Hermione was lying on her stomach in the infirmary, waiting for the result of the analysis, for which Madam Pomfrey had insisted so much. A thread of light filtered through the window curtains and lighting dimly the room on that cold morning. The nurse entered the room where Hermione was resting, with a worried expression, and McGonagall followed. The girl sat up while waiting for what couldn't be good news.
"Hermione, we... we have something to tell you." introduced with a trembling voice Madam Pomfrey. After that, stepped back and let McGonagall speak."unfortunately, the antidote that saved you was given just in time; and it didn't eliminate every trace of poison, so some of it is still circulating in you. And there is no way to remove it. This poison could lead you to death. There is no way to extract itf , at least, no known way; but I promise we will do everything possible to save you. You have six month left. I'm very sorry." said McGonagall trying to hold herself together.
"Look, Miss Granger, we haven't said anything to anyone, but if you want, you can tell your friends." added the nurse with a sad smile trying to comfort her.
"Actually, Miss Granger... there is a legend... a ring capable of healing from poisons, and from many diseases... a ring that, accordingly to the legend, long ago was here in Hogwarts. If true, it could heal you, and if you believe it, if you still have hope, and enough courage to try, you can search for it. Clearly, being a legend, we can't be sure that it actually exists; but I believe that you, Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Potter, have widely proved that not all legends are just fantasy. I sincerely wish you to find a cure. I will do everything possible for you. Good luck." said McGonagall, who held back a tear and warmly embraced the best student she had ever had.
The headmistress and Madam Pomfrey went away leaving Hermione struggling with all her swirling thoughts. She didn't know if it was a good idea to tell Ginny, or Draco; she didn't know how to react to the fact that all she wanted to say or do in a lifetime had to be compressed in less than a year, it was too much for a single person to endure.
A little further on, just outside the infirmary, a female figure with waving blonde hair, ran towards the forest. She stopped only when she reached the protective barries inside the forest. Her deep, cold breaths were interrupted by the arrival of those who she was waiting for in the snowy darkness of the forest.
"so? something new?" asked Plumeria, the Death Eater with curly, brown hair and blue eyes.
"Granger has six months left." The spy said dryly. All the Death Eaters applauded moderately.
"When I prepared for the poisoning, I thought she would die instantly, but they managed to keep her alive, at least until June." Megan continued.
"doesn't matter, in one way or another, she will die." Simon Blevins spoke.
"And instead, for the rings? We have to decide when to get others to escape! We cannot evade them without knowing anything about their plans." Plumeria pressed impatiently.
"calm down, as I said the last time we met, about all their mission and what they are searching for, it isn't so fast, they have a lot to do before getting what we want. I told you that is better to wait for them to do all the work so that we can come and get everything without difficulty. They will go to the room very soon, I will follow them wherever they go, and then I will be able to tell you." Megan said reassuring them.
"well, we hope they are fast, everything is ready" Nancy Cohen, concluded. Then, with the others, she turned and disappeared, while the spy returned to the castle shivering with the cold of that snowy January night.
The morning came slowly, with a shy whitish sun popping out behind the clouds. It was the first day of school after the Christmas holidays. Hermione, who had finally been dismissed from the infirmary, slowly descended the stairs, as early as ever, to go to breakfast. She stopped in front of his favourite window to look at the black lake on which the shy sun of that winter morning was reflected. Ever since they told her she should die soon, she enjoyed more little things; from the singing of the birds early in the morning, which previously bothered her so much, to reading her favorite books for the millionth time.
She dived with her mind into the icy waters of the lake, and relived all the moments that were connected to it, such as the second round of the Triwizard tournament, when she had spent day and night thinking about trying to find a way to make Harry survive its dark water, and she was kinda kidnapped to be the "treasure" of Victor Krum.
She then felt a figure walking towards her, and then stop near the window by her side.
"are you okay darling? you look so... lost in thought... and not good ones." a warm female voice asked from where out of the corner of her eye she could see the shadow of the person who had just arrived. Professor Anemonaeris slowly put her hand on Hermione's shoulder.
"oh, em, yes, professor, don't worry, nothing serious." Hermione replied quickly.
"oh...okay. Remember you can always tell me if you need something. you know where to find me. I'll be there. See you in class." she said as she walked away.
Hermione started walking towards the Great Hall again, and arrived at the Gryffindor table, where Harry and Ron were already eating their breakfast, surprising her.
"Already awake?" asked the girl sitting down in front of who she hoped would still her best friends.
"Today we have the game against the Hufflepuffs." Ron said coldly without giving weight. "Ah, right, so Morgan is playing too today. Isn't she beater?" "Yes, she plays too, but as chaser." Harry replied.
Hermione paused, her eyes a little lost but her eyebrows furrowed. She was thoughtful. "I decided that tomorrow we go back to the room, and we will use the keys of the dragons." she said loosening the muscles of her eyebrows.
"and why?!" Harry asked, continuing to eat.
