Hermione, Ginny, and Tonks ended their whirlwind flight from Salem's archives in a heap on Aunt Diane's front lawn, Tonks' clumsiness carrying over into her Apparition technique.
"Oof!" Ginny grunted. "Tonks, lay off the cauldron cakes, would you? You're crushing my-"
"Never mind that," Hermione quickly cut in, hastily pushing herself up off the ground. "What were you thinking, Apparating here? We could've been seen!"
"Could have, but didn't," Tonks replied, finally hoisting herself up as well, much to Ginny's relief. "I did a quick scan as soon as we got here – nobody's around."
"D'you think your aunt has any leftovers from the other night?" Ginny asked as she brushed herself off. "We didn't exactly have a chance to grab dinner before we left…" Hermione, however, was now staring at the ring they'd just acquired and didn't appear to have heard her.
"Herms? Are you alright?" Ginny asked. "You look…worried." Hermione looked up.
"I guess it really hit me just now – we stole this," she said slowly. "They were so kind, welcomed us into their school, and we thanked them by stealing something important to them." Ginny and Tonks looked uncomfortable.
"We did agree that was probably the only way we could get the ring," Tonks said, but she looked like she was doubting her own words.
"We didn't even try asking first," Hermione said, sounding miserable. "And now I feel like I've done something terrible."
"Maybe we could make it up to them somehow?" Ginny suggested.
"How?" Hermione sniffed.
"I dunno – write them an apology letter, maybe, and explain why we did what we did? I don't know that we can offer to return the ring – we're counting on it too much – but maybe we can make it up to them somehow."
"That's not a bad idea," Tonks agreed. "It doesn't sound like much, and it doesn't make up for it, but an explanation might be better than nothing. And if it makes you feel any better, Hermione, I never feel all that great when I have to do something like this at work – you do what you have to do, but that doesn't always soothe your conscience."
"I think writing them would make me feel better," Hermione said.
"Then that's what we'll do," Ginny decided. The trio headed inside, saying hello to Diane and grabbing something to eat. Once they'd finished, they headed upstairs to the guest room and settled down to draft their letter. It was very late indeed by the time they had something that satisfied them all, and as Hermione added her signature, Ginny voiced a new concern.
"How are we going to get this to them?" she wondered. "They contacted us first when we got here – you initially wrote them from home – and we don't have access to an owl here, or know how to find one."
"There was a little post box in the Salem line station," Hermione said. "If nothing else, we can leave it there." Ginny nodded, apparently satisfied with that answer, and it wasn't long before they'd changed into pajamas and crawled into bed. Their flight to London was the following evening, and as exciting as the trip had been, they were all more than ready to go home.
Their first stop the next morning was Arrow Street. Just as Hermione had remembered, there was a mailbox in the station, and they dropped their letter in, an audible 'whoosh' sound suggesting that it had just been magically transported to its destination.
"I'd imagine that's how a lot of parents send letters here," Ginny said as they climbed back into the car. "Quite convenient, isn't it – and it'd be a bit difficult to explain owning an owl around here, I'd think."
"Especially if you lived right in the city," Hermione agreed. "I've never quite understood how Diagon Alley and the Ministry do it – both are right in the middle of London; you'd think the Muggles would have noticed the owls by now."
"Well, our inter-departmental memos are paper aeroplanes, of course, but you're right, that doesn't cover correspondence from outside the building, and we definitely get plenty of it," Tonks said. "Maybe we should ask Kingsley – he might know."
The trio continued to ponder the intricacies of owl post as Diane drove across the city, eventually finding a parking spot near a large building with a columned façade. The girls stared at the large building in fascination as they crossed the road, Diane leading the way.
"Welcome to the Museum of Fine Arts – the MFA," Diane said as they crossed the expansive front walk. "It's not nearly as large as the British Museum, of course, but it's still a fine collection and definitely worth a visit." They purchased their tickets and were soon exploring the museum's many different galleries. Ginny particularly enjoyed the ancient Egypt exhibit, having visited that country the summer before her second year, Hermione lingered near the Impressionist works and was also impressed by some of their musical instruments, and Tonks had fun examining some of the more abstract paintings.
