Chapter 30 - True Colours
"Save my son," Lucius begged Dumbledore, on his knees. "Save him! SAVE HIM! I'll do anything! ANYTHING!"
Ron swallowed. Dumbledore would heal Draco right? Of course he would! He was Headmaster, and Draco was a student, so even if Lucius had been You-Know-Who's right hand man, that didn't really have anything to do with Draco, and so Dumbledore would save him. He'd make everything alright. Dad always said that everything would be alright as long as Dumbledore was around. He was the greatest wizard in the entire world, so of course he would save Draco! Any moment now…
"Ahh Lucius, I freely admit that it is well within my powers to save young Draco here," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling madly. He reached into his robes, brought out a tin can, and held out a small yellow rock. "Might I ask one question though. Do you take me for a fool?" He plopped the yellow rock in his mouth.
"Thin-think of Ariana," said Lucius, kneeling, pulling on Dumbledore's robes like a beggar.
"Hohoho!" Dumbledore threw his head back and laughed. "You didn't really think that would work, did you? Do you really think so little of me? I must confess to feeling quite disappointed. This cannot be your plan. If so, I'm afraid I'll have little choice but to let your boy bleed out. Let us see who blinks first. That is, unless you can present to me an offer containing substance."
Lucius blinked, sniffed, and wiped tears from his eyes. But they kept right on falling. Because just like Ron, it appeared he'd just realized that Dumbledore couldn't have led a war effort if he was afraid of a little blood.
McGonagall and Snape arrived.
"Cave Incinimum," said Snape coldly, a haze spreading out from his wand like a growing bubble. "Spellwork cannot stop the bleeding?"
"I'm afraid not," said Dumbledore. "Would you care for a lemon drop Severus? They're a muggle sweet I'm quite fond of."
"And an elixir?" Snape asked, licking his lips. "Have you tried healing him with an elixir?"
"You too, Severus?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, and he offered the lemon drop to McGonagall, but she turned it down with a sour expression, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops.
"No," said Snape, folding his arms. "You think they would have gone through with this moronic appeal to your heart if they had consulted with me? Lucius, enough with this farce. Heal the boy, and present an actual offe-"
"You think I would agree to such a plot?" Asked Lucius, standing, suddenly furious. Every word was clipped and precise. "You think I do not see what you see? I've no doubt what happened: The great Lord Voldemort has used me, used MY SON, in his pathetic flight from death. I did his every bidding, I championed that silly mudblood girl, I vanished that pool of sticky black goo, and he has taken my son! He has taken my son! He is after The Stone, he is after the Granger girl, but you already knew that! Save my son! You don't need The Stone to accomplish it. You can heal him at Saint Mungos, you're the only one who can get there quickly enough. Do that, and I'll be your champion. I'll push all that muggleborn rubbish through wizengamot, and I will do everything in my power to oppose the so called 'Lord Voldemort'. Save my son, and the Malfoys are yours, Dumbledore."
"Better, Lucius." Dumbledore smiled crookedly. "Severus, what do you think?" He held out the lemon drop to Harry, then to Ron, seemed taken aback when neither wanted one, and finally plopped it into his mouth with a shrug.
"Pettigrew, Black, Potter, The Boy, you, myself- we all are responsible, not just Him, but still… He was the one who did the deed. I will always remember that. Always. So let Him come. He'll find there's more than one man He should be frightened of." Snape's dark eyes glanced down at Draco, and he softened. "Beyond that… Lucius offers an uncompromised peace… How can we say no?"
"Do you really think that wise?" Dumbledore asked McGonagall.
"I agree with Severus," said McGonagall. "We can make do without you for a couple of hours. And we shouldn't stoop to His level. Let us not involve children in our battles."
"I think it would be prudent to let the boy die. But it appears I've been outvoted, and what kind of headmaster would I be if I didn't listen to my professors? Very well. I wish you the best of luck my friends." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, and he put a hand on Draco's shoulder. Ron heard a beautiful song, one that somehow made the blood covering the stones beneath him feel just a bit warmer, that made him feel like maybe, just maybe, everything was gonna be okay. A ball of beautiful fire dove down from the sky, and Dumbledore and Draco disappeared in a burst of red light, and the warmth vanished with it. Had that been…
"Petrificus Totalus," said Snape, freezing Lucius Malfoy like a statue. He took Lucius's wand and patted him on the shoulder. "You must forgive me for not trusting your sudden change of heart. Do not worry, I know that Narcissa would have no part of this. Minerva, The Dark Lord is coming, if you would offer some insurance."
