"What?" Harry asked, looking at her with a perplexed tone to his baritone.
" 'We need to tell them.' Them being Ron and Ginny." Hermione answered matter-of-factly.
"Ginny...okay...Ron...not so much," Harry answered.
"What do you mean 'not so much'?" Hermione asked.
"I mean, Ron doesn't even know about us, we can't just tell him about Altus lim—whatever its called—"
"Altus Limbido Amor," Hermione corrected.
"Whatever. We can't tell him," Harry stated.
"And why not?" Hermione asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Because he'll ask what the hell it means, and you know how I can't come up with that good of lies. Who could make up a lie about Altu— whatever its called."
Hermione paused for a moment, and then added in a melancholy tone, "Well...why do we have to lie?"
"We...uh..."
"You can't think of a reason anymore can you?" Hermione asked, "You said we had to lie to protect his feelings right? But have you seen him lately? It doesn't look as though his main priority at the moment is to win me over." Hermione pointed out.
"Well..." Harry tried to say.
"Well what? I think finding out this new gift and all, it would be the perfect opportunity to tell him about us."
"But..."
"But what?!" Hermione agitatedly asked. Harry mumbled something inaudible. "What was that?" she asked.
Harry took in a reasonable amount of air and answered, "I kinda like it like this."
"Like it like what?"
"Like a secret between you and me...and Ginny." He added as an afterthought, smirking a little.
"I have to admit, I kinda like it like this too." Hermione said, but after seeing the look of pleasure on Harry's face she added, "But wouldn't it be kinda nice to be out in the open and not have any fears about being caught anymore? Wouldn't it be nice to finally be able to show everyone that we are together?"
"When you put it like that...it sounds..."
"Like a great idea?" Hermione asked hopefully.
"I was gonna say cheesy..." Harry said with a smile. When he saw the angry look on Hermione's face he added, "Just joking."
"This is not a time to joke, Harry" Hermione said with a slight shaking of her head.
"Sorry." he apologized.
"Thank you for the apology…but this is a time to be completely serious. Do you or do you not want to tell Ron?" Hermione asked, her eyes boring into him.
"Well…I do, but—"
"Good then, it's settled…we'll tell them tomorrow." Hermione said, daring him to say her differently.
"Uh-huh…sure…t-tomorrow, then."
Hermione smiled and walked towards the Heads Common Room. Harry, realizing he was standing in a lone corridor, quickly followed.
The next day, during their regular thirty-minute break, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were all studying for upcoming exams in Charms and Transfiguration. Hermione looked up from her book for a second and stared at the top of Harry's raven hair poking out from atop of his notes.
Harry felt someone's eyes on him and looked up to see Hermione staring at him. 'Now' she mouthed to him. At first, he was clueless as to what she meant, then, last night's conversation popped into his head. He reluctantly nodded his head.
Hermione visibly took a deep breath and set her book down, earning the gaze of Ron and Ginny to focus on her. "What is it?" Ginny asked her.
"Me and Harry have something to tell you two." Hermione said, getting straight to the point.
Ron and Ginny shared a look; both knowing what this was about. Ron tried to look casual, even though he was searing with anticipation inside. "Ok…shoot."
"Well…you know when McGonagall asked us to come to her office a few days ago?" Hermione asked the two.
"Yeah." Ginny asked.
"Well…it wasn't for Head Duties, like we told you." Harry added.
"Any daft git could've figured that out." Ginny said.
"Hey!" Ron said, looking offended. Unlucky for him, Madame Pince passed by their table and told him to be quiet or else they'd be kicked out of the library. After a few muttered, 'Sorry's Ron continued, "I believed them…"
"Yeah…but you're a special case." Ginny said, playfully patting Ron on the back.
Ron pouted and motioned for Harry and Hermione to continue. Hermione obliged, "She actually called us in there for—"
Hermione was interrupted from her explanation/confession by a piece of parchment, folded in the shape of an origami dove, flying towards them and landing neatly on top of Ron's Transfiguration book. He through an apologetic look to the three of them and carefully undid the neatly-wrapped parchment.
"Who is it from?" Hermione asked.
"Uh…I gotta go." Ron said, leaving Hermione's question un-answered…just that, unanswered. Before any one of them could speak up or stop him, he was out the door, carrying his messy pile of books and dropping an occasional paper or two.
"Well…that was a little odd…" Hermione commented.
"A little odd? He just ran out of the conversation because of some daft letter!" Ginny harshly whispered, cautious of Madame Pince giving them another warning.
