Posted 12/16/2014
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This is a work of fiction, based on the book series by J.K. Rowling. Neither do I claim ownership nor do I intend to.
Chapter Sixty - The Seed of Doubt
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Rubbing her eyes, Hermione stared back at the book on the kitchen table in front of her and started reading once more. But try as she might, she couldn't focus on the text – the image from the last night drifted to the forefront of her mind once more.
It didn't make any sense, Hermione thought with an incensed sniff, refusing to accept the obvious conclusion. Harry befriending Greengrass, fine, she could believe that. Maybe Greengrass did have some endearing qualities buried under many layers of self-centeredness. And hadn't Hermione accepted that Greengrass might indeed care for someone other than herself after seeing her check on Harry? Hadn't Hermione accepted that Greengrass did have friends? And hadn't she entrusted Hermione with keeping Harry safe on his next mission? Hadn't they reached something of a truce? Hermione could believe Greengrass being capable of friendship. Stranger things had happened around Harry, after all, and people could change.
Then there was Harry's admission of liking Greengrass. He couldn't change what his heart wanted, and reasonably speaking, people could be attracted to Greengrass. Again, stranger things had happened or Hagrid's ancestry wouldn't have been possible. Likewise, Professor Flitwick had to have gotten his goblin blood somewhere. And what about the half-trolls that ran around? In that sense, Hermione could accept Harry liking Greengrass. Some infatuation might be forgiven; Hermione knew that much and had accepted it years ago when she had had to come to terms with her feelings for Lockhart. Maybe Greengrass was Harry's Lockhart and he was lured in by...
Hermione hesitated. A pretty face wasn't really what she would call Greengrass. Average in looks maybe without the scars, but with them, she was anything but average.
Deciding to not think too much about just what about Greengrass could have gotten Harry's attention, Hermione shook her head.
Still, having a crush didn't mean he had to act upon it. And it didn't say anything about Greengrass. Why had she been in Harry's room late at night? And how had she ended up on Harry's bed, holding his hand? Hermione dislike the implications.
The moment in the makeshift infirmary came to her mind. Greengrass had taken his hand as well back then. Sure, she had claimed it had been to check on him, but in hindsight, there had been far too much left unsaid. For a moment, they had seemed to have forgotten Hermione or Ron had been there. Had it been more than just a friendly gesture? Had there been a hidden meaning? And thinking back even further, hadn't Harry and Greengrass seemed just a bit too chummy for a while? Hadn't Hermione suspected there had been some unspoken attraction? True, she hadn't really believed it, but there had been that shred of suspicion anyway just as there had been those small gestures of kindness. When she had asked Harry about them, she had suggested it had been a prank by Harry and Greengrass, but those touches and smiles might also have been signs of genuine affection, maybe even a shared secret.
For maybe the hundredth time in the last few hours of sleeplessness, Hermione remembered each of the interactions of Harry and Greengrass. As she replayed those moments in her mind, she noticed the gradual shift in their relationship once more. While they had begun with forced politeness, they had become more friendly towards the other before long. How had Hermione not noticed it? Why hadn't she picked up on it?
She had misread it, she decided. That had to be it. That had to have been when Harry and Greengrass had become friends, but it didn't explain why Harry hadn't told Ron or Hermione about it. He didn't think it was part of his deal to keep Greengrass's secrets, did he? Didn't Harry trust them? Didn't he want Ron or Hermione to be part of his life?
Around Christmas, something seemed to have changed between Harry and Greengrass. Rare at first, there had been these strange moments of kindness – hands touching unnecessarily, small smiles and idle talk. As a girl, Hermione was familiar with the concept and importance of small gestures of confirmation like hugs or pats on the shoulder. Not only had she seen it with Parvati and Lavender, but she also knew it to be the grease that kept any form of relationship or friendship going. Girls knew that, even if boys tended to be different in that respect. Granted, Hermione also knew not to put too much stock in those gestures as they were also useful to hide duplicity, but the instances Hermione could recall made her uneasy. The first few times seemed accidental – hands brushing against each other, followed by an awkward smile – and there had been a sense of shame and uncertainty attached to it. However, the more recent ones seemed different. Even ignoring the revelation of the last night, Hermione was forced to admit neither Harry nor Greengrass had seemed uncertain or ashamed with any of those touches. Normally, Hermione might have dismissed it as a simple misinterpretation, but after what she had seen last night, she wasn't quite so sure any more. When had that change happened?
