"Harry, I'll keep the cloak for you."
"But—" "Hermione!" they both started at the same time.
"Look! You're life's obviously in danger, so you must not go running about the castle when there isn't anyone around, so what's the use of an invisibility cloak if the person who's after your life has the Marauder's Map?" Hermione reprimanded Harry.
Harry's face fell.
"That's probably how they found out I was on the Astronomy Tower." Harry said glumly.
"If they lose the cloak, then they'll be slightly crippled, right? And they'll have to really plan things out to avoid being caught, and that's easier to slip up on. Because planning a murder or assassination is a lot harder than it seems."
"Thanks for making me feel better." Harry said dryly.
"I wasn't trying to, but you're welcome. Continuing: Make sure that you smell your plate before you start putting stuff on it. The more common poisons have a distinct smell when they are placed on metal. And, when you eat, make sure Professor Snape or Professor Dumbledore is nearby. Don't go anywhere without Ron, unless you have to, and make sure you are never alone. You know which spells to use to identify whether there is a jinx on an object, cast that on everything – your clothes, books, bag, pillow. It's unlikely they'll strike in the same way again, but it's better to be cautious. If I think of anything, I'll be in contact. Don't worry, I'll write in Phoebe's name and use her owl. She won't mind." Hermione said.
"Hey, Hermione. Do be careful. If anything should happen at your school, don't hesitate to use the cloak." Harry said.
They all said their goodbyes sounding very choked, but Hermione did not realise that they had talked over an hour. So, she went straight to bed, feeling content.
That weekend, Hermione went to town with Will, Phoebe, Helen, and Melissa, and she bought three small, spherical crystals. They were about the diameter of one inch. Then, once in the privacy of her room, she cast a number of spells on the crystals. Then she went and tested both on Phoebe and Will, before writing to Ron on the Tuesday afterwards.
Tuesday night, Hermione was once again speaking to them in the fire.
"Okay, put them on now."
"What is this?" Ron said, pointing at the crystal.
"These are for your protection. If anyone with malevolent intentions towards you is nearby, then it will warm up. It also draws positive energy from around you, and feeds it to you when you need it, so that you will always be alert and prepared to strike or defend yourselves. And, if I need to talk to you, or you to me, just tap the crystal three times and say Ron's name, or my name, or Harry's name, and we'll feel exactly what you are feeling for a couple of seconds."
"So, if I'm absolutely terrified, would you be as well?" Ron said.
"If you tap the crystal three times and say my name. If you want to meet up, just make yourself feel extremely happy when you tap the crystal."
"How do we do that?" Ron asked.
"Cheering charm." Harry answered.
"Correct." Hermione said. "Has anything else happened?"
"No, it's been quite quiet." Ron said shaking his head.
"Too quiet." Harry muttered.
"Let's hope that we get the person before you leave Hogwarts." Hermione said anxiously.
"Why?" Both of them asked at once.
"At least in Hogwarts you'll have Professor Dumbledore around. Outside…"
The conversation ended soon after that.
As the days continued to pass, the students of Phinxgild began to feel more relaxed and less tense in anticipation of an attack that has not occurred, yet. However, there was a small trio of students who were exactly the opposite. Hermione had warned Phoebe and Will immediately after the last conversation she had with Harry and Ron that there would be an attack on Phinxgild. So they became more and more tense and worried. Hermione lost her temper very easily and Phoebe even walked out of class once. Professor Faleys was showing signs of stress too.
Finally, the Christmas holidays were approaching. Hermione assumed that Voldemort would want to attack when the school is in full swing, and would not attack during the holidays, and she began to relax and get into the Christmas mood.
One evening, at about eleven o'clock, Hermione, Will and Phoebe were taking a stroll on the grounds, ignoring the fact that it was after curfew. They were talking about the war. Suddenly, Hermione felt her crystal heat up a lot. Her eyes widened when she realised what this meant.
"Phoebe, Will! Run!" Hermione said.
Seeing her terrified face, they sprinted back to the school. Hermione dared a glance over her shoulder and her blood ran cold. Coming through the ruined gates of the school were people dressed in black cloaks and silver masks. It was very dark, but the moonlight reflected off the masks, enabling the three students to see them. Fortunately, it was too dark for Hermione and her friends to be seen by the Death Eaters, and they reached the door safely. The locked and bolted the door, before leaning against it. Hermione took action.
"Phoebe, Will, I'm not Head Girl, but I've been in this situation before. Is there any safe way out of the school?" Hermione asked.
"We could floo them." Phoebe suggested.
"There's a tunnel, behind the tapestry of Greagin the Goblin and the Greedy Ghouls. It leads to Phinxmere, but it's really narrow, you can only go through it in single file." Will said.
Hermione took off her mother's necklace and her hair clip. This was the difficult part. Making a portkey seems easy, but you need to be able to focus on the location and its surroundings much more than if you were apparating and you have to trigger it. Hermione frowned and concentrated.
"Portus." She said.
She repeated the spell for the other object and gave one to each of them.
"If you can't floo everyone out, get them through the tunnel. Make sure that they remain calm and listen to you. I've appointed you the leaders. If you can't floo, get everyone to hold hands and tap the portkey three times. You will be taken directly to Hogwarts."
"What about you?" Will asked.
"I have to find out who betrayed me." Hermione said resolutely.
"There are over one hundred Death Eaters out there!" Phoebe exclaimed
"All the more reason that you should hurry. Will, you take the Topazes and the Amethysts. Phoebe, you take the Emeralds and Diamonds. If they question you, tell them that they can stay behind and face the Death Eaters if they would prefer. Threaten them, frighten them, just get everyone out – of – here. Don't make too much noise. Phoebe, can you grab the invisibility cloak on your way out and give it back to Harry for me?" Hermione said.