"Petrificus Totalus." McGonagall sighed, a purple light flashing into Lucius. "How many of the Order are present?"
"Four," said Snape. "Hagrid, Black, and the two of us. We don't know their location however."
"Gather them," said McGonagall. "See if Arthur and Filius would be willing to help. We'll go to The Stone and face him together."
"No," said Snape.
McGonagall's knuckles whitened against her wand. "Explain yourself Severus."
"I quite agree with Professor Snape," said Hermione bossily, walking through the concealing charm. Sirius was right behind her. They must've seen Dumbledore and Draco disappear with the phoenix and used that to find them. "Headmaster Dumbledore's defenses of the philosopher's stone here in Hogwarts have stood all year, why would they suddenly fail now? It seems a good assumption that the Dark Lord is still unable to get through Professor Dumbledore's magical defenses. But you can control people if you can hurt them, isn't that right Professor Snape? I haven't forgotten your lesson. There's a move yet to be played, Professor McGonagall, and we ought to defend against it. Another hostage, almost certainly, and one who is not so easily replaced as the very-heroic-but-otherwise-quite-average Draco Malfoy. I'm in quite a bit of danger I suspect. As is Harry, and to a lesser extent Ginny, and even Neville I suppose- you really should make occlumency mandatory Professor McGonagall, or at least give your agents sunglasses- did Headmaster Dumbledore ever have any intention of keeping The Prophecy a secret? But perhaps Headmaster Dumbledore is using The Dark Lord's paranoia for a scheme of his own? Yes, yes, of course, that's exactly what I would do. Headmaster Dumbledore is quite brilliant isn't he? By the way, Ronald, Harry, Neville- have you seen Ginny around?"
Prophecy, hadn't Dad mentioned some kind of prophecy before? And what was that about The Philosopher's Stone, Hermione was acting like it was here at Hogwarts… But what bloody bint would hide the most valuable bloody artifact in the entire bloody world in a bloody sch- Wait, why exactly had Hermione asked about Ginny?...
…No…
No, no, no, no, no. Who had attacked Draco? No! No, it wasn't possible! Ginny had- she'd changed her bloody ways! She wouldn't… And how could he be sure Hermione even knew that Ginny was The bloody Heir of Slytherin? Well, aside from the fact that she'd just admitted she could read minds, oh and also being the most brilliant witch since Merlin, and literally sleeping right next to Ginny every night… So yeah, no way she could have possibly figured it out, Ron you idiot. But even if she knew, surely Hermione wouldn't tattle right? Sure it might win her some stupid award, but what about what it would do to her frien…
…Ahh… Fuck…
…Hermione was literally bouncing on her toes with excitement…
He had to change things somehow. Put a stop to it, control the damage- he'd gotten better at dueling, maybe he could… No, he had to be realistic. He couldn't fight his way out of this one. Hermione knew, Neville suspected. He had to get them on his side. Then they could find Ginny and restrain her- keep an eye out until they could get her home, until Dumbledore got back, and then everything would go back to normal. Nobody had died yet, he could still fix things as long as everyone kept their bloody mouths shut.
"I err… Yeah, she was right beside us after Harry went running," said Ron, shooting a pleading look at Hermione. Not his sister. Not Ginny.
"That's cute," Hermione said, smirking. "But no she wasn't, because my dear Watson, Ginny is The Hei-"
Ron sprinted at her.
"Flipendo," drawled Hermione. Her jinx pushed Ron straight down, he slipped on a rock, and slid to Hermione's feet covered in Draco's cold blood.
"Hermione please," Ron begged. "If you care about Ginny, if you care about me at all you'l-"
"Silencio," said Hermione, smiling broadly. "As I was saying, Ginny is the Heir of Slytherin. It's not her fault of course- she's been possessed by a horcrux, a fragment of Lord Voldemort's soul integrated into an object. Professor Snape, you can cast the Killing Curse right? That ought to be enough to destroy the horcrux, and then we'll have Ginny as good as new."