All the evidence pointed to the same conclusions Hermione had been unwilling to accept for hours – Greengrass liked Harry; both were aware of it; they were acting upon their feelings to a yet unknown extent; Harry hadn't confided in his friends.
The first one wasn't as bad, actually. If Harry couldn't help who he liked, the same could be said about Greengrass. In a strange way, it actually quenched some for Hermione's worries about the girl. It gave Hermione something she could understand and sympathize with. It made Greengrass seem more human. Similarly, Harry and Greengrass knowing about the other one's feelings wasn't really all that troubling since it was nothing more than both of them acknowledging a fact. It didn't change anything, really – just like stating that it was raining didn't cause rainfall, simply accepting the fact couldn't have caused their feelings.
However, the other two conclusions weighed heavily on Hermione's mind. Acting upon their feelings meant a choice; it meant both Harry and Greengrass had consciously decided to give it a try. Hermione could see two ways it could have played out. Harry and Greengrass might have both accepted it as a casual fling without any deeper meaning. Lavender had spoken about those kinds of relationships occasionally. If that were the case, neither would get his or her feelings hurt, but Hermione didn't believe Harry would be like that. Secondly, there might be some true connection between Harry and Greengrass that Hermione hadn't been aware of. It would mean both had seen a possibility of them being more than friends. It would mean an important part of Harry's life Hermione couldn't connect to. It seemed almost like Harry drifting away from Hermione.
And then there was the still unknown extent that bothered Hermione. Were they content with small gestures of affection? Or had they gone beyond those already? If Greengrass had unashamedly taken Harry's hand in the infirmary, didn't that mean she felt quite comfortable with that level of intimacy? Maybe that had happened the previous evening. They had met somewhere – maybe somewhere in the halls, which Hermione preferred to thinking Harry and Greengrass were so close she didn't even need an explicit invitation any more – and had gone to his room to...
Hermione grimaced. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't imagine Harry and Greengrass going to his room just to hold hands for a prolonged period of time, which implied they had indeed gone further than that already, even if Hermione didn't know just how far. And holding hands didn't require lying on a bed either, leaving that question unanswered.
Hermione ran a hand through her hair, angry at herself. Why hadn't she dragged Greengrass away and demanded some explanation? She could have done it. Maybe she should have done it. Didn't she deserve to know what was going on in her friend's life? She was his best friend, wasn't she? Or did he really think so little of her to not tell her?
That was the most troubling conclusion Hermione came to – Harry hadn't told either of his friends about whatever had happened between him and Greengrass. When they had talked about her during the last few days, he hadn't once told either of them. Had he decided against it? Try as she might, Hermione couldn't come up with another reasonable explanation and had to conclude that Harry intentionally kept a significant part of his life secret. It meant he either didn't trust them with it or didn't think they deserved or needed to know.
It felt like a wedge had been driven between them. He had shared almost everything with his friends. He had told them about the Horcrux – after the fact, true, but he had told them. He had explained the merge, had given them insight into the knowledge he had gained from Riddle. He trusted Hermione enough to let her be part of his assassinations – for now, of course – and had had many adventures with them. In the past, he had trusted them to have his back and fight at his side at the Ministry. Hermione liked to think he had no real secrets from them – that he would tell them everything. She liked to think they not only deserved that trust, but had also proven themselves worthy of it. And yet, if Hermione's suspicions were correct, then he deemed his best friends as undeserving of knowing.
Worst of all, a small, but growing part of her could understand him. They had been unkind to Greengrass; they had insulted her; they had tried to pry into her private life. Both Ron and she had made their feelings and opinion about Greengrass known – an outsider, a nuisance, a bother; useless, arrogant, potentially self-serving, and untrustworthy. Hermione could still see all of that in Greengrass, but part of her feared she wanted to see it and maybe even needed to for her own sake and peace of mind.
When she had found Greengrass asleep on Harry's bed and holding his hand, Hermione had caught a glimpse of someone else. There had been an air of happiness and honesty about her, almost as if she had left her worries behind. Maybe that was the Greengrass Harry had seen. Maybe that was the Greengrass he had feelings for. Seeing her asleep, holding Harry's hand, had felt like intruding into a scene Hermione had had no right to witness. More than that, it had been like looking into a mirror and hating the reflection Hermione had seen. It had been that realization that had made Hermione leave without waking Greengrass even though a large part of her had wanted to.
It left Hermione with the problem she had been faced with all night. Part of her desperately wanted to get the answers – to question Harry and make him admit the truth, maybe even interrogate Greengrass. Yet a small, but growing part of her was still looking in the mirror and seeing nothing but a greedy girl with little respect for others or their privacy – a girl who discounted the opinion of others, but expected everyone to see reason and share hers. What right did she have to Harry's secrets? Or Greengrass's? Was it any wonder the girl didn't want to confide in Hermione? Was it any wonder Harry hadn't told them?
