Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.
Harry's New Boggart – Chapter 21 – A New Plan
"FID…" shouted Harry before Hermione shushed him. He then whispered, "Fidelius? That's just perfect. I'll bet that's where it is, too! We should be glad all of them weren't under it."
Hermione replied, "I guess so. I think we should leave now so we can discuss it freely."
"DAMN!" shouted Ron and Ginny together.
"Watch your language, both of you!" nagged Hermione. "We've got to think this through. Voldemort got past the Fidelius Charm when it was protecting your family, Harry."
"That's because that rat betrayed us!" shouted Harry, "and finally got what was coming to him today!"
"Exactly," agreed Hermione, "We just need to find his Secret-Keeper. Who do you think Voldemort would use?"
"Tom trusts no one. He is an expert at betrayal," insisted Ginny.
"But he trusted Lucius Malfoy with one of them," countered Ron.
"But this one is his last, the most well protected," said Harry, "He wouldn't risk betrayal by anyone! I think he's his own Secret-Keeper!"
"Then what can we do?" asked Ron.
"Use our heads!" answered Hermione, "There's got to be an answer!"
They sat in silence for a few minutes until Harry spoke. "I remember what we did in second year when we wanted to trick Malfoy into telling us something. We'll have to do something like that again."
Hermione looked worried. "But do you think we should risk it. I mean, this isn't a few Slytherins we're talking about…"
"Do we have a choice, Mione?" asked Ron.
"Would someone please include me in this conversation?" asked Ginny frustratedly.
Harry's ears turned pink. "Oh, um, I'm sorry, love. Er, when everyone thought I was the Heir of Slytherin, we thought it might be Malfoy. So, Hermione made Polyjuice Potion and, er, Ron and I impersonated Crabbe and Goyle and snuck to the Slytherin common room to question him. We barely got out of there before changing back." He said it quickly, hoping it wouldn't bother Ginny to hear about their investigation into that particular matter.
She turned to Hermione. "You made Polyjuice Potion when you were a second year?" Hermione nodded. "How? How'd you get the instructions or ingredients?"
Hermione blushed, "Well, I tricked Lockhart into giving me permission to go into the restricted section of the library for the instructions, and, er, nicked the ingredients from Snape's office while Harry made a diversion."
She looked at Harry and started smiling. "Let me guess, the swelling solution on half the Slytherins in your class." Harry started chuckling, reminiscing about the 'Good Old Days' when a basilisk was loose at Hogwarts because of a Horcrux. Ginny giggled at her husband. "You threw the firework into Goyle's cauldron! I heard about that, but no one knew who'd done it!" She started laughing, along with everyone. "I should have known! You were the only ones who were in that class who didn't talk about it!" she managed in between laughs. When they'd stopped laughing about it, Ginny asked, "So, Hermione, why didn't you go? I thought you joined them on every mission."
Hermione's face went red. "I, er, had a small problem."
Both Ron and Harry started laughing as Hermione hid her face in her hands. "Cat…hair…potion," Harry managed to say.
Ginny tried to decipher what her husband said. She looked at Hermione, who was still hiding her head in shame. "No. You didn't," she said while starting to giggle. "You were in the hospital wing for a while. You used cat hairs in Polyjuice?" She started laughing.
Hermione replied indignantly. "It's not funny. I took hairs off Millicent Bulstrode's robes when I wrestled her at the dueling club. They turned out to be cat hairs."
"She even had a tail," Ron added while laughing.
"Anyway!" said Hermione, trying to take control, "I think the idea of using Polyjuice is the best one we can come up with, but it'll be very risky. Whoever does it will need to carry a flask of some sort to keep drinking until they escape. They'll need to get in to see Voldemort and then get him to talk about the place he keeps his Horcrux."
"Don't say that! I'll get him to talk about what happened at the place. Maybe we could get him slightly drunk. I don't think he'd let himself get very drunk like Slughorn, but perhaps enough to slightly loosen his lips if he thinks I don't know there's a Horcrux there," replied Harry.
"That's mostly a good idea, except that you can't go," responded Hermione.
"What do you mean I can't…"
"Your scar is a direct connection to Voldemort! He might know it's you before you even speak to him. What if he tries Legilimency? He also knows your personality! You can't risk him discovering you!"
"Fine I'll go," volunteered Ron.
Hermione put her hand on Ron's and said, "That's very brave of you, but I don't think you're the right choice either." She took a deep breath. "I think, I think I should do it."
"No way!" insisted both men at once.
Harry continued. "You're a muggleborn. If they discover you, they'll…they'll…"
"Well then I just have to make sure I'm not caught."
"What makes you think you're the right choice?" asked Ginny.
