Disclaimer: In no way do I own or claim to own Harry Potter. That is the original work of JKR and I'm not stupid enough to attempt to steal it.

The Enlightenment

"Until the day when God shall deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is summed up in these two words: wait and hope." - Alexandre Dumas

Chapter 3: Annoyances and Pointless Searches

Harry Potter sat moodily on the floor under his friend's, Ron Weasley's, window. Ron lounged across the foot of his bed while Hermione Granger sat with her back against the headboard, staring at the book in her hands.

"Why do you keep looking at that thing?" Harry asked with contempt. Hermione didn't even glance at him as she replied, "I think there's something we're missing in it, some kind of clue."

Harry snorted and looked away from her, while Ron groaned loudly. Harry couldn't understand why she was so interested in that book anymore. He had read it, Ron had read it, Hermione had read it, they had read it together, they had read it in pairs, they had read it aloud, they had read it more times than he could count! There wasn't anything in there that could possibly help them. Just a bunch of spells Snape made up, most of them borderline Dark or outright Dark. The only good it did was that now Harry knew many ways to torture the bastard when he finally found him.

Harry watched as Hermione opened the book to a random page and took out her wand. She tapped the book three times and muttered "Apparecium," with no evident change. She did this on a few more pages, sighed, and closed the book, staring at the cover again.

There was a long silence, during which Ron watched Harry, Harry watched Hermione, and Hermione watched the book.

"There's got to be something in here," Hermione ground out, opening the book again with an air of frustration. She settled into a more comfortable position and began to read all the cramped writing in the margins for what was quitepossibly the hundredth time.

"For God's sake, Hermione, there's nothing!" Harry yelled, getting up and storming out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Ron looked at Hermione, the only sign she noticed Harry a crease in her brow, sighed deeply and got up, following Harry's path, but much more reservedly.

When the door was closed behind Ron, Hermione took out her wand and pointed it at the book, performing more spells on it. She just knew there was something she was missing, something nagging at her mind, something she should know but couldn't quite reach.

If there was ever a time she absolutely needed the Hogwarts library, she thought, it would be now.

Out in the yard, Harry walked around, glaring at the garden gnomes that appeared from their holes, sometimes making as if he was going to grab themand getting a perverse pleasure from seeing them scamper back into the ground. Ron watched from a distance, unsure of what to do for either of his friends.

Harry, finally out of gnomes, fell back into the grass and looked up at the sky. It was a cloudy day and he fancied, if only for a moment, that the weather was mirroring his mood and his inability to come up with anything to help him find a Horcrux. But that thought just grated on his nerves as it lead to thinking about the Horcruxes and Voldemort again, and how Dumbledore was dead, and how Snape had killed him, and how Harry had been powerless to stop it. He felt so frustrated with the whole world that, at that particular moment, he wouldn't mind if it just blew up and took everyone with it.

"I wish you guys would let me in on a bit more," Ginny Weasley's voice met Harry's ears. He jumped and looked over at her, standing a few feet away with her arms crossed and a serious expression.

Harry made a noncommittal noise in response and looked back at the clouds so he wouldn't have to look at her. He was getting that annoying feeling again that he got whenever she was around. It was something like guilt. Ginny took a step closer and sat on the ground, looking at him.

"Hermione is frustrated, so I'm supposing you haven't made progress," she said in a quieter tone. A bit put off by his lack of response, she continued more hesitantly. "Let me help, Harry. You know I can. And, if anything, I can at least keep the three of you from getting so mad you decide to curse each other."

"I don't want you to get hurt," Harry said, finally looking at her.

"You don't want Ron or Hermione to get hurt, either, but they're still allowed to at least have an inkling of what's going through that big head of yours." Ginny said this only half-angrily. She seemed, to Harry, more desperate than anything.

"They've been in danger since they first helped me with the Philosopher's Stone. There's no helping it now."

"I was at the Ministry. I hexed those Death Eaters enough to warrant a little danger. And, in case you're forgetting, I was the one You-Know-Who used to open the Chamber of Secrets again."

"I don't want you to get hurt," Harry repeated, the guilty feeling getting stronger.

"Fine," Ginny huffed. She got to her feet and brushed the grass off her clothes. "Fine." She stalked away from him and went into the house, slamming the door behind her.

Harry growled with annoyance and rolled onto his stomach, clutching his head, pressing his face into the grass and dirt to try to get the thoughts out of his head.

A/N: Constructive criticism is very welcome. Please, if you see any way in which this can be improved, don't hesitate to inform me. However, I ask that you do it in a helpful manner, and that you don't just say, "This is terrible." Thank you!