"I agree with Ginny…I think it is more than a little odd…it is downright suspicious." Harry said.
"I think you two might be onto something. But what could be so important as to have him run out of a conversation?" Hermione asked.
"Maybe our Ickle-Ronniekins has a snogging partner." Ginny said, in a baby-like voice.
"Could be…but I still don't know…" Harry added.
"Well…I don't think we should worry to much about him. I think you two should tell me what you were going to tell me and him earlier." Ginny said, turning in her seat to face Harry and Hermione.
"Okay, then…'Mione, you wanna take over?" Harry asked her.
Hermione sighed, but nodded nonetheless, "When McGonagall pulled myself and Harry into her office…the first thing she did was conjure two mirrors for us to look into…where we found the two of us were visibly glowing—"
"HA! I told you." Ginny interrupted with a smirk.
Physically unfazed, Hermione continued, "Well…she told us that it was a side-effect of a very rare gift called Altus Limbido Amor. She also said that this gift only happens to the two most powerful wizards whom are in love." Hermione paused, and took in a reasonable amount of air, "So she gave us a potion to stop the glowing and told us to tell only whom we must…that's where you and Ron come in…we want you two to keep this secret and promise not to tell anyone…we figured if we should tell anybody, it would be you two…if you told anyone, then we might all be in danger."
"Danger…how?" Ginny asked.
"McGonagall also said that the two people who harness the power of Altus Limbido Amor have power that is unimaginable growing within them. If this information got into the wrong hands…"
"They might use it against you." Ginny concluded.
"Exactly." Harry added, "So can we trust you?"
"Of course you can." Ginny said with a sincere smile.
"Thank you." Harry and Hermione chorused.
After running corridor after corridor, Ron was out of breath. He was in the dungeons yet again, and walking to the now familiar portrait of Salazar Slytherin. Muttering the password, he entered the eerie common room and walked over to the silhouette of one Draco Malfoy.
"I see you made it." Draco's voice sounded from the couch.
"Yeah…your note sounded a bit urgent…" Ron said.
"A bit urgent…well…as long as it got you here, it doesn't matter." Draco said.
After a long pause, Ron asked, "Why am I here, anyways?"
"The Dark Lord has a mission for us…involving the mudblood." He explained, "Since our telling him that Potter and her are involved, he became very interested…and thought he could get some leverage out of the situation."
"What kind of leverage?" Ron asked.
"Merlin, Weasley, you are as thick as they say…he wants us to…how do I say this?" Draco paused for a minute; "He wants us to get rid of the mudblood for a while."
"You mean…like…capture her, take her hostage?"
"Exactly."
"But we won't…hurt her…will we?" Ron asked.
"As much as it pains me to say this…no…the mudblood won't be harmed when she is in our care." Draco said with a regretful look.
A breath Ron didn't know he was holding was released with Draco's 'sincere' words. "Okay then…what is the plan?"
The next morning Hermione found herself woken up with the sudden urge to vomit. She quickly went into the bathroom and let it all out. This awoke Harry and he helped her by pulling her hair back and rubbing her affectionately on the back.
"Are you okay now, 'Mione?" Harry asked her in a smooth voice.
"Yeah…I-I think I'm okay." She answered, getting up from her kneeling position on the floor and straightening herself out.
"What was that all about?" Harry asked her.
"I don't know," Hermione said, turning towards him, "I just woke up, and had the sudden urge to vomit…and here we are."
"And here we are." Harry said.
"What time is it, anyways?" Hermione asked him, trying to glance into Harry's room.
Harry looked in there too and looked at the clock that was hung on his wall. "Seven-thirty."
"Well then, we might as well get ready…" Hermione said. Harry just continued to look at her, unaware of what she meant. "That means get out so I can shower."
"What? It's not like I haven't seen it before." Harry said with a cocky grin.
A glare from Hermione set him straight, "Not funny…now shoo."
"Shoo?" Harry asked—another death glare—"Okay, okay." He put his hands up in defeat and walked out of the room, earning a shake of the head from Hermione.
An hour later, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron were all at the Gryffindor table. And in Hermione and Ginny's case…gobbling down food. Ron and Harry noticed this and asked what was wrong.
"Well…I didn't feel so well this morning, and I vomited…you know how your dehydrated when you vomit?" Ginny said.
"Yeah…dehydrated…not malnourished." Harry pointed out.
"Not necessarily…" Ron said, earning confused looks from the three.