Hermione sighed. "Ginny, I know you're clever and a good fighter, but I'm afraid that your experience with Tom might affect you. I believe this would be your first time facing him. If you so much as close your eyes for a second, it might give you away." She then turned to her boyfriend. "Ron, I don't know how else to say it. You wear your emotions on your sleeves, so if the Death Eaters start talking about mudbloods, your mood would give you away." She then took a deep breath. "Besides, I'm the only one of us who has studied occlumency successfully."
Everyone stared at her. "When did you study that?" demanded Harry.
"Well, I started during the summer after our fifth year. I bought a book on it."
"Why didn't you tell us?" asked Ron.
Her ears turned pink. "I, er, found out that, er, the way Snape was teaching you was, well, wrong. I would've said something if Professor Dumbledore had made you continue those lessons, but I didn't want to make you mad for no reason."
"I knew that much," said Harry, "How are you supposed to teach occlumency?"
"Well, learning occlumency is learning how to fight mentally. If someone says they want to learn boxing, you don't throw them in the ring with a heavyweight champion for their first lesson. They'll get pulverized and learn nothing, and that's what happened to your mind. First you'd teach them the basics of boxing – how to punch and block, while you have them start exercising. You should've been taught mental exercises and told how to defend your mind. You then have them fight lesser opponents until you work your way up to stronger ones while continuing to teach strategies, etc. Snape should've given light assaults and gradually increased the strength of his attacks and given advice until you were ready for a full-out assault. What he did actually risked brain damage."
Harry's face got redder and redder as he listened to Hermione. "Then why the hell didn't you believe me that Snape was evil?" he demanded, making her flinch as a stray tear started falling down her cheek.
"I…I wasn't sure. I talked to Professor Dumbledore about it at the beginning of the year and he…he assured me that just because Snape may have been a bit rough on you didn't mean he was a Death Eater." She started crying. "I…I trusted his judgment instead of my best friend's. I'm sorry."
She got up started to leave, but was stopped by Harry, who put his hand on her shoulder and gently spun her around. She saw no anger in his face anymore. He wordlessly embraced her and let her cry on his shoulder while the redheads pretended not to watch. Finally Harry spoke. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. You didn't deserve it." He took a deep breath. "I lost my temper and acted like an idiot. Do you forgive me, sis?"
A smile started to form on Hermione's lips as he called her his sister. "Of course, bro. Do you forgive me?"
He smiled back at her, "Naturally." They separated and walked back to their chairs in silence. Ginny broke the silence by asking, "Did you ever test your occlumency against someone?"
"Yes," answered Hermione, "Dumbledore. When I spoke to him at the beginning of the year, he tested me and was very impressed, but he could still penetrate my shields, so he knew that Voldemort would be able to as well. He gave me advice on how to improve. I saw him twice more during the year. The last time was about a week before he died. He said he couldn't get past my mental shields."
"When did you have the time to work on it during the year?" asked Ron.
"Well, I'd stay up about an hour after I went into my dorm with the bed curtains closed, reinforcing my mental walls."
Harry asked, "Mental walls and shields? I don't totally understand what you're talking about."
"Because Snape taught you nothing! I'll be happy to lend you my book. It would take too long to explain it here. We need to prepare our strategy. We have to brew Polyjuice Potion. That takes a month. During that time, we have to find out where Voldemort is hiding. Then I have to get there. I think I'll have to stun someone inside, or possibly outside and get their hair then and switch clothes. Then, once I'm inside, I have to speak with Voldemort."
"You're not going in alone," insisted Harry. "Maybe you have to be alone with Voldemort, which I don't like, but you don't have to be alone in a house full of Death Eaters. Besides, if there is a problem, we'll be close by to help you. You'll even be able to alert us with your necklace."
"She should wear an extendible ear," suggested Ginny, "That way, we can listen in on her conversation and bust in there if she's caught."
"Well," agreed Hermione with a sigh of relief, "That would make it a bit easier. The first thing we need to do is buy a copy of 'Moste Potente Potions' and then get the ingredients."
"I thought you already knew how to brew it," asked Ron sarcastically.
"It won't hurt to double-check. We certainly don't want any mistakes. Besides, there are a lot of other potions in that book that I'd like to read about. I think we should buy the unusual ingredients like lacewing flies separately so that it won't be obvious what we're doing."
The next day, after their training (which they'd skipped for actual combat for the last few days), Ron and Hermione apparated into Diagon Alley in search of what they needed to brew Polyjuice Potion while Harry and Ginny stayed behind and worked on the plans for Hermione's surprise party with the Grangers and Petunia.
"I think we should plan it before her birthday. Maybe on the twelfth. That would totally surprise her," suggested Harry.
