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Chapter 9
"Are you sure you won't come with us?" Hermione asked Luna as she and Ginny were about to leave.
"I'm sure. Ron and I need to discuss wedding plans with Mrs. Weasley," she said, smiling.
"Oh, alright. Have fun with that," the brown haired girl teased, looking through the window to where Molly Weasley was setting out notebooks, magazines, and calenders.
"We will," Luna assured her.
"If anything looks suspicious, send a patronus and I'll be right there," Harry told his fiancee', kissing her gently on the lips.
"Everything will be fine," Ginny promised, squeezing Harry tightly before walking over to stand next to Hermione.
"We'll see you in a while," Hermione said before pulling out her want and apparating to Hogsmead.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
As Mrs. Weasley was gathering the various magazines and things she would need to help plan a wedding, a head popped into her fireplace.
"Pss! Mum are you alone?" the voice whispered loudly.
"Merlin, George! You scared the stuffing out of me," she said, grabbing her chest.
"Sorry, Mum. Are you alone?" he asked once again, looking around the living room.
"Yes, everyone else is out seeing Ginny and Hermione off."
A giant grin spread across his face. "Oh good. I'm glad she's bringing Ginny," he said.
"George!" his mother exclaimed, happily pulling a chair closer to the fireplace so they could whisper. "Are you going to petition Hermione? Was the Scavenger Hunt your idea?"
"Yes, I plan on being at her final destination. That's what I need your help with. And actually Fred helped me come up with everything," George replied.
Oh Merlin, Molly thought. Poor Fred. "What do you need my help with dear?"
"So you'll help me?" he asked, sounding generally surprised.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I help you?" his mother wondered, sounding slightly hurt.
"I don't know, I just thought that you wanted Hermione to end up with Charlie," George said, sounding more vulnerable then Molly had ever heard her son.
"George, to be honest, as long as Hermione is with one of my boys, I'll be thrilled. As long as she is happy and as long as you are happy, that's all that matters to me. Just because I helped Charlie, doesn't mean I won't help you," Mrs. Weasley told her son, wishing desperately that he was there in person so that she could hug him.
"So you wouldn't mind if she picked me?" he asked, grinning.
"Of course not!" she exclaimed, laughing. "So, what do you need me to do?"
Hermione was extremely nervous as she and Ginny walked into Honeydukes.
"Mione, you're shaking," Ginny observed.
"I know. I can't stop either," she replied, taking deep breaths trying to calm her nervous.
"Why are you so nervous? He's not going to be here," the red head said as they walked through the isles looking for something that could be a clue.
"I know that. It's just, no ones ever done something like this for me. Its so..." Hermione stopped walking, to try and come up with the appropriate word.
"Creative, thoughtful, romantic," Ginny supplied helpfully.
"Yes, all of those. I'm insanely nervous to meet someone like this," the young with admitted.
"No need to be nervous. You've probably known him for years," her friend replied as they continued to walk around the store.
"Can I help you? Oh! Ms. Granger, Ms. Weasley! I've been expecting you!" the store owner Mr. Flume greeted them happily.
"You've been expecting us?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, I have. I received an owl this morning morning requesting that I give you this piece of parchment and this pack of sugar quills. The note said it was for the marriage law and that he was trying to be romantic and send you on a Scavenger hung to find him. So, of course I agreed," the shop owner gushed happily. Ginny and Hermione exchanged glances. They knew how Mr. Flume was when he got started; he never stopped.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Flume. How much do we owe you for these delicious sugar quills?" Hermione asked, holding up the pack of her all time favorite candies.
"Nothing, dear. The young man sent me two times the amount they cost. He said because of the extra mile I was going in service it was only right," he informed them.
"Well, thank you very much," Ginny replied as she and Hermione walked out the door, parchment and candy in hand. They made their way over to a little bench that sat in front of the candy store.
"Open it!" Ginny demanded, excitedly, causing Hermione to laugh.