"Care to explain?" Harry asked.
"Well…if I am guessing right…Ginny might have a wizard case of Influenza…ya know, the flu?" Ron said.
"How can you tell?" Hermione asked.
"Well, like the muggle flu, you vomit a lot and are dehydrated afterwards…but unlike it, in the wizard flu, you are also malnourished for a short period of time—enough to treat it with a meal—and your magical abilities are severely altered."
All three jaws visibly dropped at this new side of Ron…a more intelligent side of him. "How do you know this?" Ginny asked.
"W-well…because mum told me about it. Apparently I had it when I was little." Ron answered, trying to uphold a straight face.
Feeling suddenly nauseous, Harry asked, "R-ron…is the wizard flu c-contagious?"
"Highly…why?"
"Oh no…" Harry bolted out of the hall and made his way to the boy's bathroom.
"I better go after him…" Hermione said, before bolting out of the Great Hall.
"Ron, I think we should tell McGonagall before—" Ginny was cut off, mid sentence by the sound of puking coming from one of the neighboring tables. This caused a chain-reaction on the other two tables, and soon at least ten members to each house table were vomiting.
"Quick, someone get Poppy!" McGonagall yelled over the sounds of purging echoing throughout the hall. Madame Sprout quickly got out of her seat and went to quickly fetch the matron.
Meanwhile in the boy's lavatory, Hermione was rubbing Harry's back and saying soothing words. Harry, after five straight minutes of vomiting, got up off of the floor and went to the sink to wash his hands.
"Alright Harry?" Hermione asked from behind him.
"Yeah…now I know how you must feel…"
Hermione smiled, "Sucks, don't it?"
"Hell yea." Harry said with a smile.
"ATTENTION STUDENTS AND STAFF MEMBERS" McGonagall's voice sounded around the castle, "FOR THE SAFETY OF YOUSELF AND OTHERS, PLEASE REPORT TO YOUR HOUSE DORMITORY'S FOR AN EMERGENCY HEALTH CHECK-UP."
"Guess we better go." Harry said.
"Yeah, I guess." Hermione said, "To Gryffindor Common Room!" she added playfully.
Harry chuckled and grabbed her hand to lead them both the their former common room.
When they arrived in the tower, they took a seat on one of the couches and waited. For some time, they waited for sometime for something to happen. What had McGonagall been about, calling them in there? When Ron and Ginny arrived, the school matron was soon to follow. Behind Madame Pomfrey, Headmistress McGonagall came with a roll of parchment and a quill.
"Now I want all of you to form a line, and if I tell you to step up, step forward." McGonagall ordered.
The occupants of Gryffindor quickly formed a line and waited to be inspected by Madame Pomfrey. When the two elders reached Ginny, Madame Pomfrey lifted Ginny's chin up and pointed her wand at her abdomen. A faint blue glow emitted, and McGonagall told her to step forward. Ron was inspected next, and wasn't asked to step forward. Harry was next, he was asked to step forward, and then came Hermione. She had the normal inspection, except that her stomach gave of a very bright blue glow, instead of the faint one everyone else's were giving off. Madame Pomfrey and McGonagall both exchanged looks and asked her to step forward as well.
"Now, for those of you who have stepped forward, I would like for you to follow Madame Pomfrey to the Hospital Wing, except you two." McGonagall pointed her finger at Harry and Hermione. "You will proceed to your dormitory, since it is a closed off space, there is no need to have you two be in the Hospital Wing." Harry and Hermione nodded and proceeded to their dormitories.
When they reached it, Harry immediately rushed up the stairs and went into the bathroom. Hermione sighed, thankful she only vomited once. She kept on thinking of the look that crossed over Madame Pomfrey and McGonagall's faces. She knew it had to do something with the glow…why was it different? Was it because she started the flu epidemic that was spreading?
When Harry came back down the stairs, he saw Hermione looking deep in thought. He smirked and hugged her from behind; whispering in her ear, "Sickle for your thoughts?"
Hermione shuddered as the close proximity and answered as smooth as she could, "I was just thinking of the way McGonagall and Pomfrey looked at me after my inspection…like they knew something I didn't…"
"Well…try not to worry about it now, not when—" Harry was interrupted with a paint pop. A scroll of parchment was floating in mid-air in front of their faces, and what looked like two vials of a green liquid. Harry detangled himself from Hermione and allowed her to take hole of the parchment.