Phoebe nodded and left.
"You will come right?" Will asked, worry in his eyes.
"If I'm not in Hogwarts by tomorrow morning… assume that I'm no longer alive." Hermione said solemnly.
She was wrapped in a huge hug, and then, as quick as a flash, he disappeared. Hermione set about to work. She warded the doors with complicated spells, layer after layer, and then used her wand to write several runes on the walls. She could not remember all of them, but she could remember the ones that she needed. Two on the top, two on the floor, two on either side of the doors.
Then Hermione said a spell and held her wand high in the air. Suddenly, a loud, screeching noise was emitted from her wand, and it pulsed through the school, waking everyone from their beds. As time passed, the noise grew louder and louder, until she finished the spell.
The teachers appeared to investigate, all very ill-dressed for the occasion – they were all in their night clothes. Had it been under other circumstances, Hermione would definitely have burst out laughing. Instead, she told them the grim news.
"Death Eaters are almost at the doors. Phoebe and Will are taking the students to safety."
"You must go as well, Miss Granger. Your help has been much appreciated." Professor Faleys said.
All the teachers held out their wands and approached the door, but Hermione intercepted them.
"The doors have been heavily warded. As long as the Death Eaters don't know that they can cast spells through the runes, we will be able to buy the others some more time. I'm not going anywhere, Professor, I want to know who betrayed me, and that person will be here. I know it." Hermione said.
Madam Viarra sighed.
"You will be killed. All of us will be killed before sunrise." She said quietly.
"Accio owl." Hermione said.
A few seconds later, a ball of feathers came shooting through the air and into Hermione's hands she summoned another owl and took a piece of parchment and a quill from her pocket. All the professors were looking at her in shock. Hermione tied the parchment to the leg of the owl, just as the next owl crashed into her chest. Both owls left, hooting angrily at Hermione and flew away. She turned back to her professors.
"You never know when things may come in useful." She said, answering their looks of inquiry. "One owl is going to the Ministry, telling them that we are under attack. The other owl is going to Dumbledore. I just hope they won't be too late."
Their was a sound of an explosion and yelling from the other side of the door. Hermione smirked.
"I guess they thought that this was going to be easy."
"What did you do to the door?" Professor Featherpea asked curiously.
"Oh I cast a spell on it so that whoever touched it would, one, burst into flames, two, be thrown backwards with a large force, three, lose consciousness." Bang. "After a while, they'll realise that as long as they destroy the door, those things would not happen to them anymore." Another bang sounded. "But, when they try to destroy the door—"
Just then, an even larger exploding noise sounded. There was a lot of rude words drifting through the windows and Hermione smirked again.
"using spells, the door would only reflect those spells back, and whoever cast the spell would not only suffer the effects of whatever curse they had use, they will also be stunned. So, if they can't use magic, and they can't use their hands, they are going to be a little stuck until they realise how they can actually get in."
"Through the windows?" Professor Stix asked.
"Oh no, they'd be very vulnerable. They know that there is someone in here, and they would have to enter one by one through the windows. They would drop like flies. No, they need to use Muggle methods, and that's why it'll take them a long time to figure out, and a very long time to put it into action."
"What methods?" Professor Denvil, the Muggle Studies professor, asked.
"They could use an axe. A completely metallic axe can't be set on fire, can't be stunned, and even if it is thrown back, if they have about four people hacking, they would be able to get through in no time. Hopefully, he Aurors will arrive during that time."
"Thank you, Miss Granger, your quick thinking may have saved us all." Professor Faleys said.
Hermione did not blush as she would have before she left Hogwarts, but she smiled and thanked him for his compliment.
"It's the least I can do. I've fought these people before, and I'll do it again."
Another five minutes passed before loud thudding noises began. They had figured it out. At first, the thudding was slow and hesitant, but after a while, it was going very quickly, and with a lot of force. Little by little, the wood of the door began to splinter and break off, and finally a large part of the double-doors was hacked away, large enough for five people to enter at once. However, the first person that stepped into the hall suddenly convulsed. His companions looked at him or her in fear. Suddenly, the person was thrown backwards into the crowd behind him, knocking at least five Death Eaters unconscious. The front four Death Eaters snarled.
"That is my very last trick. The runes will electrocute anyone who wishes to enter or exit and throw them backwards." Hermione whispered.
"A very neat trick." One of the Death Eaters said.
The voice rung bells in Hermione's head, and she snarled.
"Malfoy."
"Miss Granger! What a surprise! Draco informed me of your sudden departure from Hogwarts. A pity… Nonetheless, it has kept our spy out of harm's way. Now, how to get past these runes?"
The runes she had drawn were now glowing in the wall. Lucius Malfoy approached one and inspected it. He looked up at Hermione and smirked.
"I am not an expert at ruins, but I have a feeling that this will work. Scourgify!"
The rune faded and disappeared. Smirking, he stepped forwards, but he too was electrocuted and thrown back. Hermione smiled.
"You've underestimated me again." She said.
She was beginning to panic. If they rubbed out all of the images, they would be able to get through. Why wasn't anyone coming to help? Twelve teachers plus one student against one hundred Death Eaters – they were doomed. She tapped the crystal three times and said Harry and Ron's names, hoping that they would sense her fear and dread.
The other two left at the front nodded to one another and rubbed out the runes one by one. Hermione began to tremble. All the teachers drew out their wands and nodded to one another, as though saying good luck. They were all indeed doomed.