That… A horcrux? Maybe it would be alright… Afterall, The Dark Lord had tricked plenty of witches even older than Ginny. If they just destroyed the horcrux, Ginny would be okay… She'd be okay… She might be okay… There was a chance she'd be okay… It was possible she'd be alright… She'd… Oh Merlin… It was far too late… Maybe You-Know-Who had already killed her, it was possible right? Anything was better than a dementor's ki-
Ron wretched.
Hermione would fix everything. Nothing would happen to Ginny.
"Ooh, this is so exciting!" Hermione said enthusiastically. "Discovering the Dark Lord's horcruxes- that ought to be worthy of an Order of Merlin. Even if it is merely a portion of him, I'd still technically be assassinating The Dark Lord, which is really pretty good. Although to a truly impartial observer it certainly doesn't stack up to Headmaster Dumbledore's feat of defeating Gellert Grindelwald, so I shan't be upset either way. What do you think Professor McGonagall, is it enough to be awarded an Order of Merlin, First Class?"
McGonagall's lips thinned. "Of course it would be Miss Granger. If you know where it is. If it is indeed possessing Ginny Weasley."
"Oh I'm quite sure," said Hermione confidently. "I've been stalking her, and she's always writing in a black diary like a little freak. It's a custom build, with the original owner's name printed on the front. Tom M. Riddle. M is short for Marvelo, I've looked it up in the records. It's an anagram you see, but I shan't ruin it for you of course."
Tom Riddle… Lord Voldemort… What had Ginny been thinking? Dad had always warned them not to talk to anything when you couldn't find its brain. It was baby stuff, like not lighting yourself on fire, giving an imp a whoopie cushion, or looking a ghoul in the eye! How could Ginny have let this happen? She was supposed to be the cleverest Weasley! That was probably why, so many things worked out for her that she thought that common sense was beneath her. Ron should have been looking out for her… not worried about the trouble they'd get into… because now… now she was Voldemort's, and You-Know-Who wasn't gonna just give her up.
Ron kept his fingers firmly tightenedaround his wand as he walked along the castle walls, through the entrance, down The Grand Staircase, and into the dungeons. Hermione skipped and twirled, like she didn't even notice Sirius, Snape, and McGonagall had fanned out in a defensive perimeter around them, wands out, ready to fend off any sudden attack. But Harry and Nev had, they had their wands out too. It wasn't like You-Know-Who was just gonna let them waltz to his horcrux and take it. He probably had a bloody trap waiting for th-
"Pureblood," said Snape, and the bricks in the wall rearranged themselves into an opening.
"It'll be in The Girl's Dormitory," announced Hermione proudly. Snape nodded, and led them through The Slytherin Common Room, and up a flight of stairs.
The stone floors were coated in cold, wet blood. Feathers everywhere, someone or something had gotten here before them, and slaughtered Hermione's roosters. The big snake from before had eaten Nev's rooster whole, which meant… which meant that there had been no need to leave all this blood so why… Oh… Whoever had done this had wanted them to know that they'd been here first… That they were close… That You-Know-Who bloody wanted them right here, right now.
Ron stood by the entrance, wand ready to blast any wanker that tried to get at them.
"Ever so fascinating!" Said Hermione, dipping her hand in the blood. "It's cold to the touch. These roosters have been dead for a while, and yet their blood has the viscosity of tap water! They must have been injected with some kind of anticoagulant! Death on a timer, how clever, I really ought to have predicted such a thing. He is quite brilliant isn't he? Ron, Harry, Neville, it really ought to go without saying but if you hear something slithering towards you, close your eyes. A basilisk is sure to attack us soon, isn't it wonderful?"
"The horcrux, Miss Granger," said Snape.
"Yes, yes," said Hermione, bustling to the red dresser next to the messiest bed in the dormitory. She opened up a drawer and started tossing out socks and knickers onto the floor. Ron winced. What the bloody hell was she doing? Anything in there could be cursed!
"Argh!" Hermione screamed, falling to the floor. "Empty! That brat must've hidden it from me. Hidden it somewhere else! It's like she doesn't even care if I win an Order of Merlin?!"
