"She's in," he breathed into the phone, hardly believing the words himself.
"Excuse me?" Ron asked, his bewilderment plain, even through the phone line.
"Hermione's in," Harry repeated.
"Hermione Granger?" Ron asked in amazement.
"Yes Hermione Granger you dolt, how many other Hermione's do you think there are?"
There was a heavy silence for a few moments.
"Whoa." Ron was stunned.
"Yeah."
"But…but…but Harry," Ron hissed suddenly, "that's horrible, not to mention illegal, not to mention completely immoral and cruel!"
"What the bloody hell are you going on about Ron?"
"You put her under the Imperius Curse!"
"No I bloody well did not! She agreed to it of her own accord. And – bloody hell – Ron, do you really think I would do that to anybody, let alone Hermione?"
"You're serious then? Hermione's in?"
"Yes. She's in," Harry spoke, annoyance clear in every word.
"Wow. That's just…wow."
"Yes, it is, now bugger off, I've got things to do."
---
Ron, Dean, and Hermione were all in. That left Seamus, Hagrid, Fred, George, Neville, Luna and Dumbledore. Seven to go and they would be ready.
But who to go to first?
---
Harry walked through the leaf-strewn grounds, looking up at Hogwarts Castle. It's windows glowed warmly as the first candles of the evening were lit. An owl flew out of one of the Owlery's immense windows, catching the maneuvering wind beneath its preened wings and soaring off over the darkening forest. The surface of the lake was glassy and smooth as the setting sun painted a masterpiece of orange and pink seeping into a deep purple over its expanse. Harry walked calmly up the great stone stairs to the large wooden door, his hands in his pockets. He pushed it open and stepped into the welcoming warmth of the Entrance Hall.
Harry could smell the evening's meal wafting out into the Hall from the Great Hall. It smelled delicious and he was instantly reminded of the great golden plates that you could see your face in and how the meals would appear just as you were sure you would go insane with hunger. He remembered his life at Hogwarts as if it were yesterday, no matter how much he wished for it to be today.
Harry mounted the marble staircase, making his way to the former office of Professor Sprout. He reached the door and took a seat against the outer wall – he knew that Neville would still be at dinner. As he waited, he shut his eyes, falling into a calm sleep.
---
"Harry?"
Neville's perplexed voice interrupted the dream he had been having. It had been about a day when he was in the sixth year. It was the day he had made the decision to break it off with Ginny, for her safety. It had been a stupid day.
"Neville," said Harry, standing up from his position on the floor.
"What are you doing here?"
"I need to speak with you Neville. It's something important."
"Of course," Neville moved over to unlock the door, "come in."
"Thank you."
Harry stepped into the office and was immediately greeted by green.
Green, everywhere. There were spots of other colors, where flowers or strange colored leaves were, but the majority of the room was green. Plants were everywhere – on shelves, stools, the desk, and the floor. Big plants, medium plants, small plants, you name it.
"Well," Harry said, taking a deep breath, "it seems as though you picked the right profession."
"That I did," Neville smiled and offered Harry a chair, one of the few objects in the room that was not sprouting leaves.
Harry took a seat across from Neville.
"When were you released?"
"Last week."
"Congratulations."
"Thank you. Listen, Neville, I need your help with something. Something that needs a lot of people's help."
There was a short pause before Neville spoke.
"Something or Something?" He asked knowingly. Without Snape and Malfoy constantly bringing him down, Neville proved to be very smart.
"Something," Harry responded. There was no point in beating around the bush.
"What do you have in mind? I can't promise to help you Harry, but I'll think it over."
"Gringotts."
Neville blinked.
"What's this all about Harry?"
"I need the money," he said smoothly. "And the look on his face."
"Malfoy's?" Neville asked.
"Malfoy's."
"I've got to think about this Harry."
"I know, that's all you have to do for now."
Neville smiled, then let out a little laugh.
"The look on his face…" He trailed off, a gleam in his eyes.
Harry grinned. But he didn't care what Malfoy's face would look like. Not a bit.
He needed to get her back.
---
A/N: I'm not going to try to cover it, I know it's been too long and I'm sorry for making everyone wait. Thank you so much for sticking to it, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Oh, and as a note, Lee was changed to Luna. I decided the group could do with a bit more female participation, as well as an occasional dose of Luna's intense bizarreness. And I've just realized how close it's getting to the eighteenth, which means I had better get on with re-reading GoF.