With a sigh, she pinched the bridge of her nose. As much as she wanted those answers, it also felt wrong to ask Harry and force him to open up. The more she thought about it, the more it felt like a violation of privacy – one she wouldn't have minded only hours ago and one she might have tried to justify as her right. It left a bad taste in her mouth. It left the nagging feeling of a rude awakening and planted the seed of doubt. Did she really discount the opinions of others without prior consideration? Did she really think so highly of herself to believe she knew better than others? Had she really ignored the possibility of her making a mistake?
As much as she didn't want to acknowledge it, she had to admit she had indeed thought herself smarter and consequently and inherently in the right. Hadn't she felt she'd known better what and who Harry would be suited for? When they had walked back to the tent after witnessing the mistreatment of Winky, hadn't she brushed Ron's comment aside about house elves not being human? She'd dismissed it without any real thought, but shouldn't she have taken it into consideration? And she had second-guessed Harry's friendship with Greengrass despite claims from both. Why? Harry was nice enough, so why would Greengrass need some hidden motive to befriend him?
Maybe Hermione had indeed read to much into Greengrass's actions and behaviour. Was she as scheming as Hermione had thought? No, Hermione corrected in her mind, not just thought, but expected and had been convinced of. Maybe there was no hidden motive. Maybe Greengrass wasn't planning some betrayal. Maybe it was genuine affection.
Could that be it? Could Greengrass really have fallen for Harry? He was nice enough, Hermione admitted, and had caught the eyes of a lot of girls and some boys. He was likeable enough, so why couldn't Greengrass have fallen for him?
She shouldn't ask, Hermione decided. She couldn't force herself to forget what she had seen and walked in on, but she could decide to not pry. She couldn't force herself to like Greengrass, but she could try being fair and open-minded. She shouldn't ask or demand the answers she longed for, but she could watch and make up her mind about Greengrass and Harry's likely relationship based on what they were willing to give and show.
"Okay," Hermione agreed with a nod, lowering her wand. "Seems like the arm does work. I can't notice any damage, at least. How does it feel?"
Harry shrugged, putting the weight down. "Honestly? I'm not sure whether it's any different than before. Well, it certainly looks different, but it works just the same."
"Magic then," Hermione ordered.
Obediently, Harry stepped back into the middle of the room. Holding the hand with the palm up, he didn't have any trouble conjuring a fire.
"Well," Hermione told him, "that still seems to work fine, then. Any difference to how it was with your old arm?"
Harry frowned, wondering about that. "Well, it feels slightly wilder, more..." He hesitated. "Before, it was like a channel – you know, the water flowing in one direction with hardly any turbulence. Now, it's more like a river with the occasional swirl here and there." As if to prove his point, the flame flickered. "Well," he concluded, "it's working, at least. Maybe it's just a question of relearning it." Extinguishing the fire, he pulled out the Blackthorn wand and conjured a training dummy a few feet away. With a swish of his hand, it flew back until it almost hit the wall.
"Levitation works as well," Hermione observed, only to frown when Harry sent a number of wandless, nonverbal spells at the dummy that was torn to shreds from the magic.
"Fine, offensive spells work as well," she added, looking at a crack in the wall where one of the spells that had missed the dummy had sizzled out. "You could work on precision, though."
"I know, it's just a bit complicated without a wand in hand. But at least it still works. So," he spoke up, turning to her, "did I pass your examination?"
Hermione pursed her lips. "I think your arm is sufficiently healed," she told him, vanishing the remains of the dummy. Hesitating, she glanced at him and looking as if she were on the verge of saying something. "Could we talk about something for a moment?"
"Something on your mind?" Harry wondered.
"In a way," Hermione replied, biting her lip. "It's about..." She broke off, swallowing whatever she was about to say next. It made Harry even more curious, but before he could ask, she refocused and continued, "Harry, I've been thinking."
Resisting the urge to fake surprise at her statement – when didn't she think, after all – Harry waited for her to continue.
"How are you doing with those memories?" she asked him after a while, still looking torn.
"It's a work in progress right now. I had a bit of time and nothing better to do after I got injured; that helped. It's a bit of a jumble right now, but it'll settle soon enough."
"How long until you're finished, then?" Hermione said, biting her lip.