Or maybe that she'd grown up with six brothers. Ron looked through the shelves himself, looking for anything that jiggled. What the bloody hell was he thinking? Probably gonna get cursed, but then again, it was that or get turned to stone, so he might as well make himself useful. The second drawer from the bottom jiggled. He searched the bottom of it, found a notch, and pushed up a layer of plywood with a quill. And there it was. A little black journal, hidden away in the corner, with the words Tom M. Riddle sewn to the cover in gold lettering. The horcrux. The thing that had possessed his innocent little sister, which had coerced and possessed her into doing so many evil things. Easy enough to find, but almost certainly a trap of some kind. It had to be cursed. If one got too close it was sure to defend itself. They ought to have Snape use Avada Kedavra on it- but it might swallow up the curse and redirect it at them, Bill always told him that there was no such thing as too much caution when dealing with dark, curs-
Hermione snatched the diary and opened it up. The pages were blank. Nothing had happened to her yet, but they still needed to be careful because they had no idea what would trigg-
"Empty... Doubtful, there must be some kind of encryption hiding away its contents. How might it work? Perhaps a revealing charm to start things off?"
Yeah, that seemed smart. Use magic on the obviously cursed horcrux. Had she no sense at all?! Ron tried to stop her, but she'd already started her spell.
"Aparecium!" A white light hit the diary, but nothing happened to Hermione. Ron let out a breath, and glanced at Snape, but he was staring at the diary scowling. "No, no, of course that wouldn't work, this is a horcrux, not a simple enchantmen-"
Little black letters floated to the surface, one by one, revealing a correspondence. There was Ginny's handwriting, and there was another, almost impossibly precise and neat, each letter evenly spaced and identical. They had been writing each other often, at least two or three times a week.
Something was wrong! There had to be some kind of trap! They hadn't been attacked, they hadn't dealt with any curses, You-Know-Who just wouldn't leave a bloody horcrux undefended! Maybe if it was a pebble or a stick or something where the whole point was to be innocuous, but this was a book with his bloody name on it. It just didn't make any sense!
"A waste of time," said Snape coldly. "That we can hardly afford. Five points from Slytherin, Miss Granger, and do keep in mind that not every idea dancing around in that foolish little brain of yours is clever. Some are trojan horses, and you'd do well to remember the sender. Now that we've settled the matter, we've got to-"
"But… But it is a horcrux Professor Snape! I know it is!" Hermione stamped her foot angrily.
"Do you have proof?" Asked Snape sharply. "If not, we've things to do."
But Hermione was right. The diary had to be a horcrux, or… or even if it wasn't, there had to be some kind of spell You-Know-Who was using to possess Ginny. Maybe some kind of Imperius Curse in the text? It was You-Know-Who they were talking about, anything was possible. It would explain Ginny's behavior, why she'd been attacking people. There would be some evidence hidden in the diary somewhere. He just had to find it.
And so Ron desperately started reading through his little sister's diary.
'Hermione thinks I killed Barty Crouch Junior. But I was studying for Transfigurations all night. I even asked Pansy and Daphne about it and they said they saw me in the library, so it couldn't have been me right?'
'No,' came the reply. 'You are not the Heir of Slytherin, Ginny.'
'Are you possessing me Tom?'
'Have you heard of Occam's Razor?' came the reply. 'Of course you haven't. It states that all else being equal simpler explanations are more likely to be correct. Utter rubbish, obviously. The human mind prefers simplicity, that doesn't mean that simple explanations are more likely to be true than complicated ones. Instead consider the two possibilities, keeping in mind the multiplication rule for independent events, and consider the relative feasibility of each option. It's possible I put you under the Imperius. I would have had to perform a false memory charm on all three of you, undetected. Nevermind that false memory charms are notoriously fickle, if I'm Lord Voldemort, as you seem to suspect, I suppose it would be within my capabilities. You'd have to think of a motive for me as well. Why would a near all-powerful wizard bother manipulating someone so unremarkable? Or, alternatively, Hermione is mistaken about The Heir. Afterall, if The Heir is clever, it's quite possible they've arranged for you to take the fall.'
