Chapter 26
The light and laughter seemed to be sucked from the very stones as they crossed the threshold. The absence of Dumbledore's presence was so noticeable Harry felt like it slapped him in the face. They took Hagrid's advice and went towards the Great Hall.
When they opened the door, a familiar face met them. Agrus Filch, usually a nasty and unkempt man, was standing next to the doorway. Instead of his normal attitude, which was someone was always causing trouble; he was pensive, and quiet. When he saw Harry and the others he stopped them.
"Where have you been? Supper started nearly ten minutes ago!" He stared them all down, but instead of looking like he was going to be able to punish them, he glanced up at the head table.
"We got separated from the group, Hagrid showed us up from the village." Harry had to give Hermione credit, she sure could think on her feet.
"Well go on then, get a move on." Filch pushed them toward their separate tables. Harry thought for a brief moment how stupid it was that neither Ron, Hermione, nor he were with the demons as they made their way over to the Ravenclaw table. He quickly leaned into his friends to tell them his thoughts. Hermione again amazed them.
She turned to Koga, who was starting to float away, they spoke to one another for a while and then Koga nodded and Hermione left to return to the others. Once they sat down Hermione started to explain everything.
"I told Koga to follow the others and tell them what to do and then wait on the third floor by that statue of the one-eyed witch. He's going to check to see if the passage to Hogsmeade is open and then we're going to meet him at midnight."
"We can only fit one of us now under the invisibility cloak, and it is going to get awfully crowded in Dumbledore's office with all of us there." Harry was thinking hard, he wanted to have his friends with him, but he also wanted to be alone.
"I know, which is why only one other person is going to go with you." Harry and Ron were confounded at what Hermione was saying; usually she was the one who was outspoken about Harry getting into trouble by himself (Kagome was with them but she was interested in the food, REMEMBER she hasn't eaten in about a day and a half). "You said yourself only one person can fit under the invisibility cloak and the others will need a Hogwarts student with them to find their way. Also Fred and George only gave me one invisibility charm."
"Who'll go with me?" Harry wondered out loud.
"Well the person has to be smaller so that throws out Sesshomaru and Ron, what? Oh sorry" Hermione said as Ron threw her a dirty look, "But you're both too tall, I don't think it would be good if we saw just your feet walking around."
"I'm not taking Jaken with me!" Harry practically cried, Ron laughed at the distressed look on his friend's face. It was one of the very few cheerful noises heard around the Great Hall.
"No I think it should be someone in our group, because it would be easier to leave together, and seeing as how I'm the one whose got the charmed ring…." Hermione trailed off, looking at the boys.
"What you want to come?" Harry was hoping she would say no because then that would leave only one other person……
"No, I need to do something else." Hermione never finished her thought and just left it hanging.
"That leaves one other person." All three stared at Kagome who was busy trying every kind of dessert in front of her.
"Wha'?" Was all she could get out because her mouth was so full.
"Good luck mate." Ron said patting Harry on the shoulder.
Waiting in the common room was the hardest thing for the three previous Hogwarts students. It was usually a happy place, a giant fire roaring in the center of the room, the bubbling noise of different years of young witches and wizards working on spells or writing essays. Instead all was quite, everyone worked in complete silence and the only noise was the occasional crackling of the fire and the constant scratch of quills.
At half past ten Harry and Kagome got ready for their departure to Dumbledore's office. Hermione insisted they leave early in the chance they met trouble. Harry took out the map Fred and George faithfully passed down to him and they looked down at it. It seemed like no one occupied the old headmaster's office, as Harry looked he saw the familiar names he had grown up with. Now most of them paced their offices, dorms, or hallways.
They saw the small dot labeled Koga drifting around the corridor near the kitchens, where the Ravenclaw common room must be.
Hermione opened up the portrait hole at exactly ten-thirty to let the two invisible clad figures out. But instead of going back in with Ron, she went off in a different direction.
"You better not get caught out of bed like this, young lady!" The fat woman in a pink dress scolded after her. Kagome who was still getting used to the portraits moving and talking had to squeeze tightly onto Harry's hand (A.N. Yes I know how can Harry's had be outside the invisibility cloak, I don't know but they would have lost each other if they weren't holding on somehow. So lets just say Hermione made Harry's hand invisible).
They cautiously made their way through the corridors, some were deserted some weren't. Harry wasn't surprised to see more ghosts out rather than people, but he hoped Koga wouldn't be trapped into doing rounds.
When they reached the stone griffin Harry stopped. He remembered when Umbridge had taken over in his fifth year and the griffin refused her access. Would it be the same now? Now that Dumbledore was gone, would the office be sealed forever? Harry stood in front of the stone giant and waited, he knew he was taking a great risk if there was any chance someone would hear them but he took it anyway.
"Acid pops." The griffin came to life and leapt out of the way and Harry pulled Kagome up onto the moving stair with him. When they were safely onto the platform outside of the office door Harry pulled off his invisibility cloak.
"We should be fine I reckon." He opened the door and walked through.
The office looked exactly the same as it had the last time Harry had been there. The only things different, were there was no magical phoenix sitting on his perch, and there was no Dumbledore sitting behind the desk.
Without wanting to linger, or to give the sadness a chance to wash over him, Harry took a few short strides across the room to a case behind the headmaster's desk.
Kagome gasped when she saw Harry go for a beautiful jewel encrusted sword, she wasn't the only one to make a sound either.
The portraits around the office had a hard time pretending they were asleep because this was the first person they had seen in months. When Harry went straight for the sword, a few stood up, three fell off their chairs, two made an audible gasp, but only one smiled sort of.
"Harry," Kagome warned, when she heard the scraping of chairs and the disgruntled noises from the former headmasters and headmistresses when they learned their cover was blown. "I think we should leave." Before Harry could reply a new voice entered into the conversation.
"I was wondering when we would see you here Harry Potter."