A/N: Thanks to Anthro23, DarkestNightWolf, & Luvnee for following, & thanks to carrie76 & Amanda for the reviews!
Here's chapter 21, featuring someone's long-awaited return...hehehe. JKR owns all, I'm just having fun. Please R&R, & enjoy! :)
The next morning, three cloaked figures made their way across the Hogwarts grounds, shoulders hunched against the cold. It had finally stopped snowing, but the resulting blanket was thick, forcing them to cut deep trenches with their wands as they walked. By the time they reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest, they were soaked from the knees down.
"Dammit," Draco muttered as he threw off his hood. "We're not even in the Forest yet and I'm bloody freezing."
"Oh, stop your whining," Hermione chided, withdrawing her wand. "You're a wizard, aren't you?" She waved her wand in a complicated fashion, causing little tendrils of steam to rise up as she dried her clothes. When Draco made no move to copy her, she smirked and asked, "Or don't you know that particular charm?"
"Granger, not everybody likes being classed as a know-it-all," he retorted. When Hermione merely stuck her tongue out at him and made to start down the path, he groaned and said, "Alright, fine! I don't know the damn spell! Now can you please teach me?"
"Gin, write this day down in history," Hermione crowed. "The great Draco Malfoy just said 'please'!" She allowed herself another chuckle at Draco's glare before acquiescing and showing him the proper wand movement. When he and Ginny were both dry, Hermione pulled the map from her pocket, beckoning her companions closer.
"I think we should head toward the clearing Hagrid took us to during Care of Magical Creatures in fifth year, the one where he showed us the thestrals," she said, indicating the spot with her finger. "It's in the right direction, plus it has a whole bunch of different paths branching off of it, so I'd hazard a guess we can find a good way forward from there." Ginny nodded and Draco shrugged, which Hermione interpreted as an agreeable gesture, and she led the way forward into the Forest.
The trio walked in silence for nearly half an hour, the only sound the crunching of twigs underfoot. Only a few inches of snow had managed to reach the forest floor, and as they ventured deeper and the canopy overhead grew thicker, the dustings of white grew sparser until they finally vanished completely. When they reached their destination, Hermione cleared a space on the ground and they sat in a circle, the map spread out before them. They plotted their course and were about to leave when rustling noises caught their attention. They leapt to their feet at once and drew their wands, but not before an arrow sailed over their heads, narrowly missing Ginny's ear as it came to rest, quivering, in the trunk of an oak. Before they could so much as blink, they found themselves surrounded by centaurs.
"Who dares disturb our Forest?" the centaur Hermione recognized as Bane shouted. "You are not welcome here!"
"Silence, Bane," Magorian said. His eyes narrowed as he recognized Hermione.
"I thought we told you to stay out of here," he said, his voice dangerously low. "You used us for your own gain, and we do not take kindly to such insolence."
"I can explain," Hermione began, but Bane cut her off.
"You think we will listen to explanations from the likes of you?" he scoffed. "After you treated us like common horses, at your beck and call to do your bidding? I think not."
"Friends, is this how we treat guests?" Hermione looked up to see who had spoken and was met with a familiar face.
"Firenze!" she greeted the palomino. "How are you?" Hermione did not know Firenze as well as Harry or Ron, having stopped Divination before fifth year, but she'd met him in the Forest during detention her first year as well as spoken to him after the Final Battle, and he was agreeable enough.
"Well, thank you," Firenze replied, nodding his golden head. Turning towards his fellow centaurs, he added, "Need I remind you who this young woman is? This is Hermione Granger, friend to Harry Potter." Focusing his gaze on Hermione once more, he added, "What brings you to the Forest, Hermione Granger? Dark things happen here – even now, it is not a safe place."
"I know," Hermione replied, "which is why I am here. Did you know that Death Eaters broke into Hogwarts just yesterday?"
"Indeed," Firenze nodded. "The stars told us of trouble many moons ago." Ginny and Draco exchanged glances, and Hermione shook her head almost imperceptibly, willing them not to comment. Thankfully, they got the hint.
"They were able to get in because they compromised the wards surrounding the school," Hermione stated clearly. "The breach must be repaired to ensure no further trouble. The teachers mustn't leave the castle – they must protect the students, you see – so we volunteered to fix the wards."
"But you are barely grown," Bane sneered. "The magic of Hogwarts is ancient and complex – what makes you think you can control it?"