"I think it looks better this way," she declared, tilting her head to the left as she looked at a particularly unusual canvas. The others laughed and began contorting themselves to examine the work from all angles, though they ultimately disagreed on which way should be 'up'.
The quartet spent the better part of the day enjoying the museum and the surrounding area, which was home to a number of Boston's many universities. In the afternoon, they received a response from Salem's Head of School – while the woman thoroughly disapproved of their methods, she respected their need for the ring and gave them her blessing to keep it.
"Wartime makes us do things we would not normally do under normal circumstances, and I understand that your situation is graver than most," she wrote. "I truly hope that your quest to unite the rings is successful and that this conflict comes to an end soon. If you ever find yourselves in need of further assistance, please do not hesitate to call on us – though the distance is great, the goal is the same, and we wish to help our friends in any way we can."
Hermione promptly burst into tears when she finished reading the letter.
"We stole from them, and they still find it in their hearts to call us friends," she whimpered. Ginny could only pat her back soothingly while Tonks looked on with a bemused expression, unsure of how to comfort her distraught friend when she felt just as bad.
Once Hermione had finally calmed down, they all went downtown for one last taste of New England seafood, and not long after that, it was time to head to the airport. Each of the girls thanked Diane profusely for her wonderful hospitality, and the American woman assured them that they were always welcome in her home.
"Thank you, Aunt Diane," Hermione said softly as they embraced. "Thank you for everything."
"Of course, sweetheart. It was the least I could do."
Diane stayed with the girls until their boarding call came, and they waved fondly as they made their way to the tunnel leading to the plane. After a long several days, they were finally going home.
The flight home was uneventful, and they'd all managed to get at least a little sleep by the time they were circling Heathrow Airport – Diane had stressed several times how important it was to get back on schedule as soon as possible when they returned, which would mean eating and sleeping at times their bodies would find odd. After debarking the plane and making sure that they hadn't left anything behind, they found a deserted alley and Disapparated back to Grimmauld Place. The house was empty, and the girls took advantage of the quiet to unpack, shower, and otherwise freshen up before lunch. Their Portkey activated in the early afternoon, the jerk behind their navels sending them tumbling through space as they clung to the small token they'd been given. They touched down in the headmaster's office, though they were greeted not by Dumbledore, but Snape.
"Professor!" Ginny cried in shock. "We weren't expecting-"
"What was the detention you supervised at the end of the summer term in my first year?" Hermione interrupted.
"Yourself, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, and Mr. Longbottom cleaned cauldrons in my classroom and were not allowed to attend the end-of-term feast," Snape replied smoothly. "Miss Weasley, I suggest you keep Miss Granger's actions in mind for the future – security questions are a necessity if you wish to stay alive."
"Yes, sir," Ginny replied, properly chastised. Having heard the Order exchanging answers to their own security questions at Grimmauld Place countless times before, she knew she should have known better.
"What was the result of the duel in the corridor outside my classroom in your fourth year, Miss Granger?" Snape asked.
"Goyle was hit with a Furnunculus Jinx, and I ended up with broken braces and front teeth past my chin," Hermione said, wincing slightly at the memory. True, she'd let Madam Pomfrey carry on with her shrinking charm and now had lovely normal teeth, but she could have done without the pain and humiliation.
"Aren't you going to question us as well?" Ginny asked Snape.
"There is no need," Snape said. "The three of you arrived together, and unless either of you left Miss Granger's company for an inexplicable amount of time between your departure from the States and now, there is no reason to suspect that either of you has been compromised."
"Where are the others?" Tonks wanted to know.
"They have not yet arrived – I believe the headmaster staggered the departure times of the Portkeys, although the reasoning escapes me," Snape drawled almost lazily. "He is absent due to Order business but assured me that you would all be here by the evening meal."
"But it's only just gone two o'clock!" Hermione protested after glancing at her watch. "Dinner is several hours from now – what on earth are we supposed to do until then?"
"Miss Granger, supposedly you are intelligent – I'm sure you can think of something."
"Bloody hell," Sirius said, letting out a long, low whistle. "Whoever built this place knew what they were doing."
"Or perhaps it was a descendant who discovered how to use the cornerstone," Patrick suggested. He looked at the object in the box and frowned. "Although I'm not sure why you'd bother to hide that, to be honest." Harry laughed.