Everyone agreed, and they worked out the details as quickly as they could.
When Ron and Hermione got back, they found Harry and Ginny snogging on the sofa. Ron asked, "Oy! Can't you at least stay in the bedroom to do that? I may be scarred for life!"
They separated and Ginny grinned evilly. "Good idea. Harry, apparate us to the bedroom so we can shag!" She then kissed him while they disappeared, keeping one eye open to watch the look of horror on her brother's face. When they were on their bed, Ginny separated from Harry and started laughing until she saw the disappointed look that showed on his face for a moment.
"I get it," said Harry, faking a smile. "I'll bet Ron is going crazy now trying not to think about us shagging up here."
She looked in his eyes concernedly. "You really do want to make love now?"
"Don't worry about it, Ginny. I'm not some pervert who needs it all the time. I…"
"Wanting your wife is not perverted, Harry!"
"Okay, maybe that wasn't the best terminology. My point is that I can live without it."
"My point is that you don't have to live without it, Harry," she insisted, while sitting on the bed next to him, taking his hands in hers. "You always wait for me to say what I want, and you always do exactly what I ask, making me very happy." She then gently pulled his hands up to her lips and kissed them while looking Harry straight in the eyes. "Now, I want you to tell me what you want, so I can make you happy."
"I can't believe the way he just shags my sister all the time like it's the most natural thing in the world!" shouted Ron at Hermione immediately after they'd disappeared.
"It is the most natural thing in the world for a man to shag his wife!" she shouted back at Ron. "Although there are better terms for it. But I think Ginny just did that to annoy you!"
He looked at Hermione, looking relieved. "So you don't think they're really, y'know?"
Hermione looked at Ron venomously. "That's none of our business. That's why their door is permanently charmed for privacy." She grinned. "Although, from the look on Harry's face, I'd guess they were."
"HIS FACE! She was joking but he wanted to! He's probably up there raping her right now! That no good, worthless…"
"RONALD WEASLEY! Do you have any idea how stupid you sound?"
"Stupid? He's up there with…" He took a deep breath. "I guess I shouldn't have had that drink at the Leaky Cauldron. I guess it's starting to kick in."
"Yes. Don't you remember? I had Tom charm it so it would take effect after you apparated." Hermione started laughing. "I don't even think anyone could apparate after what you had without getting splinched."
"What you means?" asked Ron, his speech starting to slur. "I perfectlys cablple apprate."
"I'm glad I only had a butterbeer," muttered Hermione as she put her hand around Ron's waist. She apparated them into his bedroom and started to walk out the door.
He called out. "Why you no stayin' I wan…"
"I've already told you I'm not ready, and even if I were, I wouldn't want my first time to be with a drunk! You can sleep it off, and don't even ask me for a sobering or hangover charm after you wake up. I should owl your mother."
"No…don' do dat, Mione. I sorry. I jus' wanded to try it."
After Harry and Ginny came back downstairs at suppertime, Hermione said they'd had to order some of the ingredients they needed to start the potion, so they couldn't begin until those things arrived. After Harry replied that he understood, Hermione told them that Ron had been drinking, which caused both Harry and Ginny to get mad. Harry marched immediately up to Ron's room, grumbling about what could have happened if the charm had failed.
Harry pointed his wand at the door, causing it to open, revealing a sleeping Ron. "Wake up!" Harry shouted, startling Ron so much that he fell out of bed.
"Wha…what?"
"Surprise combat drill!" shouted Harry. "Grab your wand before I hex you!"
Ron groggily reached for his wand. As soon as it was in his hand, Harry started firing one stinging hex after another at Ron, who tried aiming his wand but was seeing double.
"You nearly hit Hermione with that last shot! HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO DEFEND HER OR GINNY IF YOU'RE GETTING YOURSELF DRUNK!?"
"Wha' I was only…"
"Only putting yours and Hermione's lives at risk in a public place! What if Death Eaters attacked? She'd not only have to fight them alone, but she'd have to be defending you as well as herself! How would you feel if she died because you had to drink?"
"I…I didn't think th…"
"Damn right, you didn't think! Don't get drunk again when you're supposed to be protecting someone!"
Hermione, who was behind Harry, yelled, "I don't need him to protect me!"
"You're supposed to be protecting each other!" Harry countered quickly, "That's why I always want at least two of us together at all times!"
"Do you have to yell so loud?" asked Ron, putting his hand on his head.
Harry grinned. "I just want to get my point across. We're at war. We can't go out there without being fully alert."
Ron groaned in his agony as he held his head like he thought it would fall off. "All right, already. I won't do it again. But will you please let me sleep it off?"
Chapter end