"Err," Harry said, "I can't guarantee anything, you know? We're a bit busy right now with the planning. There's about three years left from his life, but it shouldn't take forever. Let's say a month? If I focused on it, of course – there may not be much left, but it's not exactly easy integrating the rest into what I've already created. If it were a library, I'd have to find places for books I didn't know I'd get when I planned the place, if that makes any sense. It's..." He hesitated before shrugging. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, Ron and I already talked to you about your plans for this war, but so far, we haven't made any preparations. Originally, you wanted to see what you could learn before working out the details, but... Shouldn't we start making plans? It's just... If you want to lead your allies in this fight, if your knowledge is meant to be of any use, shouldn't we start thinking about how you want to fight? Shouldn't we have something to tell our friends?"
"Plans, you say. Well, let's see. The main obstacle is Riddle. His Death Eaters believe him to be invincible and follow him because they're better off that way. Once he's been dealt with, they'll have lost their protector. Some might surrender; not many, I think, but it happened the last time. Still, my main concern is Riddle. I doubt we'll have the strength to fight all of his forces on our own, even if the Order helps, so we'll have to rouse the population to join the fight."
"On our side, ideally," Hermione added.
"Well, yes. On our side. They do see the injustice, I think, but are more concerned with not drawing attention to themselves and risk the consequences. Once Riddle's forces noticeably lose ground and seem to be pushed back and into a corner, I do think some or maybe man of the Ministry's workers will change sides."
"So you plan on causing an uprising?"
Harry shrugged. "Easiest way to push back Riddle's followers, yes. The more people switch allegiances, the better. If fear is the only thing holding some of them back, then once they no longer have to fear the Death Eaters, they should feel some desire for revenge. Maybe round up some of the sycophants for us? And since fear is one of the strongest weapons of those cowardly Death Eaters and their helpers, I expect them to falter and fail once they have to deal with the backlash. Before we get things moving, though, we'll have to deal with some of the more influential followers. Or maybe the organizers and those strategists on Riddle's side. Getting rid of Nott to slow down the Snatchers, for example."
"Yeah, that didn't really work as planned, did it? What with you getting hurt?"
"With how things go right now, sooner or later, something needs to be done about Umbridge, I think. Whether she is magically powerful or not, she has connections and political power. She managed to get herself a cosy job in the Ministry, and knowing her, she'd use everything in her power to stop us. She's... she's like a spider watching her alarm lines. Once we do make a noticeable move, she'll do whatever she can to rally the enemy's forces against us. She's like the head of a snake. Cut her off from the support and we'll have a lot less problems and ultimately a lower body count. She'll have to be dealt with one way or another."
"Still, that's just one more of your assassinations," Hermione argued. "It might be a decent strategy now, but shouldn't we prepare out side as well? He has an army. Do we have to recruit one as well? That takes time, which is why I asked how far you've progressed. I..." She hesitated, sighing. "I'm sorry, I don't want to tell you what to do, but... For any real counter-offence, we will need people to follow us into battle. And we might need to set up safe houses and something like a Hospital for those who are wounded in battle. I don't think blindly charging into battle will work this time."
"You may be right about that one," Harry conceded. "And lowering their numbers before the final battle might also be a good idea – you know, to level the field. The simple troops. The wands in his service. Get rid of some of their grunts on our terms."
"'Get rid of...' Harry, that's not that easy," Hermione reminded him. "How do you plan to do that? More night-time visits?"
"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of a trap for the Snatchers. They're sent whenever Riddle's name is said, so we have a bait ready-made. Half the work's already done to get to them, so why shouldn't I take advantage of it? And they're rounding up dissenters, so they aren't exactly innocent."
"Let's say you do manage to lure them into a trap. And then what, Harry? Fight them? They don't send them one at a time; they send a team ready to subdue any resistance. You'd need help to guarantee you'd win that fight. The last time you went against a group of people, you were almost killed. Unless you have a plan for that..." She broke off, narrowing her eyes. "You have one, don't you?"
"I do, yes. I said as much before – when I decided to go along with your plan, I said I had something as well. Granted, I hadn't planned for a strike of that dimension; originally, I hadn't thought of the trap angle, but that's just a minor detail and just a matter of scale." He chuckled for a moment. "Don't worry. I wouldn't have to fight the Snatchers alone."
"Who'd you take with you?" she asked with a challenging eyebrow. "Me? Moody? Lupin? One of the Weasleys? I doubt they'd be all right with your plan."
"Moody might help if I just asked him, but there's no reason to bother him with it," he replied with a shrug. "I'll just have to conjure an army, won't I?"