"It might not look like much, but it belonged to Gryffindor himself," he said. "It's got quite the Glamour Charm on it – if the right person were to wear it, though, it would show its true colors."
"The right person?" Patrick questioned.
"It's a long story, but this ring is one of a set, designed by the founders to help protect Hogwarts by channeling its magic," Harry explained. "The rings must be worn by people who embody the prized characteristics of each of the four houses."
"Well, you're definitely a Gryffindor," Sirius said, plucking the ring from the box. "Why don't you try it on?" Harry carefully accepted the ring from his godfather's outstretched hand and slipped it on his finger, but nothing happened.
"Guess not," he said, removing the ring and sliding it onto his necklace instead. "Remember, we still don't know what the extra rules from the prophecy mean – just because I'm a good example of a Gryffindor doesn't mean I fit the prophecy's requirements."
"Divination was never really my forte, so I'm afraid I can't help you there," Patrick admitted.
"The wording's a bit confusing – something to do with 'the enemy's ignorance', whatever that is – but I'm sure it'll make sense eventually," Harry replied. "At least, I hope it will."
They carefully replaced the carved box – they only needed the contents, after all, and they all felt like the box belonged in the cornerstone – and slid the cornerstone back into place. Patrick invited his guests inside for one last cup of tea, which they gladly accepted, and Harry and Sirius bid their friends a fond farewell after exchanging hugs and promises to write. They returned to the alley they'd Apparated into at the start of their trip, and they were soon whisked away by the Portkey. Harry was thrilled to see that the girls had already arrived, but he remembered protocol and asked Hermione his security question.
"What was the very first Quidditch match we attended together?"
"Puddlemere's annual game against the Heidelberg Harriers," Hermione answered immediately. "I was eight, you and Draco were seven. How did I get hurt when we went after the philosopher's stone?"
"Fluffy scratched your leg," Harry replied. "You were bleeding and it hurt you to walk." Satisfied with the respective responses, they flew into each other's arms.
"I missed you," Harry said as they pulled out of the hug.
"I missed you too," Hermione said with a smile. "Now we just have to wait for Draco. Go say hi to the others." Harry immediately did as she suggested, and though he was mindful of the adults in the room, he did make sure to give Ginny an extra squeeze and the promise of a proper hello when they were alone.
Sirius wasn't sure, but he thought he recalled Draco or Lupin mentioning that their Portkey wasn't going to activate until dinnertime. The group passed the time swapping stories of their adventures, though they didn't share much as they'd just have to repeat it all when Draco arrived. Sometime in the late afternoon, a werewolf Patronus appeared, speaking in Lupin's voice and urging them to return to Grimmauld Place as soon as possible. While they were certainly intrigued by Lupin's message, they were reluctant to leave Hogwarts without Draco, Harry and Hermione especially so – finally, they decided to send Sirius back to London first, where he would find out what had happened and decide if the rest of them needed to follow immediately. As Snape had already been charged with returning them all to headquarters, nobody objected to this plan, and Sirius left the office soon after. Roughly twenty minutes later, they received a second Patronus, this one from Sirius, saying that they should come as soon as Draco arrived, and that the blond would be coming alone, as Lupin was already in London. The message ended there, and while they were all wondering why Lupin and Draco had split up, they knew it was useless to inquire further, and they fell to pacing and watching the clock in turns.
At the stroke of seven, Harry was nearly bowled over by Draco's sudden arrival.
"Merlin, Drake, give a bloke some warning!" he said, though he was laughing as he regained his balance. He opened his mouth to ask Draco his security question, but Hermione beat him to it – except hers wasn't a question at all.
"Dragon, my soul was weak, forgive me…"
Harry stared at Hermione in confusion. He supposed the line meant something to his brother and best friend, but he had no idea what it could be. Draco, however, merely cocked his head and regarded Hermione calmly.
"Hermione, there's nothing to forgive."
A/N: So now that you have both chapter 8 & chapter 9...what happened? (You might want to have another look at the garden scene from the Yule Ball - chapter 13 of WFCTC... ;) )
Thank you for the follows/faves/reviews, & for reading!
JKR owns all things Potter, I just play. Please R&R, & enjoy! :)