As much Hogwarts was an enchanting place, it could become quite terrifying at night, especially in these dark times. Shadows seemed to spring to life and every flicker of a torch could be mistaken for an enemy lurking in the darkest corners, the air tingling with some sort of forbidden magic.
Hermione was silently creeping along the fourth floor towards the library. It was the early hours of the morning, around one-thirty, so it was still quite dark outside and within the castle walls, only an occasional torch illuminating the corridors. She had made sure that everyone had been very well asleep before casting a Disillusionment Charm on herself and slipping out of the Room of Requirement. Harry had confiscated the Invisibility Cloak so Hermione couldn't use it the day before. He should have known that she would have other tricks up her sleeve.
Hermione pressed herself against the wall within the shadow of a suit of armor created as Argus Filch rounded the corner ahead. He was, thankfully, unaccompanied by his cat Mrs Norris and he walked past Hermione without a single glance. Grateful that the caretaker was a Squib, she released the breath she was holding and continued her way.
She reached the library and cautiously stepped inside. The place seemed darker and creepier than the rest of the castle but Hermione still felt at home here. She lit her wand tip and began to move through the different sections.
It did not take long for her to find the section on wizard myths and folktales. She pulled a large volume off a shelf that dealt with mysterious magical objects. Hermione flipped through it but no mention of the Deathly Hallows was made. Undeterred, she put the book aside and took out another. That one too did not contain any information about the infuriatingly mysterious artifacts.
Hermione spent the next hour pouring through another dozen of books but her search proved itself to be futile: it seemed that the only place the Deathly Hallows were referred to was in The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which she had found a copy in English next to The Truths and Lies of Wizarding Folktales. Knowing she only had about three or four hours before daybreak, Hermione swiftly made her way to the section on rare magical objects. She was going through a book called Extraordinary Powers within Ordinary Objects when she felt the Disillusionment Charm suddenly lift. Hermione whirled around, her hair flying around her, and pointed her still-lit wand at none other than Draco Malfoy. He shielded his eyes against the blaring light.
"Malfoy?" Hermione said in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing, Granger," Malfoy sneered. "Mind lowering your wand or do I have to do it for you?"
Hermione only lowered it enough so that the light wasn't shining in the blond boy's eyes. He smiled mischievously and took a step forward as she took one back, her lower back hitting the edge of a table.
"I had no idea you were lurking somewhere around here," Malfoy said. "But you shouldn't have come out of your little hiding place. You would have lived a little longer."
"I doubt it. You wouldn't kill me, Draco. You are not like your master," Hermione replied.
"What makes you think so?" Malfoy demanded to know but Hermione saw in his eyes that she had hit the mark.
"Nox," she whispered. Her wand extinguished itself but the moon was shining through a window so Hermione could still see Malfoy standing in front of her quite clearly. She took a step forward, braving the consequences that might follow.
"Well?" Malfoy continued expectantly.
"Draco, you may hate me but you don't want me dead. In fact, I don't think you want anyone dead. So why did you join You-Know-Who's inner circle?" Hermione asked.
"Why do you think, Mudblood?" Malfoy spat but his voice wavered.
"I highly doubt it was because you felt like joining," Hermione said smoothly. "It was because of you father; you are being used as a punishment for your father's failure at the Ministry two years ago. You never wanted this."
"You're wrong."
"Am I? All you've done to me so far is remove my disguise although it wasn't very much of one with my wand lit up. You could have killed me while I had my back turned but you chose not to. If it was truly your heart's desire to become a Death Eater, you would take out your wand and kill me right here, right now. Do it. I dare you."
In three short strides Malfoy approached her and grabbed her by the forearms, pushing her back into the table. Hermione gasped as she felt the edge cut into her back but she did not lose her grip on her wand. Her brown eyes met Malfoy's grey ones and she saw that something had broken in them.
"You don't know what it's like," Malfoy hissed, "to have him threaten you and your family, okay? It was either join or die and… and… why am I telling you this? You're an unregistered Mudblood! I should be turning you in!"
"Because you have nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to. I've heard Crabbe and Goyle are quite fond of the Death Eaters and wish to follow in their fathers' footsteps," Hermione said placidly. "Face it, Draco. You're alone and are desperate to have someone help you. Even if that help comes from someone like me."
Malfoy snorted. "Like I need help from a filthy little Mudblood such as yourself."
"Whatever, Malfoy. Say what you want but deep down you wish that you were on our side instead of his. All I hope is that you make the right decision and that you come out of this alive."
"Y-You do?"
Malfoy suddenly softened. He didn't let go of Hermione but she felt his grip slacken. She was about to say something else when he was suddenly yanked away from her by some invisible force. Hermione stared as Malfoy looked around for the source of what had grabbed him but there was seemingly nothing there. Then, without warning, he was sent crashing to the floor.
Hermione looked around frantically but Malfoy's attacker was still nowhere to be seen. She turned back to Malfoy, who had gingerly sat up, and realized that he had been punched in the jaw. His bottom lip had split open and it was swelling handsomely. He glared at Hermione loathingly.
"You… You had something to do with this," Malfoy snarled. "I don't know how you did it but you did."
"N-No," Hermione stammered, suddenly frightened. "It wasn't me, I swear!"
But Malfoy was no longer listening. He jumped to feet and whipped out his wand, pointing it at her. Hermione raised her own wand, ready to deflect any curse he threw her way.