"Conjure an... ? You can't conjure an army, Harry," Hermione told him resolutely.
Her glare didn't really faze him. "I can," he argued, careful to not grin.
"Oh, really? Why don't you do that, then? Conjure an army and march on Riddle's strongholds! Or why not teach me how to do it? Harry, you can't just conjure an army."
"I can. It's actually fairly simple. As for teaching you, that's not necessary. You already know how to do it, so at most, I'd have to remind you. Then again, they probably wouldn't really listen to you. You'd have to use other means to control them, but other than that, it's –"
"And what makes you so different?" Hermione interrupted with a glare. "Why would they listen to you?"
With a grin that threatened to split his face, he replied, "I'm a Parselmouth." When she stared at him, lost for words, he swished his wand, watching a snake burst out. To it, he hissed, "You, raise your head and sway from side to side."
Just like he had told it to, the snake lifted its head off the ground and started swaying.
To Hermione, Harry added, "Isn't magic awesome?"
Blinking, she pursed her lips, but not quite averting her eyes from the dancing snake. "So you want to conjure some snakes, fine."
"An army of snakes," Harry corrected. "I'd originally thought of ordering a snake to slither into the house of the target and bite them in their sleep, but while snakes do understand me, they seem to forget whatever I told them to do once I'm not around. They get distracted or revert to their natural instincts and behaviour, you see?" With a quick wave of his wand, he vanished the snake on the ground.
"So you can't send them on any assignments," Hermione continued, pinching her nose. "Which is why you'll set a trap."
"I'll disillusion the snakes, of course," Harry interrupted, "otherwise, they'd be easy targets. And I'll put up some wards to stop out-going Apparitions as well as Portkeys, so the Snatchers will be caught with invisible, deadly predators I can create hundreds of that follow my command. As long as I don't get hit, everything should be fine. And seeing as how I don't have to fire a single spell for the trap to work, I can hide behind as many shields and walls as I want and wait for the snakes to do the deed. I really don't have much to fear or worry about. Sure, getting rid of some Snatchers won't work indefinitely, especially since they're quite easy to replace, but it should send a warning Riddle and his followers can't ignore. Maybe it'll teach them trying to control our speech. My main concern right now is getting the wards set up properly. Granted, I could just do it the easy way, but I'm guessing I'll have to come up with something else. You probably want me staying out in the open as little as possible, don't you?"
"You got that right." Hermione pursed her lips. "Didn't you say we shouldn't focus on the Snatchers? Didn't you say they would desert the moment Riddle lost?"
"I referred mostly to actual battles," Harry pointed out. "If it's a choice between stopping some Death Eaters or catching Snatchers, the Death Eaters are the bigger problem. But if such an opportunity presents itself to take out a larger chunk of his followers and to get some of his grunts off the street for a few days of peace and quiet, I'd be a fool if I didn't make use of it. I mean, it's almost as if they want to walk into a trap. Tell me, Hermione – do you think it could work?"
She pursed her lips. "I don't know how well snakes can follow orders."
"It's not a complex order. 'Wait until I give the sign, then bite the humans that arrived.' I did some experiments to see just how much a snake can understand. I do think pretty much any snake should understand that much."
"Well, taking your word for it right now, it should work, yes," Hermione admitted. "But I'm not really sure you should do it. Not like that, I mean. It wouldn't be a fight in which casualties are to be expected. It wouldn't be a situation of kill or be killed. The way you explain it, you'd set the trap with the express purpose of killing them, not subduing, and..." She broke off, blinking, before grimacing.
"Well, what else could I do with them?" Harry asked, using her silence as an opportunity. "Ask them to kindly stop hunting down anyone who speaks up? Or give them a stern lecture about misbehaviour? Or not do anything about them? Worked so well when Dumbledore did it."
Hermione narrowed her eyes in thought. "I don't argue against the idea of a trap, Harry. It's," she made a face, almost as if she had swallowed something nasty, "a good idea, actually. I'm ask... wondering whether you have to kill them to do something about them, as you put it. You want them out of the way, but there might be other ways to achieve exactly that. You're a wizard. I'm a witch. Is there nothing between inaction or forgiving them and murder? Maybe we could..." She hesitated, searching for a solution.
"Could what? Arrest them? And put them where?" Harry waved his hands around. "Turn this house into a prison? And then what? We don't really have anyone who could watch them. And even if we had someone for that, we'd get more out of them if we could send them on missions or something instead of working as guards."
