Chapter 23: Chapter 23
A/N: hey readers, I am so so sorry for the delay. Please do review, they make me happy.
"Harry, don't refer to my memories for the potion essay." Hermione smirked when Harry looked at her with his puppy eyes.
"But Hermione, technically it is not cheating." Harry pointed out innocently. Hermione shook her head and rolled her eyes at him while Harry just smiled and went back to his essay. But he felt her blocking him out sighing he said innocently "you know Hermione that tomorrow is the Quidditch match and I seriously can't complete without your help." Adding a pout at the end
"Just, make sure it's not the same." Hermione grumbled knowing she couldn't win.
It was around midnight; they both had finished the Potion's essay and then Transfiguration essay. They both were completing the Charm's essay the last one to be completed so that they could have the weekend to themselves when Remus's patronus came into the room and opened its mouth wide "Hermione can you get those Dumbledore books to Tonks room, please." And promptly vanished in thin air leaving Harry and Hermione puzzled.
"Why does he need those?" Harry asked Hermione.
"Do you think he found something?" Hermione got up and looking for the journals.
"I hope so." The mind link was a blessing in disguise for the both of them. Especially during the times with the Weasley's the link with Hermione was the only thing that kept him from doing any harm to them, and it kept him same in their presence.
"Here give me some of those." Harry said motioning towards the journals in her hand when he saw her struggling with them.
"Thanks." Hermione said with a smile and leaned onto him kissing him, showing her appreciation to him. "We should be going, come on." She said pulling back nodded towards the portrait and left, Harry following her.
Within minutes Harry and Hermione were in Tonks room with the books in their hands. "What's going on?" Hermione asked immediately looking at Remus for the answer.
"Show me the books." Remus commanded without answering her. Hermione passed on the books and settled onto to the sofa, snuggling next to Harry looking curiously at Remus as he went through the books searching for something.
"Did you find something?" Hermione tried again.
"Did you find another Horcrux? Harry asked directly, daring to hope.
"I may have something, but don't get your hopes up." He warned.
"Where did you see it?"
"Room Of Requirement." He said not once looking up from the books.
"Here, why would Voldemort hide a Horcrux here, in Hogwarts where it can be easily found by students?" Tonks asked confused.
"That's because Hogwarts is his home. Voldemort comes from an orphanage and when he came to Hogwarts this became his home." Harry asked sombrely.
"When did you see the Horcrux?" Hermione asked biting her lips.
"Umm, When I was in my seventh year." Remus replied hesitatingly.
"And you remember this now?" she asked doubtfully.
"Well you see Sirius and I were remembering our time in Hogwarts and I just remembered that I had used the Room of Requirement to hide the bottles of butterbeer there." He said as he flipped the pages of the journal.
"Was Sirius or my dad there with you?" Harry asked interested in knowing more.
"No, it was only me." Remus shook his head.
"What were you doing?" Harry asked Sirius who was lying on the rug, his eyes closed and a smile lying on his lips.
"I was busy doing other things that night, and so was your dad." He said wriggling his eyebrows at them.
"Eww..." Hermione pulled a disgusting face Sirius while Harry spoke up "I so didn't need to know that."
"Here this is what that thing looked like."Remus said as kept the book on the table. Everyone leaned in to get a better look but Hermione was the first one to talk.
"But this the Ravenclaw's Diadem." Hermione said pointing at the picture.
"yes." Remus nodded.
"Well in Dumbledore's diaries he has written that he has already destroyed it." She said as he looked at Remus, he looked a little put down by the news but he relaxed back into the sofa.
"well thank god then, we don't have a Horcrux to destroy then." Tonks said happily.
"Tomorrow is your Quidditch match isn't it Harry, against the Ravenclaw's?" Sirius asked relieved that they didn't have to for a Horcrux hunt.
"Yeah, you all are coming to see me, right?" he asked.
"Of course." Sirius nodded excited of seeing his godson play.
Harry and Hermione were both already in the great hall when Ginny and Ron came and sat with them. After a quite breakfast Ginny broke the silence.
"Let's go Harry." Ginny pulled Harry's hand leaving Hermione and Ron alone.
"Best of luck, for today." Hermione said to Ron, as he pulled her nearer to him.
"I don't need luck; I know we are going to win today." He said smirking and leaning into her giving her a sloppy kiss.
Hermione wanted to gag when she felt his lips meet hers. She stepped back, from his embrace and broke the kiss "See you after the match." She said quickly and turned and walked away from there, pretending to not hear Ron call after her.
He skidded to a halt in the changing rooms, with Ginny in tow and found the rest of the team already there, pacing back and forth. He didn't say anything to them as he pulled off his robes and pulled on his Quidditch uniform. He then paused and looked around and saw Ron come in and get ready with a slight frown on his face.
Harry wondered what had transpired between him and Hermione but quickly shook it off because he knew she could handle herself quite well and second Ginny was hanging for his arm keeping an eye on him and he knew that he had to be careful with her from on.
"I've said all I can to you. I don't know about the rest of you, but I intend to win this game," Harry said, looking to each in turn remembering how well the practices have gone.
"Let's win this." Ron said with a glint in his eyes and started towards the field with everyone else following him.