"Bane, enough!" Firenze snapped. "Hermione Granger is more than capable of such power. As for her friends…" he stepped forward and peered intently at first Draco, then Ginny. They both looked terrified, but neither spoke nor turned away. "As for her friends, I do not know them well, but I do know who they are, and they are both powerful in their own right. Hogwarts must be safe, and so we must let them pass."
"Very well," Magorian agreed. "You may pass through unharmed – the rest of the herd will be told of your presence. Be warned, however – if you show even the slightest of treachery, we will know, and you will pay." Without another word, Bane and Magorian turned their backs and left the clearing.
"Do not mind them," Firenze said softly. "Many of my kind are still…nervous after the events of last summer."
"It's fine, Firenze, really," Hermione replied. "I wouldn't have expected anything less." Firenze gave each of them a little bow.
"The quickest way to your destination is past the One in the Enchanted Sleep – he has not woken in some time, but I'd be careful all the same. Goodbye, Hermione Granger, and good luck." As soon as Firenze was gone, Ginny leaned against a nearby tree and let out a long breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
"Phew," she said, "are all centaurs that intense?"
"They're an interesting people," Hermione acknowledged. "They know a lot, though, even if they do have strange ways of sharing it. Shall we keep going?"
"Who's 'the One in the Enchanted Sleep'?" Draco asked as they walked.
"I don't know," Hermione admitted. "It kind of reminds me of Sleeping Beauty – Muggle fairytale – but knowing this place, somehow I think it's something a bit worse than that."
After another couple of hours, they stopped to rest, and Hermione offered around some sandwiches and a flask of pumpkin juice. She was surprised that Draco didn't comment on the meal's simplicity or moan about contracting Gryffindor germs from sharing the flask with Ginny and herself, but she didn't say anything – he'd gotten so much more tolerable this year, and she wasn't about to give him any excuses to revert to his trademark snarky temperament. Upon finishing the sandwiches, they checked the map once more, Hermione cast a 'Point Me' spell to confirm their orientation, and they set off.
Sometime later that afternoon, Ginny, who was in the lead, threw out a hand to stop her companions.
"What is that?" she whispered. Before them was what looked like a vast mound. On closer inspection, it was moving slightly, and Firenze's words suddenly started to make sense.
"Ginny," Hermione asked slowly, "you have the flute, yes?" Hermione had discovered the flute Hagrid had whittled for Harry in their first year in the bottom of her trunk while packing the night before – how it had ended up in her possession, she had no idea, but she'd had Ginny bring it along just in case, and she was now crossing her fingers on their luck on that front.
"Yes, I do," Ginny confirmed, removing the small wooden instrument from her pocket and handing it over. "Why?"
"Because I know what that is," Hermione whispered. "It's Fluffy."
"Fluffy?" Ginny asked, just as Draco said, "That three-headed monster you told us about the first day back?"
"Yes, him," Hermione nodded. They crept cautiously forward, Hermione with the flute hovering inches from her lips, and finally came in sight of the enormous dog. Fluffy was fast asleep, curled up in a ball with his middle head resting on his front paws. His breathing, which would've been gentle for a normal-sized animal, seemed a steady, low rumble to their ears, and they could hear the faint strains of music wafting through the air.
"Well, that explains why he's asleep," Hermione said softly. "Let's try to go around him – be careful!" Going as slowly as they possibly could, they made their way across the clearing, never once taking their eyes off the slumbering dog. A light breeze ruffled their clothes as they reached the other side, and Fluffy let out a loud snore.
"Ugh, that dog really needs to brush his teeth," Ginny groaned quietly. They turned to leave when Hermione stopped them short.
"Listen," she said suddenly.
"What?" Draco hissed. "I don't hear…anything." His eyes widened as he realized what Hermione was trying to say.
"Exactly." The three turned slowly to face the dog, who was now wide awake and staring right at them. Fluffy growled, the sound rumbling deep in his throats.
"Hermione, the flute!" Ginny urged. Hermione didn't need telling twice – she quickly raised the flute to her lips and blew. The notes she played could hardly be called a tune, but it was enough – as soon as the great dog heard the music, he curled up on the ground and went back to sleep.
"Hermione, don't you dare stop playing," Draco warned. She nodded and watched as he waved his wand, muttering a string of charms under his breath. Finally, he turned to her and signaled for her to put the flute down. Warily, she did so, and she was astonished to hear a faint melody floating through the air.