"Maybe we could knock them out, then?" Hermione replied as a smile began to form. "The Snatchers, I mean. We wouldn't have to guard them if they're unconscious. So you want to have the snakes bite them, fine. That's pretty clever, I'll admit."
Harry blinked, stunned by her admission. "Thanks."
"Well, don't get too used to it," Hermione added with a smile. "So, you want them out of the picture. Fine. But why not use switching spells beforehand? You could replace the snake poison with a very strong sleeping potion. Think about it – the Draught of Living Death makes it appear as if the victim has died when in truth, they're just very close to it. I could look up or even invent something similar. If we do it that way, the snakes' bites will just knock the Snatchers out. You'd have your trap that way, taking out dozens of Snatchers. Keeping them unconscious would take perhaps half an hour each day at most if we're feeding them some sleeping potions, but they'd be around when you'll need them."
"That's a lot of additional work there," Harry pointed out. "Switching the poison with some sleeping potion. And whatever for? What would I need a bunch of unconscious Snatchers for? Target practice?"
"Do you want to kill them?" Hermione asked.
"In a fight..." Harry began, but she shook her head.
"It wouldn't really be a fight, would it? If you set it up the way you explained it, they'd be pretty much helpless. It wouldn't be like a duel where downed enemies might be revived with the flick of a wand and where using harmful spells that can't be undone might be necessary to win the upper hand. Your plan is to take them out of the equation – to prevent them from fighting against us. Do they have to die for that?
"You asked me to help you. We've worked on a lot of plans – "
"Some more questionable than the trap I have in mind," Harry pointed out.
"I'm not so sure about that, actually," Hermione said, frowning. "There's a difference in intentions, for one. Normally, it's about sending a message. That you can't be stopped – Macnair. That you're not squirmy – Szarka. That you're still in full swing and have some tricks up your sleeve – the current plans. Nott was... Well, in hindsight, Nott might have worked with an abduction as well – "
"I doubt that, but what's your point?"
"Your planned trap? It's about reducing the numbers," Hermione explained. "To incapacitate the Snatchers so they can't cause any trouble. There are more ways than one to do that. It's not a choice between giving them a slap on the wrist or killing them, Harry. I'm suggesting considering alternatives."
"You really don't want me to kill them, eh?" he laughed.
"Killing shouldn't be the first choice," she said with a shrug. "It's more of a last resort in this case. It's about what is important. You don't want them fighting. Dousing them with a strong potion to keep them asleep for weeks or months might seem complicated, but it's possible and will achieve just that. And anyway, what would you have done with the bodies? Leave them lying around with the puncture marks to clue in any potential investigator? So it doesn't make much of a difference in terms of impact on the society whether you kill or just hide them. However, if you take them prisoner, you can hand them over once the war is over, in which case they could be put on trial for their crimes."
"Eh," Harry replied with a one-sided shrug, "that might be true, but... There's a lot that can go wrong there."
"I'm not asking you to give up the fight, Harry," Hermione pointed out. "You told me about your idea. I suggested some changes. I don't want you to become like Riddle and instead..." She drifted off, glancing around the room, before, with another blink, she grinned. "Remember what Sirius told us about Moody? Back in our fourth year?"
"Err, not word for word, no?" Harry tried, feeling put on the spot.
"He said," Hermione replied, "that Moody avoided killing whenever possible. Whenever possible, Harry. That's something I can get behind. He's one of the best Aurors around. He's respected not because of his impressive kill count, but because he fought to protect lives and to bring criminals to justice. The Snatchers are a symptom of the corrupt system, but they're also in it for personal gain. If given the chance to save their hide, some of them might be willing to make a deal to escape harsher punishment and hand over those in the shadows." Harry pursed his lips, and she shrugged half-heartedly. "You don't have to decide right now. It's just something to keep in mind, I guess. I'll see if I can come up with something. How to keep them from leaving –"
"I planned looking into that," Harry agreed. "Shouldn't be that much of a problem, though."
"How to take them out of the equation, with outright killing as a reserve plan if all else fails," Hermione continued. "And somewhere to hide the prisoners."
"Yeah, that one'll be tricky."
"Why?" Hermione wondered. "We're magical. We don't have to conform to the laws of time and space. You could always expand one of the rooms to work as a prison."
"I'd rather not tamper with the house's layout until I know the Blacks didn't leave any surprises around. Also, expanding a room would still risk having to explain a dozen unconscious Snatchers lying around. Well, we could lock the room or hide it, but..."
"Well," Hermione frowned, "if not a room, then why not a bag or something? Or maybe a closet? You know, Unextendable Expansion Charm or something. That could work, I think."
