
"Were you really asleep?" she whispered to her best friend.
"No," Ginny admitted. "I was too excited about tonight to sleep. C'mon!" The girls tip-toed down the stairs, not wanting to wake anyone at this late hour.
"You made it!" Harry and Ron greeted them eagerly.
"Quick, Hermione, the charm!" Ginny urged. Hermione, being the cleverest witch in grade six, had offered to perform the charm. Although Harry was excellent at DADA, he knew that Charms class was Hermione's forte, and that it'd be best to let her cast the invisibility charm on the four of them. She muttered the incantation, first turning Ron, then Ginny, then Harry, then herself invisible.
"Thanks a million, Hermione," said a relieved Ron. "We'd better get going." Hermione was surprised to find that they didn't meet anyone on the way out of Hogwarts; not Snape, not Peeves… not even Mrs. Norris.
"Whew, that was lucky," she breathed as they slipped out the front door, which someone had forgotten to lock.
"Of course it was lucky; you're with me," Harry said, smiling. "After this is all over, remind me to thank Slughorn for giving me the means to find a horcrux."
"I can't believe he actually joined the Order," quipped Ginny as they lit their wands so they could see in the black of night.
"Yeah, that bloke always seemed like he only cared about his own neck," Ron commented. "I wonder how Dumbledore persuaded him – perhaps with a year's supply of crystallized pineapple?" Everyone sniggered, as the rotund potions professor was known for his unusual culinary tastes. Hermione tightly clutched her fake horcrux as they set out.
In no time at all they'd reached the front of the deserted museum. All of the lights were off except one in the foyer, which alerted them to the location of the security guard. Hermione raised her wand to break the lock on the front door, but Ron laid a hand on her wand arm, shaking his head no. She shivered and not entirely because of the cold. This is getting ridiculous, she thought…he needs to ask me out already! Before anyone could stop him, Ron knocked on the museum's door.
"Special delivery!" he urgently called. "Hurry up, I'm freezing out here!" His friends stared at him as if he'd just been obliviated, but they changed their tune when they heard footsteps approaching.
"I'm coming," the security guard grumbled as he unlocked the door. Hermione quickly cast the counter-charm so that Ron could be seen.
"Stupefy!" cried Ron, and the guard slumped to the floor, stunned.
"Idiot," Harry said, shaking his head in disbelief that the guard would fall for the oldest trick in the book.
"How think can you get?" Ron agreed, grinning in amusement as he and Harry moved the man out of the doorway and inside the museum. Leaving the unconscious man on the floor, the group quickly found the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw.
"Accio horcrux!" Yelled Harry, summoning the horcrux from its resting place. To Hermione's dismay, this left a crack in the statue near the empty hole where its heart used to lie. She levitated the fake heart into place as whispered,
"Reparo!" The statue's crack quickly disappeared, leaving it looking as good as new. Not wishing to wait another moment, Harry set the horcrux on the marble floor and cried,
"Deletrius!" The jeweled heart exploded into a thousand tiny pieces, littering the tile with debris. Ginny performed a vanishing charm and then rushed to Harry, who was moaning on the floor and clutching his side.
"Not again," she clucked, worriedly eyeing her boyfriend as he took shallow breaths. Ginny produced a special rejuvenating tonic that Harry always had to take after destroying a horcrux.
"Why does it always affect him like this?" she asked Hermione sadly as Harry slowly gulped down the tonic.
"I don't know, Ginny," she said sadly. "It probably has something to do with him encountering very powerful dark magic."
"But why does he have to do it every time?" she fretted. "I'd gladly destroy those stupid horcruxes…"
"You know it doesn't work like that, Gin," Harry weakly told her. "Dumbledore already tried. It has to be me, using my wand, or else Voldemort's soul will resist the charm. Don't worry, I'm already feeling better, see?" He staggered to his feet, showing her that he could stand up on his own. Hugging him fiercely, she continued to worry.
"But what happens when you have to fight him? You'll have to kill both the horcruxes in Him and the snake within such a short period of time of each other…it will weaken you considerably for when you have to fight Him." Harry nodded grimly, no doubt he'd already thought of this.
"I'll deal with it when it happens," he told them.
"Good attitude, Harry," said Hermione, patting him on the back. "There's no use fretting about it now."