'I don't believe you,' wrote Ginny. 'I'm evil. Everyone thinks so. Even Ron. I can't believe I killed someone. It's Hermione's fault, if she hadn't strengthened my magical core I'd have never been capable of it.'
'Ginevra, how many times must I spell it out? You've killed nobody. And even if you had, it would be Barty Crouch Junior. Hardly an unjustified execution. The world is better off without him.'
'I have,' wrote Ginny stubbornly. 'I'm a monster. I'm even blaming Hermione for it. Well I shan't be speaking to you any longer, and I shan't be strengthening my magic anymore! If I'm to be your puppet I'll be a useless one.'
'Where is your ambition?'
'There's a line between good and evil. I won't cross it.'
'This is the wrong decision Ginevra.'
'Goodbye Tom.'
'Well if you're sure… Do not forget that this was your decision… Not mine. I will honor your choice. I will not write to you anymore. Should you ever see me again, it will be in person, and it will not be because of my choices. Goodbye Ginevra.'
That… That seemed pretty definitive… But of course he'd deny everything, he was You-Know-Who after all!
Ron searched for another passage, and found one that was quite promising. It even mentioned a curse! And the word evil!
'I'm working on an essay for Charms, about the Cutting Curse. You taught it to me before, can you give me any advice?'
'Read a book. I'm not a librarian, Ginny. The Cutting Curse itself is insignificant. More important is that you learn how to research things yourself. Either through experimentation, or through reference material.'
'You sound like Mum!'
'That is because this is obvious advice. It is still correct however. The road to success is not a secret. The difference between success and failure is not knowledge nor even wisdom. It's will, it's action. I will not allow you to become reliant upon me, but perhaps I can provide a hint. Magick Most Evile by Godelot provides a passage on how to vary the curse's power. And it is commonly called The Cutting Charm Ginny, remember what I've told you about language and perception? There's nothing wrong with advertising your interest in darkness, an image of power and ruthlessness can be quite useful, but you must always align your public persona with your interests.'
Ron sniffed. He'd always known You-Know-Who was an evil wanker, but that really rubbed him the wrong way. Nagging. Lecturing. What a preachy bloody tart! What was wrong with taking some shortcuts, there was nothing wrong with trying to steal an answer key, and… and that hadn't really proven the diary was a horcrux. It didn't even show anything bloody inappropriate. It was almost like… Like a professor and a student…
And as Ron read through the entries one thing became very clear. There wasn't anything truly dark in the exchanges. The diary, Tom Marvolo Riddle, he'd been… Tutoring her… And not in dark magic, not really. It was just normal tutoring… Kinda like he was a professor or something… Occasionally offering advice, but it was… Mostly just average advice. It was like she'd been attending office hours. If Mum read through the entire thing, and she didn't know it was You-Know-Who on the other side, she'd probably have told Ginny to keep writing in it.
And Ginny acting all defensive about the diary… Was exactly how he'd have reacted if someone had gone and tried to read through his diary…
She'd praised him. Said he was good at reading people. She'd trusted his judgement over her own. When all his family had turned on her because she was Slytherin, but he never had.
Because he'd turned on her long before.
She'd trusted him, and he'd told her she was… He'd told her…
He'd told her that she was The Heir of Slytherin.
For having a little ambition? Because she'd been sorted into a house he didn't like? Because she took her studies seriously? Because she didn't display good sportsmanship in a child's game?
All this time… She'd just been spending extra time with a professor to polish her witchcraft. She hadn't even done anything worthy of detention. Ginny Weasley wasn't The Heir of Slytherin. She had been completely innocent the entire time.
So then…
Where was she? Where the BLOODY HELL was Ginny?
Ron gasped, as words stamped themselves into the diary, in that same neat script.
'Hello Hermione. Harry. Professors. I've taken Ginevra Weasley at last. I must confess, I've desired to do this for a long time. She was truly an irritating girl- never have I met someone so stubbornly set against the dark arts. She is bleeding now, as Draco Malfoy was earlier. Soon she will die. Unless you stop it. The ransom for Miss Weasley's life is my own. Give me life, and I swear on my two good names: Tom Riddle The Third and Lord Voldemort that I will bring her back to life as well.'