"'In order for your safety and others, all students are ordered to stay in their dormitories or hospital bed until further notice. We are sorry for the inconvenience, but you must follow these orders or face strict punishment. The vial(s) attached to this letter are to help you with your symptoms and reduce the need to purge. Your symptoms should clear up and you should be good as new in three days time. In the meantime, all lessons will be postponed until further notice and all meals will be delivered promptly at 7:30 AM, 12:00 PM, and 6:30 PM. Again, we are sorry for the inconvenience.
Yours Truly,
Minerva McGonagall
Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
And
Poppy Pomfrey
Matron of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'"
"So…we are going to be cooped up in here for three days?" Harry asked
"Yeah…I guess so." Hermione answered, folding the parchment up and setting it on the coffee table nearby.
"All alone?" Harry asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Yes…all alone…why do you—" Hermione couldn't finish, due to the fact that Harry's lips came crashing down on hers. She quickly responded by placing her hands behind his neck. She loved moments like this, when Harry surprised her. So when his tongue entered her mouth, butterflies erupted. Just like their first kiss on the train. Hermione moaned into his mouth when Harry placed his hands under her white blazer.
Soon they were on the couch and deeply kissing, until they heard a knock at their portrait door opening. They quickly pulled apart and Hermione said a polite, "Come in."
They were surprised to find Professor McGonagall at their door. "Good afternoon Miss Granger, Mister Potter." They both replied with polite 'Good afternoon', "Well…I see I caught you two at a good time. I just came up here to check that you got your letter from Madame Pomfrey and myself and the potion vials."
"Yes, we did…what is this all about, Professor?" Hermione asked.
"Well…it seems as though an epidemic of the Wizard Flu has come to Hogwarts. We are not yet sure of the cause, but we are getting to the bottom of it as best as we can." McGonagall explained.
"Oh my." Hermione said, "Is it serious?"
"It is getting to the point where we might have to call in the mediwizards from St. Mungo's, because there are so many sick patients."
"Is the disease deadly?" Harry asked.
"Heavens no." McGonagall said, "It just drains your magic a little. So the faster we git rid of it, the faster all of the students and some teachers can return to classes. That's why we administered a three-day relaxation period. The flu itself is curable with the potion we gave you. But magic takes a few days to get back to its original state."
"How do you know how long it will take for the magic to restore?" Harry asked.
"It all depends on the age of the wizard or witch it infects and how powerful their magic level is. If a first year was infected, per se, it would take their magic a shorter amount of time to reach its normal capacity then say…a fifth year." McGonagall explained.
"Oh, I see…so me and Harry will be back to normal in three days?" Hermione asked.
"Not necessarily…you and Mister Potter here are two of the most powerful wizards of your generation, as you well know. And with the magic of Altus Limbido Amor inside of you…it will take you two less time to heal, because of the back-up magic inside of you."
"So what do we do with the extra two days?" Hermione asked.
"Well…I would imagine you'd catch up on your studies. And still conduct your Head's duties, since I imagine there will be quite a few students who will want to sneak out of their assigned sleeping places."
"Of course." Hermione answered for the both of them.
"Well I hope to see you two in three days time, then. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Professor." The two chorused. With that, the Headmistress left them back alone in their common room.
"I think we should start on our essays for Flitwick." Hermione said, going to her book bag and getting out her notes and a fresh piece of paper. When she got to her desk, she pulled out a quill from her jar full of them and the only sound that could be heard throughout the common room was the scratching of her quill against the rough piece of parchment.
"Ok, then…" Harry followed suit and went to his desk on the other side of the room and started to write
When Harry and Hermione were done with their essays and a quick patrol of the castle, they came in exhausted and laid down on the couch.
"That was a long day." Harry said.
"Oh yeah." Hermione said, "Did you take your potion vile, yet?"
"Yeah, I did at lunch…how about you?" Harry asked.
"I did after I was finished with my essay." Hermione informed him.
"Well…I am parched, I'm going to head for bed." Harry said.
"Me too. G'night, Harry." Hermione said, getting up and off of the couch.
"G'night, 'Mione." Harry said, giving her a tender kiss on the lips and heading up to his room.
While Harry was already sleeping in his bed, Hermione was up and re-reading on of her favorite novels atop her bed. She was in the middle of the climax of the story when she heard a banging noise from the other side of her window. She gently set down her book, marking her page with a silk ribbon and made her way to the window.
When she arrived at the window, all she saw was darkness…complete and utter darkness…that's not right. There should be at least an outline of the trees outside…unless…
CRASH