"because I want to know. Who I am, Who they were, Where are the rings, and why and how Damaris died." Hermione replied dryly.
"You are Hermione Jean Granger, a muggle born witch, the rings are rings, and the dragons are dragons. Are there any questions?" Ron answered coldly.
"actually yes, I could be one of the last Dragonlears, and I'm a little attacked to my life, at this shool, and in general at this world. So I don't mind trying to save them. it's not a trivial matter." Hermione retorted.
"Could you please tell me why do you always have to be so annoying? why do you always have to know everything about everything? Can't you just accept a nine instead of a ten?!"
"I Have to get always ten, I have to know everything, because once I didn't. Because once I have been a nine. And a nine wasn't enough. So now I have to be more than ten, I have to be eleven. I couldn't bear not being enough again." Hermione snapped. She got up and gathered her things again.
"okay then. Warn the others." Harry said just in time; before Hermione could walk away.
"Good." and with that, Hermione whistled and called Draco's owl. Artemis landed on her arm, and after Hermione finished writing the few lines several times, she handed her three letters. "Draco, Morgan, Luna." She stroked the owl's coppery head with two fingers. It spread her large wings and disappeared in search of the recipients. Hermione didn't miss Harry and Ron's expressions at all, when they saw Draco's owl coming to Hermione's whistle, they turn up their nose and breathed deeply. Then, she stormed out.
A little further on, at the table immediately next to them, a blonde girl leaned gently backwards to listen to the conversation of the Gryffindor trio. Megan now knew about the meeting, and wouldn't lose sight of them for a second.
The hours flew by, and next morning, on Sunday, shortly after lunch, when everyone was elsewhere, all the heads were on the ground floor's entrance all, ready to plunge into the fog. The large dark doors of the secret room creaked open. They were again wrapped in the blaze, which was stopped by the bubble like the first time.
As soon as their eyes got used to the light, they bowed and approached the dragons. For a few seconds Hermione chained her eyes to those blue as the sea of the white dragon. "I am not afraid." she said firmly, to herself. And then, she came so close that she could put her forehead on the dragon's muzzle. She felt the steam coming out of her large nostrils, and those blue eyes focused on her.
The last Dragonlear.
Hermione was the first Dragonlear that the dragon had ever seen since Damaris died, so she was the one and only. Even if in Hogwarts there were probably other students that might be Dragonlears, Hermione was the only one that knew about the fifth house, and the only one who could reclaim her membership and get revenge for Damaris's death and for her house's disappearance.
The dragon and Hermione were the only two things left of the great Dragonlear's house.
Hermione managed to reach the snare that held the key at the dragon. She took the golden key, turned around facing the center of the room and whispered: "tergumtemp."
Golden curls started from the tip of the key, as if it was melting. For a few seconds they circled in the air dancing, then one at a time, they came closer and joined one another, creating a door large enough for the dragons to pass. It was of white wood with a very elaborate gold handle, with a thousand carved decorations. A rampant dragon was carved on the door.
"Look!" Hermione called. they turned at her spellbound by the magically formed door. "How?" Ron began. "you have to take the keys and say -tergumtemp-" Hermione explained carefully spelling out the formula. She remained there, dazed, to observe in every detail the golden curls that formed the arch of the door. They looked like climbing plants twisted around a young tree.
The others did not waste a moment, cautiously they came close enough to take the keys and one at a time, they whispered: -Tergumtemp- The golden curls spread from the keys. They sparkled for a few seconds. then, golden dragons circled over their heads, then settled to form the arch of the door with their wings spread.
As hypnotized Hermione went to the door handle, clutched the cold metal knob in her hands, and opened the door. When she observed what was beyond the door, she was amazed: there was not a formidable cosmic void or anything like that, but stone corridors, which vaguely resembled those of the school. She saw the other doors appear beside her, two on the right and two on the left, and her friends emerged from them, equally amazed to see the corridors of their school as a space-time portal.
They walked slowly, their wands lit up in front of them, and the dragons watching their backs. They looked around, and saw a round window, almost two meters in diameter, which reached almost from their feet to above their heads; they approached and a light came on above the window from torches at the walls as they came enough close.
As soon as they leaned over to see what was there, they saw the battle of Hogwarts, spells sparkling in the sky, and all the dead on the ground, students and professors running everywhere, fighting.
They all relived the horrible moments of that night. From that single window, others branched out: the nights in the golden trio's tent, the destruction of the Horcruxes, that evening at Malfoy Mannor... and many others.
They could not bear it much longer, they decided to continue. Just a few meters ahead they found another window. And from it Dumbledore could be seen falling from the astronomy tower. They all felt a small shock at seeing Dumbledore die again. Like a punch in the stomach. Some for the absence of that character so important to them, while Draco only remembered the terrible memories related to his death.
Before other events could spread, they hurried on. They saw the last person they wanted to see, Dolores Umbridge smiling, of her usual irritating and nervous smile, in one of the smaller windows that blenched from the bigger one. In the main one they saw the battle of the Ministry, in the mysteries department. The day Sirius died, the day the magical world surrendered to admit the return of Voldemort.