"How did you…"
"I studied music as a child, remember?" he said. "I happen to know a variant of that particular spell, so that's what I used – probably won't last as long as the original, but he'll still be out for a while. Now let's get out of here before he decides to wake up again." Nodding in agreement, Hermione and Ginny quickly followed Draco from the clearing.
It was nearing dinnertime when Hermione decided they should call it quits for the night.
"We're very close," she told Draco and Ginny, proving her point with a locator spell she'd cast on the map, "but we won't be able to repair the wards in the dark. I say we camp here for the night and get going at sunrise."
"Camp, Granger?" Draco asked. "How exactly are you proposing we do that?" In answer, Hermione extracted her beaded bag from inside her cloak. A couple spells later, a fully erected tent stood in the clearing.
"Is that the tent we took to the World Cup?" Ginny asked, just as Malfoy said, "How the hell have you been carrying a tent all this way without us knowing?" Hermione laughed.
"Yes, Gin, it's the same tent, and to answer your question, Draco, I've got an Undetectable Extension Charm on my bag. Did you really think that Harry, Ron, and I carted everything around on our backs last year while we were on the run? Honestly." She shook her head and grinned, then set about reciting the protection spells she'd used so many times before, ignoring Draco's muttered, "Show-off."
"Coming?" she asked, holding the tent flap open.
Hermione was pleasantly surprised to see that the tent was still in good shape after being ransacked by the Snatchers – there was a slight gouge mark in the table and one of the cushions was devoid of its stuffing, but otherwise, everything seemed intact. She reached into her bag once more and extracted two rucksacks, tossing one each to Ginny and Draco.
"Your things are all in here," she told them. "Bathroom's through there, bedrooms are in the back. It's nothing fancy, but it'll more than suffice for tonight. The house elves packed us dinner – all we have to do is reheat it." She pulled a large container from her bag and opened it to reveal several food items, and they sat down a short time later to enjoy a meal of roast chicken, potatoes, and treacle tart.
"That," Hermione said once they'd finished, "was so much better than anything we ate in here last year."
"What exactly did you eat in here last year?" Draco inquired.
"Most of what we ate could hardly be considered edible," Hermione snorted. "We ate whatever we could find, really – roots, wild mushrooms, fish if we were lucky. We were able to get food from Muggle markets once or twice, but even those meals weren't very good – shopping under the Invisibility cloak is rather difficult."
"I'll bet my dear brother loved that," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "We all know how he is with food."
"Oh, yes," Hermione agreed, a hint of sarcasm in her tone. "He loved it so much he left."
"He what?" Ginny asked, aghast.
"Oh, you didn't know that?" When Ginny shook her head tersely, Hermione said, "Ron let the Horcrux get the better of him – he was already irritable due to the lack of food, and the locket always made whoever was wearing it extra cranky."
"Well, why the hell were you wearing it in the first place?" Draco interrupted. "Something that Dark was bound to mess with you."
"Yes, it was," Hermione agreed, "but it was the only way we could ensure we wouldn't lose it before we had a chance to destroy it. The things were hard enough to track down without worrying about losing them. Anyway, Ron was in a right foul mood for ages and finally snapped – he left Harry and I alone for several weeks before he finally came back."
"I'll kill him," Ginny seethed. "My brother can be such a prat!"
"Gin, it's ok," Hermione assured her. "I hexed him good for that, and he played his part in the end. He did destroy one of the Horcruxes, after all, and he did more than his fair share in the final battle."
"Still," Ginny muttered, "doesn't give him a reason to walk out on his best friends. It's not like everything was picnics and tea parties here, either."
"Little Red, as much as I love bashing your brother, can we talk about something else, please?" Draco asked suddenly. "I'd rather not think about last year, thanks."
"I'll take first watch, then?" Hermione offered, standing to clear the plates. When Draco gave her a look, she said, "We're in the middle of the Forbidden Forest with a broken ward not far away – do you really want to leave the tent unguarded all night, even if it is protected and invisible?" Draco shook his head vehemently, and Hermione chuckled. "I didn't think so." She retreated into the back room to put on some more layers – Draco suppressed a laugh when she came back and he noticed she was wearing her fuzzy pink socks again.
"I'll come wake you at midnight," she told him as she laced up her boots. "Try not to blow anything up until then."
"We'll do our best, but I can't make any promises," Draco smirked. "Goodnight, Granger."
"Goodnight."