"Oi! He's waking up!" Ron called from the other room. Hermione cast the counter-invisibility charm on the two of them, and then on herself before they went to aid Ron. With Harry leaning heavily on Ginny, they rushed into the foyer to find Ron helping the man to his feet.
"What happened?" asked the guard, rubbing the back of his head. And then he noticed Harry; his eyes performed the familiar upward flick to his scar.
"By jove, you're Harry Potter!" he exclaimed. But then he furrowed his brow. "What are you four doing here after hours?" Ginny was the one with a knack for getting out of trouble, so she answered him.
"We're staying late working on a report for school," she told him calmly. "Dumbledore owled the museum and everything…don't you remember?"
"I'm afraid not," the man admitted, still rubbing his head.
"That's a large bump you got there…you must've hit your head harder than you thought if you don't remember that," said Ron oozing fake concern.
"Perhaps you should come back to school with us and have the nurse check you out?" Harry suggested. The man went scarlet at being addressed by the Boy-Who-Lived.
"No, I'm sure I'll be fine," he assured them. "Thanks for the offer, though."
"We really should be going," said Hermione, finally. "I have all the information that I need, don't you?" The others nodded, and before the man could protest, they left the museum. Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione ran all the way to Hogsmeade, not stopping in case the guard decided to follow them.
"Nice job everyone," said Harry, panting as they ducked into the Three Broomsticks to catch their breath. "That was bloody brilliant…we've now succeeded in getting rid of three horcruxes."
"It was indeed," echoed Hermione. "Great job with the 'special delivery' thing, Ron - I never would've thought of that."
"Thanks," he said quietly, brushing her off, but Hermione could tell that he liked the attention from her.
"Shouldn't we be getting back to school?" asked Ginny, yawning. "I don't know about you all, but I'm exhausted."
"Good idea, Gin," said Harry, and Ron and Hermione agreed. They trudged through the snow up to the castle and slipped in through the front door. But their walk back up to Gryffindor tower was not a smooth one…they had to hide in order to narrowly escape being discovered by Filch.
"I guess that Felix Felicis stuff wore off, eh?" Ron asked as the Fat Lady let them into the common room.
"Yeah, it is after midnight," Harry pointed out.
"Hey Harry, can I borrow your Quidditch throughout the Ages?" Ginny asked her boyfriend. "I want to read up on some maneuvers for the next match against Hufflepuff."
"Sure thing, Gin," Harry said, in a rather rehearsed way, and they dashed up the stairs together, leaving Ron and Hermione alone together.
"Er, Hermione," started Ron. "I have something I want to ask you." He looked at her intently and she gave him her full intention.
"Go on, then," she encouraged him, having a pretty good idea what was going on, with Harry and Ginny's sudden exit and all.
"We've been friends for a long time…and, well, I was wondering if you'd like to –" Ron was cut short when Dumbledore burst through the portrait hole.
"Good evening, Headmaster," said a very surprised Hermione, annoyed that he'd interrupted Ron.
"Evening, Hermione. Evening Ron," said Dumbledore, nodding at them in turn. Hermione thought they were going to be scolded for being out of bed, but she was very wrong.
"I've decided to call an emergency meeting of the Order. I'm afraid I must move all of the youngest members to the headquarters for a few days…can I count on you two to alert the Gryffindors?"
"Yes sir," promised Ron as the Headmaster whispered the Order's new secret location in his ear.
"Very good," smiled Dumbledore. "Carry on." He left them staring after him, dumbstruck.
"I'd better go tell the boys," said Ron, leaving a disappointed Hermione alone in the common room. Sighing, Hermione went to her dormitory to tell Ginny and Harry the news, and to awaken the female members of the Order.
Soon, about half of Gryffindor house had assembled in the common room, carrying various loads of luggage. Among them were Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny of course, along with Dean, Seamus, Neville, Parvati, (Lavender had refused to come) Katie Bell, and Colin and Dennis Creevy.
"Where are we going, Harry?" asked Dean, who was clutching a small suitcase. After some discussion with Ron, Harry worked out that they were supposed to travel by floo. In response, Harry grabbed a fistful of floo powder, stepped into the crackling fire, and yelled,
"Gringotts Wizarding Bank!" The green fire whisked his body away, and one by one, the Gryffindors followed suit, traveling to visit the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix for the first time.
End Ch. 18
Please review! There's only one more chapter left…and perhaps an epilogue!