XOXOXOXOX
Murderer. Murderer. Murderer.
What?
But Ginny was The Heir of Slytherin, that was why Hermione hadn't felt guilty about being friends with her, because The Dark Lord couldn't use Ginny against her, and even if he did well then Ginny deserved it because she was the bloody Heir of Slytherin!
Ginny wasn't allowed to… To be some good person! It was unacceptable and it went against Hermione's grand plan!
Well… Well then…
Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.
…But Hermione really couldn't be blamed- after her penetration into Ginny's mind, what else was she supposed to think…
Oh Paschbel's Cannon, Barty had made an Unbreakable Vow to turn in Ginny's diary if it was a horcrux, and he hadn't and nothing had happened to him. She really, really ought to have known.
How could she have been so stup-
But then, warlords were known for being quite clever weren't they? And she'd never really done anything quite like…
Failure. Failure. Failure.
Hermione fell to her knees. She'd just gotten Ginny killed, hadn't she? Ginny, who wasn't even the Heir of Slytherin, who'd… Ginny who had said she was, just to make Hermione feel a little better… Git! Being a good friend, why couldn't Ginny have realized that that just made her a better hostage candidate! The Dark Lord's plot was so very predictable, and Hermione really needed to be perfectly willing to throw Ginny's life away! How dare Ginny ruin everything!
Stupid, silly, arrogant, little girl, playing games above her capabilities!
She could have left well enough alone, but…
Hermione shivered on the stony floor, getting blood all over her robes, her arms, her hands…
Gross… Disgusting… She wished she was clean… That she hadn't… Done this… To herself…
Hermione realized she rather liked her boring life of brilliance. This, right here and now, was truly the most horrible of all possible fates.
She retched and started to cry.
Quitter. Quitter. Quitter.
"Alright boys," said Professor Black, "Girls. What are we waiting for? Let's go get 'im. He may be strong, but c'mon- he can't take all three of us. Let's kill the baddie, save the girl, and be bloody heros!"
Professor Snape sighed. "To think I'd die next to you, Black."
Professor Black put a hand on his shoulder and with a completely straight face said. "How about next to a friend?"
Professor Snape snorted. "Go eat some troll bogeys, Black."
Professor Black barked a laugh.
"We're coming too," said Harry.
Hermione sniffed. We? Who the bloody hell was we?
"You've got that bloody right," said Ron, stepping beside Harry. Harry and Ron glanced back at her for some reason. Hermione suddenly found even looking at them intolerable.
"Oh no you're not," said Professor Black with a smile.
Hermione finally remembered how to breathe.
"And am I just supposed to stay behind?" Harry bellowed. "Sit on my arse while Voldemort comes back? I think sitting back and just letting that happen is the same as going dark, and I don't know about the rest of you but I'm not going dark!"
Shut up! That didn't even make any bloody coherent sense you stupid bloody cretin! Oh god, oh merlin, oh fuck… They were all gonna die. How daft could one possibly be to not understand?
"Leave it to us," Professor Black said.
An excellent point!
"If I just left it to you adults, you'd still be rotting in Azkaban," Harry bellowed, his face growing red. "Evil exists when good men do nothing. Well I'm not just gonna sit around and let him kill Ginny!"
Would Harry shut the hell up? He was being a performative arse! Pretending to be a hero, when he just wanted to hide! Wanker! Arse! Go and die, fool!
"You will," Professor Snape hissed. "Or you will be expelled. Petrificus Totalus." A purple light hit Harry, freezing him like a statue. Hermione found she quite liked Professor Snape. Such a reasonable man. "I know how you operate Potter. Always requiring the spotlight. You're not satisfied with being the captain of the quidditch team, with being the most popular kid in school, with having the affection of the most beautiful woman in the world- you have to be the hero as well. And look at where that got you- dead! Along with…" Professor Snape blinked. And then he glared at the rest of them. Hermione couldn't quite follow his logic, but his conclusion was flawless. Their duty was to stay in The Slytherin Girls Dormitory and hide under their beds until the danger had passed (Hermione could hardly do great things if she was dead, and it would only be rational for The Dark Lord to murder her as a child before she grew into a threat, so she was indeed being cunning by surviving. Noble even, one might say). A teacher had said so, and he was a teacher, and so they had to do as he said! So there! "I'll be back by the end of the night. And if any of you have so much as moved a hair on Potter's body, I'll snap your wand myself."
