No spoilers to worry about. Started this fic before HBP, and wrote this chapter longhand months ago. So no changes due to DH.

Grief, Deceptions, and Hope for Freedom

Chapter 26 – Lunching with Hermione

Harry briskly walked to the lake, searching the sky for any owls. His bag slung over his shoulder contained the mail Neville had brought from the dorm, and Harry thought it fitting to go through as he waited. Harry pulled out the bundle of mail, and began to check it for hexes and charms. Given the state of Harry's letter and Dumbledore's claims of it not being safe for Harry to receive mail in the past, they'd learned the spells recommended in the So You've Received Your First Death Threat chapter of So You Think You're Auror Material. It also listed ways to check for pranking spells – commonly used to initiate young aurors into the ranks – in the special appendix that only revealed itself when you tapped your wand on all the footnotes to the chapter.

Harry discovered Neville had put a hair-growing hex on the bundle, and quickly countered it. After verifying there were no other untoward spells Harry opened the top box from Flourish and Blotts. Scanning the invoice, Harry was impressed at the charm work of the store, as the small size of the box had led him to believe that it was a partial order. Instead it was all his orders from the store combined, the spines of the books facing the top, so Harry could easily check the order, after he pulled off the packages of bookplates.

Flourish and Blotts had to be commended on its speed – all but the latest order Harry had sent were in the box. Harry would have appreciated it under other circumstances, but he didn't have time to start charming them all with Hermione. He pulled out Family Travels: Even with a squib-in-law! to give to Hermione. It was one he'd not been able to access in the room, as it was a relatively recent title, but Hermione would be able to ask the differences between transporting muggles and squibs without the questions that might come if he did. He repacked his bag, and searched the sky one last time for any stray owls. Seeing none, Harry headed up to the Hospital Wing.

He avoided the most used paths until he was a good ways into the castle, making time as he neared the hospital wing to greet other students in the hall, even nodding at a few younger Slytherins. He noted the portraits even seemed bored of seeing him here, the younger ones not dashing about like the ones on the kitchens hall.

The gray stone walls of Hogwarts were depressing, after the sun and breezes. Negative thoughts and memories that Dumbledore had hidden nearly broke through Harry's efforts to keep up his occulmency. So he stopped in the empty hall outside the entrance to Madam Pomfrey's domain, and concentrated on his breathing. When Harry reopened his eyes, a young man in a bright yellow robe was staring at him from a very pink portrait.

Impulsively Harry asked, "Are there any Potter portraits here?"

The figure sniffed, "All the families of the Board have portraits here." And left the frame – which Harry noticed was labeled Lady V. Malfoy's Boudoir.

Anger broke through Harry's control, and soon the smell of ozone was thick in the hall. Not only was a Malfoy painting close to the Infirmary – an excellent location to learn weaknesses and odd happenings – but the portrait was not warded to prevent the subject from traveling. No wonder Lucius had been so timely in his arrivals second year – Lady V could inform him of the arrival of each student far faster than an owl could fly.

Harry nearly staggered into the Infirmary, not bothering to hide his emotions. Hermione had clearly been expecting him, her expression softening at seeing his, Ron was snoring softly. "What happened?"

"It's the portraits."

"What?"

"All the members of the Board have the right to hang portraits in Hogwarts."

"I've never read that…"

Harry took a deep breath, "A blond in a Malfoy portrait just told me, before he slid to another portrait."

Hermione worried her lip a bit, before saying, "That explains Headquarters."

Harry thought for a minute and shook his head, "You can bind portraits to their paintings."

"Couldn't you force them from their paintings, and lock them out… No, there was someone else in the frame… Perhaps Umbridge freed them… Or Professor Dumbledore has other spells…"

Harry stared out the window, " I wonder how much Malfoy Sr tells Draco, and how much of his taunts come from the Malfoy portraits…"

Hermione shot a silencing charm at the doorway, "That will have to do for now." She shrugged, and looked him over, "What kept you?"

Harry sat in the chair next to her bed, and smiled, "Neville and I were showing Dean and Seamus how to transfigure Patronus Pals. And I got some mail."

"Did anything good come?" Hermione was looking at the book in his hand expectantly.

Harry handed over the transportation book, "No brooms yet, though you can tell Ron they sent a note saying they'll be shipped via the train. Apparently, owls can't handle disillusioned large packages well for long distances."

Hermione was already checking the front and back flyleafs of the book. "Strange that both yours got here that way then."

Harry shook his head, "Apparently, they are owled from the post office in Hogsmede to the castle, though I was offered 15 sickles back if I can get a pass to pick it up myself there Saturday morning."

Hermione was already in the table of contents, before she seemed to realize that her book order had been more than one book. "Where are the other books? Are they coming Saturday, as well?"