Harry felt a deep twinge in his chest, reliving the moment when Sirius' face passed beyond the opaque veil. And he stroked his hand, where the signs left by Umbridge appeared weak.
They went to the next window. There was the maze of the Triwizard tournament, the dragons' task, the one in the black lake, the arrival of Mad-eye, and the return of Voldemort.
Just everything, like a library, an encyclopedia that collected every single day in the world, to be able to fish it out at the right time; just like Rowena Ravenclaw had said in her diary.
A few meters ahead, there was Sirius flying over buckbeak... then Harry fighting the basilisk in the chamber of secrets... and finally Professor Quirrell with the philosopher's stone.
From each window, a thousand other windows branched out, more and less large according to importance. There was Peter Pettigrew, Lupin, the Shrieking Shack, the whomping willow, Ginny and the blood phrases on the walls, the chess game, and even Fluffy. Until even the first year's Halloween evening, the one where Harry, Ron and Hermione became friends. The three looked at each other straight in the eyes for a few moments, then looked away embarrassed.
ahed of them, a bit further on in the gallery, an arch appeared marking the end of the tunnel from which they had come. They walked there, entering a round stone room with numerous arches opened before them leading to as many numerous galleries. As soon as their footsteps marked the floor of the room, in addicion at the torches, a light came from above, illuminating everything there was in the room.
They were now able to see the structure of the room and few simple details. Each arch was dominated by golden letters inscriptions, which indicated the historical fact and the period of time to which they connected, and a few meters inside the galleries there were other, more specific divisions. It was like a maze. But luckily the dragons knew the way.
On the final arc of the gallery from which they had arrived, it was written: -second wizarding war.-
They looked all around themselves, searching for anything, any detail. In the centre of the room was the same crest that they had seen in the dragons' room at Hogwarts; the current crest, but with the dragon that with its large wings united all the other houses together. The students were all close, back to back, looking around. While the dragons, which until then had remained in the gallery from which they had come, began to move, in the direction of a particular gallery, which ended in the room, with a marble pointed arch.
"It's there." Hermione said to the others, almost in a hiss. Still holding her wand in front of her, she slowly advanced towards the dragons. Hermione arrived near the white dragon, apparently her dragon, and holding one hand on its back, the other holding the still lit wand, she began to advance in the dark gallery that bore the label: -foundation of Hogwarts.-
The others, who had stood still there, a little confused, took their first steps following Hermione; the first was Harry, who daredevil as always, approached looking around, entering the gallery, followed by the house heads.
In the first window, about ten meters from the entrance, five wizards appeared in front of them, fighting with their dragons, who at that moment were there with them, (at regular size, not restricted like now) against a group of rebellious giants, driving them back to the mountains.
The founders wore strange and elaborate armours, which did not seem to date back to the Middle Ages, because they were much more refined and evolved than those of that time. They fought with their wands at the sky, shooting sparks in every direction, they fought riding their dragons. Godric brandished his sword, and with the help of his dragon, he came close enough to the giants to scratch them just to make them go back.
They saw Damaris, a young Damaris, about thirty years old like the others; who got up from the ground after falling from his dragon, and in his hand he held a handful of earth in which he could see, a small diamond. He clenched fists and went back to fighting with his treasure safely in his pocket.
They continued to walk deeper and deeper into the gallery, and saw the day of the concil during which it was decided to found Howarts.
The founders were sitting around a table in a sort of terrace, seated on decorated wooden chairs, and they argued animatedly. Always near that window, in a smaller one you could see the first Hogwarts project. And the construction sites of the school, where the founders took part too, building Hogwarts piece by piece. Then the five great wizards stood in line, side by side, and entered together, for the first time in Hogwarts.
The students walked for a few more meters and found themselves in front the next window. There was Damaris who placed some documents on his desk in an office, probably his office.
"Look!" Harry exclaimed. He was holding the golden key they had used to enter space-time. He was repeatedly pointing to a spot in the golden frame of the window. Hermione went over to the edge to see what Harry was pointing at. There was actually a keyhole on the right of the frame. Then she tried to turn her key in the keyhole, it was perfect. She turned the key twice, but unexpectedly, the window did not open, but made blue smoke appear which covered her and went down to the floor where it disappeared. From that moment the figures began to speak.
"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Asked Helga Hufflepuff, who had evidently entered Damaris's office while the window was covered in smoke.
"No, but if we succeeded, it would be truly a success. We could protect the world from anything! Face any threat! That ring would amplify the powers of magic wands; it could save many lives." Damaris explained.
"but it is an enormous risk, we can't be sure that by forging the ring the stone will remain intact. And if it breaks, we don't know what a damaged philosopher's stone could do." Helga objected.
"it's worth a try, let's proceed." "if you are say so... " and with this Helga approached the door and left the office followed by Damaris.