The sun was just starting to set, but there were magical lights set up around the field to provide sight. The field was filled with students, and a great cheer went up from half the crowd as he walked out. Over the din he could hear Dean Thomas - the new student in charge of commentating - calling out the names of the players. He toned it all out as he walked to the centre to meet Chambers and Sirius. He could feel the excitement roll of him.
"Right then, I want a good clean game, understand?" he said, trying to keep himself sound tough and strict, by looking to both captains meaningfully, but Harry knew better. When they nodded, she smiled. "Shake hands, then."
Just before he mounted his broom, he saw Hermione up on the stands and cheering from him. "Be safe." He heard her. He just nodded keeping his gaze on her and then took his position.
The wind had never felt as good in Harry's ears before as he shot into the air on the whistle. He just wanted to lose himself but then when he heard Dean's enthusiastic shouting into the magical microphone; he quickly opened the eyes, welcoming the reality to settle upon him. He trusted his own instincts to look around. Ron was in position already, which was just as well, and he saw his three Chasers starting down the field to steal the Quaffle from the opposing team. What he didn't see was either bludger... until he had to dodge both in a row.
"Carmichael and Thompson seem to have it in for Gryffindor's Seeker, and who can blame them? Riding his incredible Firebolt, our own Harry Potter is nigh unstoppable in his quest for the golden snitch is being blocked by two bludgers on either of his sides." And that's when Harry realised that he was being tagged by two bludgers and tried his best to shake them off.
" And it's Weasley with the Quaffle... stolen by Bradley..." There was a great cheer from about half the crowd, and Dean screamed into the microphone before saying what happened. "And a bloody brilliant beating job by Sloper nearly knocks Bradley off his broom. Creevy in possession of the Quaffle... now the other Creevy... now Weasley... and what's this? Harry look out!" he heard Dean and Hermione both scream and he was just in time to miss. He tipped his broom down and had a drop from sky-high to none and heard the bludgers base on the ground.
He blocked out Hermione and took his place again knowing that she going to disturb his again and searched for the snitch, now wanting it to be over as fast as possible. He saw Seamus smashing the Quaffle with his beater stick. Ginny was right next to a hoop, and snapped it in with the end of her broomstick to deafening applause; cheer and booing filled the air.
The sun had completely set by the time Harry caught his first glimpse of the snitch. He was vaguely aware of the fact that they were leading by almost one hundred points by this stage, even though Ron had let a couple through. All thoughts went out the window when he spotted it, though. The fleck of gold was hovering near the Ravenclaw goal posts. Leaning into his broom, he shot down again at dizzying speeds. He blew past all three Ravenclaw Chasers who were covering the hoops.
The snitch was almost in reach. It was just darting a little further away... just a little further... from his reach, when his broom stopped in mid air. The snitch was just a few hands' lengths away, but he couldn't reach it if his broom wasn't going to move. He looked behind him and saw that Chambers had almost caught up. He would catch the snitch if his boor wasn't going to move. He tried with all his might, to will his broom to move but it didn't move an inch. He could hear feel the hushed silence that had fallen on the field as they all looked upon him. Looking back, he threw caution to the wind and leapt from his broom, grabbing the snitch in an instant. He heard the cheers first, and then several horrified screams before he felt the bottom drop out of his stomach, and he was falling fast.
He braced himself for the impact and in less than a millisecond he felt himself in contact with the ground. He blacked out for a moment and the next thing he registered that his wall was down and he would hear Hermione blabber something sobbing, with obvious concern for him. He could feel Hermione's sobs.
"It's alright, 'Mione, don't worry." he whispered to her.
"Alright?" she sent back. You fell almost ten to fifteen feet! If not more!"
"But we won." Harry though as a smile stretched his face.
Harry groaned audibly and felt someone levitate him; he opened his one eye and saw Sirius taking him to the infirmary. His eyes happy and relieved to see him fine, not seriously hurt. He turned his head and looked at the other members who weren't allowed to get near him. He saw Ginny's red face as she looked at Sirius in his avatar with Harry and a glint in Ron's eyes as he relished in the win, none what so ever concerned for him, closing his eyes wanting to never see them again.
A week after Harry was released from the infirmary, with full recovery he and Hermione found themselves walking the corridors of Hogwarts way after curfew as they made their way towards Tonks quarters. Tonks and Remus were called for an order meeting and Sirius, Harry and Hermione were going to meet up.
"Hey." Sirius greeted them yawning as he sat in front of the blank mirror from which voices started coming the moment Hermione and Harry sat down next to Sirius.
"what do you think is the reason behind the meeting?" Harry asked as he rubbed his eyes.
"Don't know. Must be important though" Sirius said again yawning.
"Shh..." Hermione shushed them as the voices became more prominent.
"Molly..." Tonks had put up a fake smile looking the Weasley and hugged her.
"Hello, dear. Remus." She added when she saw Remus behind her. "We should get inside, the meeting is about to start." She said pushing them towards the room.
Dumbledore got up the moment he saw both of them and motioned them towards the chairs and started then speaking. "I have new information related with Voldemort. My spy has informed me that Voldemort is planning an attack. The location I am not aware of it yet. The attack will be upon the muggle London in three weeks, almost during Halloween so we all have to be on our best." He said nodding and walking out off the room the meeting dismissed.
"I hate Halloween." Harry whispered on the other side of the mirror, burying his head in Hermione's shoulder.