Harry smiled, "There's the matter of your birthday present."

Hermione looked confused, and Harry wished he'd ordered a camera. "My birthday isn't for months yet."

"And that that book is more likely to have information that you need to tell me about, and frankly, I have no idea if squibs and muggles are equivalent in travel. I know they're not with dementors." Hermione looked ready to protest, "And they combined the orders, so your present is in with the rest, and McGonagall didn't show up for my meeting with her, so I don't have permission yet."

"Harry. I'm the one that is supposed to babble."

"I've asked for permission to put a set of reference shelves in the Common Room."

Hermione looked surprised, then really flattered. "That would be wonderful! Especially since Madam Pince doesn't keep many reference copies, except for textbooks. I wouldn't need to run out to check references nearly as often!"

"And with ordering them with permanent anti-plagiarism and anti-copying charms, I was able to get a substantial enough discount to get multiple copies of the titles I know you use most."

Hermione looked giddy, "Really? I didn't even know that was an option."

"It's in the fine print, in the middle of the catalog. You can't get text books with those charms, apparently because of writing lines. And they offer more, like waterproofing and stain protection, but those cost more than the books."

"Are you going to try them yourself?"

"Yes, the preservation charms are fairly straightforward – the trick is that you have to spell the bookcase as well."

"I'd wondered how any of the Twins books survived," Hermione mused, then with a bit of panic on her face turned to check that Ron was still sleeping.

Harry laughed, "Don't think he'd disagree with you, if he was awake. Why's he sleeping anyhow?"

"Some people I think were Unspeakables were here last night to check for long-term effects. Madam Pomfrey read them the riot act, until Mr. Weasely was called here to supervise."

Harry looked at Ron, looking if there was any change to the marks on his arms, "Really?"

"Yes, they were here most of the night. I tried to keep track of the spells, but Madam Pomfrey caught me awake, and gave me a sleeping potion."

"Would have thought you'd be one of the last she'd give a sleeping potion."

Hermione blinked, "What? Oh. Second year." She shrugged, "The messed up poly… ehm cat transfiguration really was a bit painful to reverse, she'd give me a potion then spell me asleep as well, while she worked.

"Unfortunately, I'd cleaned out all my hairbrushes, otherwise she could have reversed it with just a polyjuice of myself."

"Really? I never knew that."

"A bit scary isn't it? That it is so easy to wear someone else's guise or be invisible?"

"Why couldn't she give you her hair?"

"Adolescence. A potion even of a hair of my own more than a month old could have destroyed my magic, or stopped my development."

"That seems odd. Hair's dead, right? And it takes ages to grow as long as yours."

"I couldn't find any source that was definitive on the issue, and I didn't think the expense of a medical text was justified for idle curiosity… But I think the magical signature was the key with the limits of polyjuice, needing a part of the person."

"You must have gone nuts waiting for more to read that year."

"No, I would have asked. You are such a good friend to go this year. Then I worked on catching up, and then working ahead – well, not in Defense or Potions." Hermione almost snorted, "McGonagall and Flitwick judged my practical work. I actually was nearly done with the year. That's why I was allowed," Hermione lowered her voice even further," the timeturner."

"Oh. I thought it was to thank you for figuring it out."

Hermione replied, "I actually got a bit of a lecture from Madam Pince. She thought I'd torn out the page of the book, when I'd used a copy spell onto a parchment I'd torn off a scroll."

Harry laughed, "I think that's what made it irrefutable to us – that it was torn out."

"Are you sure it wasn't because it meant you weren't hearing voices?" Hermione's voice was full of laughter.

Harry's face clouded, "Voices are better than visions."

Hermione jerked, "I'm sorry… Harry. I didn't mean…"

Harry waved it off, "No, it's just…" Harry shook his head, "I guess, it's just I still don't know what's possible."

Hermione frowned. Harry continued, "I've been here five years, and I think most first year Slytherins still know more about the Wizarding World than I do." And Harry knew as he said this, that this would have to be his test, he'd hate himself for doing it, but he had to know he if could trust Hermione. " I mean… Hagrid's great, but it's a bit much – you're a wizard, a spin through Diagon, my parents were murdered, and then back the Durselys. You'd think there'd be an introduction or something. Where's Wizard Studies?"

Hermione patted his hand, "That's why I tried Muggle Studies. I thought it would at least point me to the things deemed important to compare. But it really wasn't. All the mispronunciations, and so far out of date that I'm not sure my Grandmother would have recognized what they were talking about. So the lectures were useless, more like a comedy sketch of blind detectives or archeologists from the far future."

Harry didn't know what that answer told him, but lunch trays appeared over the foot of Hermione's bed, so they ate, the topic turning to Hermione's musings, as she paged through the transportation book.

And next, the meeting with Flitwick.