"So I'd have a bunch of Snatchers hidden between my socks and underpants. Great," Harry laughed.
"Well, unless you're dead-set on killing..." When he didn't argue, she added with a sigh, "But we've gotten side-tracked. This trap of yours isn't really a strategy to prepare our side for the confrontation or lead them in the fight."
"I," Harry began, only to realize he couldn't really find a decent counter-argument. "Well, fine. We'll have to come up with a strategy some time, once we've made a list of everything that needs to be done. For the moment, let's focus on our immediate plans. After that, we can start with getting our side ready. One step at a time." When she was about to speak up, he lifted a hand to stop her likely complaint. "I... Well, promise might be too much."
"You agree we should put some thought into it?" Hermione offered with a smile.
"Something like that, yes." He paused, pursing his lips. "Something else, Hermione. Something more important to think about, I think. Two things, actually, but... We're working on a tight schedule right now, aren't we?"
"Well, yes," Hermione agreed.
"Right. So maybe we should shift some responsibility to Ron. Not," he added before Hermione could speak up, "of the actual planning or preparation. If he wanted to, we could try, but I meant something else. For example, why not let him take care of the shopping in the magical world? Having him share the load with Kreacher? Now, don't get me wrong, but I trust Ron more than I trust Kreacher. Ron's a grown-up just like us," Harry argued. "He should done fine; he knows his way around about as much as we do. And he'd get out of the house from time to time and get a bit of fresh air. He's not the type to enjoy staying indoors for long. It would give us more time for other matters; it would give him a job he can dedicate himself to without moral dilemmas; it would help us all out."
"I'm... Well, I guess you're right." With a wry smile, Hermione added, "That's not all, is it? 'He'd get out of the house?'"
"Well, it won't be long until he'll complain again about being stuck in the house. And he's right about that, mind you, I don't deny it. We'll be going out for our mission soon. We've sneaked out from time to time for our shopping, but Ron? He's been here for five months. In that time, he's been outside once. And with your skills and Riddle's memories and skills to back me up..."
"You mean, Ron will feel overshadowed? Especially after Greengrass was kind enough to point out that I'm better than him. 'Unless he's more skilled than he lets on, she'll be the better choice if things get out of hand again.'"
"You remember her exact words?" Harry wondered.
"It's by far the nicest she has said about either Ron or me," Hermione explained. "And just so you know, she technically didn't say that I was was skilled, only that Ron is less skilled than me."
"That's nit-picking, isn't it?"
"True, but not important," Hermione argued.
Harry shrugged. "The point is, Ron doesn't have the same advantages we have. I basically cheated and you..."
"Yes?" she asked, smiling innocently.
"You are an orange to his apple," Harry compromised. "But right now, we don't need his flying skill..."
"That is inferior to yours," Hermione reminded Harry.
"We don't need him on a broom right now. We don't need his chess skills," Harry continued, "although he might make a decent Lieutenant or Captain one day. Right now, I'm hesitant to asking him to help us plan. He has this thing about killing, you know?"
"Moral concerns?" Hermione offered with a meaningful glance.
Harry chuckled. "Well, the point is, letting him take care of those small things, no matter how trivial they seem at first, means more time for us to focus on our assassinations. The least we can do is ask, but I doubt he'll refuse."
"Well, all right, let's talk to Ron about it. And the other matter?" Hermione asked.
"Ah," Harry sighed. "It's something I wanted to ask of you. Actually, it's something Ron himself pointed out, but he's probably not wrong about it – Occlumency. You learned and can protect our secrets. Daphne learns it so people won't be able to take our secrets from her that easily. I know it fairly well. Of course, if I'm caught, it won't really matter anymore whether they can get the secrets out of my head, but it's a matter of principle."
"And Ron doesn't know how," Hermione finished his thought.
"He's the weakest link right now, yes," Harry agreed with a frown. "It hadn't mattered that much last year when we were at Hogwarts and had the upper hand, but now, it might be a good idea to teach him how to do it. He doesn't have to be perfect; even a rudimentary understanding would do a lot of good."
"And you want me to teach him?" Hermione asked, pursing her lips. "Harry, that's... kind of private, isn't it? Learning Occlumency is a lot about getting to now your own mind and how it works."
"First of all, when Snape was meant to teach me, you were all for it."
"I didn't know what that would entail," she reminded him. "I'm allowed to change my mind."