He raised his wand over his shoulder then froze, a look of pure confusion settling itself over his features. Malfoy looked at his wand arm and began to pull at it with all of his might. Hermione realized that something was holding him there and it wasn't going to release him any time soon. But what could it be? It clearly wasn't a Full Body-Bind Curse.
Malfoy's arm suddenly started to jerk left and right and up and down. Hermione followed the limb with her eyes as the scenario unfolded itself, thinking that this was one of the most bizarre things she has ever witnessed. Malfoy struggled to free himself but all efforts so far proved themselves to be useless.
His wand then flew out of his hand and remained suspended in mid-air. No one dared to move a muscle, all eyes on the floating wand. It then slashed through the air and with a flash of light Malfoy was sent flying into a bookcase. Books tumbled to the ground as he fell along with them. He wasted no time to scramble to his feet and rush toward the library's exit.
Hermione watched as the wand disappeared into thin air and she sprinted after Malfoy. She didn't care that her footsteps echoed throughout the place, she just wanted to be away from where she was standing. Hermione had her suspicions of what had attacked Malfoy but she did not want to risk confirming her hypothesis in case she was wrong.
She was beginning to see the archway that was the library's exit when she felt something grab her arm. Hermione managed to bite back a small scream and tried to break free from the invisible force that was holding her prisoner. It gave her arm a sharp pull and Hermione screwed her eyes shut as she stumbled forward. She braced herself and waited but nothing else happened. She cracked an eye open and found herself face to face with a very angry Harry Potter while standing underneath the Invisibility Cloak.
If Hermione had seen Harry furious before, it was nothing compared to now; it even surpassed the time during their fifth year when he had been especially choleric. He had gone very white in the face and his eyes were flashing dangerously. The air around him seemed to crackle with tempestuous magic.
"Walk," Harry ordered stiffly.
"Our feet will be seen," Hermione reminded him.
"Then crouch!" Harry snarled.
Hermione knew that it would be wise to obey him. They made their way out of the library and walked through the corridor in complete silence. Hermione kept glancing at Harry but he kept his eyes staring dead ahead, acting as if she didn't exist.
It wasn't until they had reached the seventh floor did Harry finally react. He turned on Hermione so fast that she was startled into retrograding into the wall. She let out a small gasp as she felt pain course through her from her lower back; Malfoy had slammed her into that table much harder than she had initially thought.
Harry was now standing so close to her that she could see herself in both his eyes and his glasses in the light that was being emitted from the torch above them that was piercing through the Invisibility Cloak. The anger was still burning in his eyes and Hermione noticed that Harry's cheekbones were now highly colored with a bright red flush. He pressed his hands on either side of her head against the wall and he glared at Hermione fiercely.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Harry hissed. "I expected this kind of stupidity from Malfoy but not from you. You promised, Hermione. You promised!"
"And I suppose you've been watching me like a hawk since yesterday?" Hermione retorted.
"And I was right to do so. Look at what happened tonight! Malfoy was about to hurt you!"
Hermione felt like pointing out that Malfoy had only intended to harm her when Harry had delivered that blow to his jaw but she thought better of it and kept her mouth shut.
"If I hadn't shown up on time, I could have… I could have…" Harry swallowed. "Found you lying dead on the floor."
At those words, something changed in Harry. His anger seemed to melt away and Hermione observed with a start that there were tears sparkling in those brilliant green eyes. His hands slid down the wall and fell on her shoulders. Harry leaned forward and rested his forehead against Hermione's, closing his eyes as he did so. Hermione remained unmoving, unsure whether it was safe to touch him.
"I can't stand the thought. I can't bear it! When I saw Malfoy suddenly grab you, I was so scared for a moment," Harry whispered sorrowfully, his voice quivering. "I've lost so many people in my life, Hermione. Please don't become one of them." A tear escaped from underneath his eyelid.
"Oh, Harry…" Hermione felt like crying, too. How could she have been so selfish? "I'm so sorry…"
She reached out and wiped the tear away. She then wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him close to her. Hermione felt Harry trembling against her as he returned the hug. She rubbed his back, starting out in small, slow circles then going up and down the length as she whispered soothing words about how no one was ever going to leave him anymore. Hermione heard Harry let out a short, strangle gasp that she recognized as him trying to choke down a sob. She put a bit more pressure in the embrace before pulling away, brushing away the stray tears Harry had permitted to escape.
"It's going to be okay," Hermione said softly. "We're going to be okay. All of us. No one else will die except for You-Know-Who."
Harry nodded, keeping his stare focused on the wall behind Hermione and taking deep, steady breaths. Hermione smiled kindly at him and gave him her handkerchief.
"Did… Did you find anything?" Harry asked, taking the small piece of cloth from her.
"Sadly, no. It's like the Deathly Hallows are a fairytale construct but the name itself isn't presented in the story itself and neither is the whole 'Master of Death' thing. It's obvious that the concept has been spread around but why hasn't anyone written anything about it? You would think that objects of such power would have been researched and documented," Hermione replied, frowning.
"Maybe they have been looked up but no one's found anything?" Harry suggested tentatively, dabbing his eyes.
"Maybe," Hermione said. "C'mon, let's head back to the Room of Requirement."
"Yeah," Harry replied, giving her a slightly watery smile, which she returned.
He placed an arm around her shoulders and she put one around his waist. Silently, they continued their way towards the Room of Requirement while making sure the Invisibility Cloak covered them both perfectly.
Poor Harry has the weight of the world on his shoulders. It's only natural for him to break down once in a while.
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