Professor Black sighed, but his expression stiffened. "And if you somehow get past Severus, I'll be the one snapping your wand. You're to stay here, understand? If we're to duel You-Know-Who, the last thing we need is to be worrying about four First Years."
Four?
He, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape left in a rush.
Professor Snape and Professor Black were quite wise.
And just as soon as they were gone, Ron muttered the counter to the body locking charm like a complete ruffian.
"C'mon mates, we've got to follow them," said Ron. "What's the plan?"
Everyone was staring at her for some reason. Hermione hugged herself.
She found a sudden interest in preparing her bed. And she really did need to get around to organizing her cupboard, didn't she? Oh, she'd been putting that off for ever so long, and wasn't now just the best time to be doing it?
As for rescuing Ginny? Well it seemed an excellent suggestion to let the Professors handle things. Going and facing the Dark Lord seemed very, err… what was the word? Aww yes, suicidal.
Had she spent months preparing for this possibility? Of course, on paper it had all seemed very interesting! But now, well, The Dark Lord was quite well known for murder, and going and facing him seemed the epitome of childish silliness. And err… when had she let her fingernails grow so long? She just had to clip them, she couldn't possibly face The Dark Lord now, it was well known how very, very important fingernail hygiene was to Hermione Granger!
Hermione finally managed a glance at Ron. He was looking at Harry. He wasn't judging her, or cursing her, or even disappointed in her. He'd simply moved on.
Right. She wouldn't answer his plea for help, so focus on the people who would. It was unreasonable to expect such things from Hermione. She'd nothing to feel guilty over. She wasn't some bloody hero in a story! And… And Ronald, Sweet Sweet Ronald apparently understood that.
Hermione's lip wobbled. Why? Why did they understand?
Ronald, Harry… Ought they be a little disappointed she had failed her grand test? Shouldn't they be at least a little surprised that she was a coward? Hadn't they been friends?
"We'll follow the professors," said Harry, his voice resolute. "Find out where they're going, then sneak off with Ginny and The Stone while they're fighting Voldemort. C'mon Ron, we've got to hurry!"
"Nev?" asked Ron.
Neville stayed put beside Hermione, staring at his feet and trembling.
Ron's expression broke for just a moment. But then it was that same composed mask. He'd hidden his fear well. "Harry, let's go!"
The two heroes left. They didn't let fear control them. Friendship, nobility, goodness, they actually believed in things like that. Hermione did too of course, just not… not when it would cost her anything.
Hermione sniffed. Why had Ronald been disappointed by Neville's cowardice but not her own? Surely he could see how horrid Neville truly was- always pretending to be some pathetic little weakling to prey on those with enough empathy to pity his plight. Truly a repulsive predator- far more inhumane than any of Hermione's cold, callous logic. And yet here they were together, like moths next to a burnt out light bulb.
"It's funny," said Neville. "I always thought the two of us were so different. That me and Ron were similar. You're the genius, we're the losers, but I was wrong. Me and you are the same. Sure you're smart and I'm slow but where it matters- friendship and courage, we come up short. We're weak… We're selfish… We don't really care about people… Just ourselves."
Neville left last of all.
Of her own volition Hermione was all alone. As she'd always been. As she'd always chosen to be.
XOXOXOX
"Hate, kill, destroy! Kill the mudblood! Kill the mudblood!"
It was the voice again. A snake- it had to be... But it seemed different than the one he heard earlier… Rattling through the pipes. It ought to have been after Hermione, but she was still in the Slytherin Common Room, away from the direction the snake was going. It didn't make any sense. It seemed to be going after the professors, but none of them were muggleborn. None of them were muggleborn right?
Right, Sirius had told him that his family was pureblood, Harry remembered that, and McGonagall? Malfoy had called her a jumped up halfblood so it couldn't be her either. That just left Snape, but… But it couldn't be Snape… He was Slytherin, and…
A giant snake slithered out of one of the pipes in front of him. Green and huge, fifty meters at least, and its eyes, he couldn't see its eyes but they lit up the dark hallway with a red glow. The serpent slithered around a corner. Harry needed to warn them, needed to screa-
Ron covered Harry's mouth.