"You are allowed to, yes," he agreed. "Still, I think he would profit from your help, even if it meant you digging around in his head. True, I could give him the book some time, but we both know how Ron is with books. I don't think he'd learn it that well from one. He's more of a practical guy, and translating the instructions from the book into action might be too much to ask of him. But with you teaching him, with you explaining the steps and guiding him, it might work. You could test his protections, could make sure he's not making any mistakes along the way."
And it would give both of his friends a reason to spend more time with each other, Harry added in his well-protected mind, particularly time focusing on something private. Apart from the obvious advantage of Ron learning a useful skill, Harry also hoped it would solve the problem of Ron and Hermione's obvious attraction. True, the tension he enjoyed getting rid of with Daphne was in large part caused by Ron and Hermione's dance around each other, but after almost two weeks of reaping the benefits, Harry assumed it was time to help his friends overcome that particular problem. Maybe it would help Ron see something go right in his life. Maybe it would help Hermione unwind and think about something other than the war. Maybe it would help both to see that issue resolved one way or another. If they acknowledged their feelings, they'd find out whether they were a decent match or not. And if his still rather limited experience was any indication, then it might also give them something fun to do every once in a while.
"Well, Ron isn't one for books, no," Hermione admitted. "He probably wouldn't get very far into it, those first few steps would just confuse him too much. I'm still surprised you made it through that much theory."
"I barely made it," he chuckled. "Yeah, that was a bit much. But you know what I mean. If we want Ron to learn it, then getting him a teacher is the best choice. Right now, that leaves us with you or me."
"So you decided to burden me with that responsibility?" she said, raising an eyebrow.
"I know you," he replied. "You'll have the whole book memorized. I wouldn't be surprised if you had given each of the approaches to Occlumency a try just for the sake of being thorough. And if you want to, I guess we could do it together. You do some lessons, I do others. But I think you are the best choice."
She frowned once more. "Well, I guess it would be worth a try. If he picks it up, fine, if not, then we'll know for sure. Do you think I could have the book for reference, though? Just to make sure I don't make any mistake."
"You? A mistake?" Harry laughed. "Well, I'll ask, all right?"
"So Greengrass still has it?"
"I didn't demand it back yet, no, but it shouldn't be a problem. Why?"
There was something odd about the way Hermione seemed to hesitate, seemingly on the verge of saying something, but she didn't complain like Harry expected her to. Instead, she cleared her throat after a moment of silence. "So, seeing as how you have a clean bill of health, we'll continue with the plan, then."
"I think so. Three prime targets, a number of smaller ones to cover our tracks, it should work just fine."
"I guess I should get to work, then, and prepare the capsules and the poisons," Hermione told him.
He nodded, lost in thought. "Sounds good. I'll stay here for a while and train a bit."
"Don't go overboard, Harry," she warned him. "The arm might be healed, but you don't know how much it has weakened you."
"Well, I'll never know until I give it a try. But don't worry, I'll stick to a light workout." In his mind, he already went over his plans. After he had seen Daphne fight off a number of birds, he had thought about that approach. It made sense to him, and as Hermione had pointed out earlier, he needed to work on his precision.
It had come to him during the last night. If he wanted to defeat Voldemort, he would need more than just the extensive spell repertoire. He would need some kind of advantage over the dark wizard. And in a way, he already had one. Voldemort had power – maybe more than Harry, maybe not. But all of that impressive knowledge and power would be of no use if he couldn't hit Harry. As long as Harry was faster, as long as he evaded all attacks and managed to land some hits, Voldemort would eventually lose. And despite all of the magic in the world, some things even Voldemort couldn't change – Harry was quicker in his feet and had years of honing his reactions.
Harry remembered the duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort in the Ministry's entrance hall. Back then, he had been awed by the raw power of the confrontation, and as the might of those two titans had clashed, he had had no chance of standing up to either of them. But thanks to a lucky coincidence, thanks to the strange last year, that was no longer the truth. And thanks to Harry's unique time at school, thanks to years of chasing a tiny ball around the pitch, reacting within the blink of an eye wasn't anything new to him. More than that, years of honing his instincts meant he had a good chance of dancing out of anything that might get thrown his way. And during Quidditch, he had also learned to keep track of his surroundings, both to know where the other players were and where the Bludgers were headed. If he could incorporate the Quidditch training, something Riddle had never bothered with, then Harry would become a ridiculously fast fighter with an extensive arsenal of deadly and dangerous spells and enough precision to make almost every spell count. Maybe it was time to become what he had suggested less than a year ago – the deadly force Death Eaters would learn to fear in open combat. Who needed power when they had speed on their side?
Let's see how long Hermione will remember the lesson to keep her nose out of other people's business.