"You heard Hermione," Ron hissed. "One look at that thing and they're finished."
Harry nodded, and sprinted around the corner, just in time to see the snake coil and lunge.
"Die Mudblood!"
Sirius shoved Snape out of the way, and managed to put up an arm to keep it from biting off his head. Bu- but the snake still got its fangs in his arm.
Harry felt very angry. Angrier than he'd ever been. Strangely he didn't feel out of control, he felt cold, calculating, distant.
"Diffindo!" Harry hissed, waving his wand in a mirrored 'N'. A burst of concentrated green light sliced into the serpent, nearly cleaving it in two. The serpent screamed, dropping its prey and slithering away leaving a trail of blood.
Harry smiled thinly. He'd almost killed the thing. Almost. He'd a job to finish.
McGonagall fell in a flash of light. A dark figure scampered away. The puppetmaster. The Heir. Cut off its head, and the serpent was dead.
"Diffindo," Harry drawled, pointing his wand at the retreating enemy. His charm left gashes in the nearby masonry, but found no flesh. No matter. He'd find his mark eventually. "Diffindo. Diffindo. Diff-"
"Come back!" A voice screamed, full of fury and rage. "You cannot die like this Black! You must survive!"
…Sirius? Sirius had been bitten… No… It couldn't be… He'd be okay, he had to be okay…
…But Sirius was on the stone ground, gasping. He wasn't bleeding badly though… Yet he was pale, his skin a sickly yellow… Like he'd been…
…Poisoned…
"Not like this," Snape said. "Not like this! Why? Why would you?"
Harry gasped. He felt something trickle down his cheek. He was crying? But he didn't feel sad, just numb, distant… Even though he knew this moment would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Snape forced a potion into Sirius's mouth. It was silver- like unicorn's blood.
Sirius spat it out.
Harry could only watch. Just like he'd watched the snake turn the corner, without even thinking to raise his wand. He'd just let it happen.
He'd let it happen.
It was his fault.
His fault.
"I'm sorry," said Sirius, gazing up at Snape. "Stupid… All of it… I didn't have to have an enemy…"
Harry clutched Sirius's hands, and managed to meet his godfather's gaze as he took his last breaths.
"He may look like James," Sirius said, smiling. "But his eyes…"
Sirius didn't even have the strength to finish.
"He has Lily's eyes," Snape admitted softly.
Sirius nodded with a peaceful smile and stilled. Forever.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading. RIP Sirius…
Ginny's sole purpose in this story was to be an example of an almost entirely positive Slytherin character. Sometimes her ambition got the best of her, and she'd take her competitiveness too far, but she was never going to be The Heir of Slytherin in any capacity. Her arguments were always presented as wishy-washy, but were actually pretty solid. She basically said she'd keep an open mind about the diary, and if anything seemed suspicious she'd turn it in. What else is anyone supposed to do in that situation? That quidditch chapter was one big long red herring, although there was some critical exposition hidden away. Again, if you've been reading carefully you probably know who The Heir is by now, so please don't spoil it in the reviews. Other speculation is probably okay though… And now onto the reviews…
Gja03 - Hermione had a clear inkling that someone close to her was going to be taken, and used against her. While she's not happy that Voldemort has taken Ginny, the situation is still tenable in a way that it wouldn't be if it was Ron.
ViviTheFolle - Yeah, her crush isn't going anywhere. Justin isn't clever enough to scam Draco. Electronics working in Hogwarts was a minor plot point I forgot to acknowledge earlier in the narrative. And yeah, Hermione breaking Ron's heart in front of Quirrell is probably the most selfless thing she's done in the entire narrative to this point. You should expect to see Hermione's weaknesses thoroughly inspected in the next few chapters. Thanks for the review!
theDancer - Thank you so much. Your review really helped my motivation to get this chapter edited and released as quickly as I could!
DorianSS - Good to know. I've got a few chapters on there, but I could probably release a few more. I need to go back and make some edits anyway.
merendinoemiliano - Thanks! Draco will be given a short moment to shine in the upcoming chapters!