"Alright. Should I read it aloud?"
"Yes!" the red head replied, grinning.
Hermione untied the ribbon from around the rolled up parchment.
Thank you for deciding to give me your day,
It made me so happy that you came all of this way.
I know that these sugar quills are your favorite candy,
and that having them around when you study is rather handy.
Clue number one for your my dear,
Is that we've come to this spot together-yes right here.
I've bought you those candies several times,
When you were happy and sad, all the time wishing you were mine.
But that's all you need to know about me for now,
Its time I tell you where you are going, I promise you'll say "WoW'.
Follow the road that you both know so well,
To a castle that's sitting on a hill, where we've often heard the ringing of a bell.
Our dear Professor McGonagall will let you come in,
I'm sure she'll ask you where you have been.
Thanks again for agreeing to go on this journey. I hope you are having fun.
Ginny and Hermione looked at one another after the letter was done.
"Wow," the red head replied, causing Hermione to laugh.
"I wonder how this guy got Professor McGonagall to allow us to come up to Hogwarts," Hermione mused as they began making the short trip up to their home away from home.
"I don't know, but she has to like whoever this is, otherwise there's no way she would allow it," Ginny replied.
"That's very true," the smart young witch agreed as the castle came into view.
"So whose bought you sugar quills," her friend wondered, grinning.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "The better question would be, who hasn't bought me sugar quills. All of my guy friends have; Harry, Ron, Lee, Neville, Seamus, George...Fred," her voice trailed off at the mention of the twin she hadn't talked to in a while.
"Well, you know its not Ron or Harry," Ginny said. "I do know one thing about this guy, though."
"What's that?" Hermione asked as they walked through the gates that opened widely for them.
"Whoever he is, he can not write poetry," she answered, causing both of them to laugh.
"It's the thought that counts," Hermione insisted as they past the lake, where they saw Charlie and Hagrid placing the boats into the water.
"Hermione, Ginny! What are you doin' 'ere?" Hagrid greeted them, walking towards where they had stopped on the path. Charlie grinned widely and followed quickly behind him.
"Couldn't wait to see me?" Charlie teased, hugging Hermione tightly, gaining an approving grin from Hagrid.
"Actually, Hogwarts is on her Scavenger hunt. Apparently this mystery man talked Professor McGonagall into letting him use the castle as one of his clues."
The smile that had previously taken up Charlie's face was quickly replaced by an annoyed glare.
"What Scavenger hunt?" the game's keeper asked, intrigued.
"Someone else is trying to petition Hermione," the Weasley male answered angrily.
"Its actually quiet romantic, Charlie," Ginny told her brother, grinning.
"It might be romantic, but no ones better then Charlie 'ere'," Hagrid replied loyally, patting his assistant on the back.
"Thanks Hagrid," Charlie said.
"We had better get up to the castle. I'm sure the professor is waiting none to patiently," Hermione said, blushing when she realized that Charlie's arms were still securely around her.
"Hagrid, would you mind if I went to the castle with the girls? I'll be back soon," Charlie asked.
Hagrid smiled and nodded. "Course you can. Think I'll take a break me self," the giant of a man replied.
"I'll see you in a bit," the red head called after Hagrid, who was walking towards his hut.
"Charlie, you really didn't have to come up here," Hermione said as he took a hold of her hand.
"I know I didn't, but I wanted to," he insisted, winking.
"Of course you did. He wanted to come with you ever since you got the first one this morning," Ginny replied as the front door to the castle opened slowly.
"Ms. Granger, Ms. Weasley," Professor McGonagall greeted the ladies. She looked at the assistant Games keeper. "Aren't you suppose to be helping Hagrid?"
"He said we needed a break," the Weasley man replied, shrugging.
"I'm sure he did. Well, I was asked to tell you to go to the Gryffindor tower," the professor informed the girls. "You have thirty minutes and then you need to leave so that we can get some things done in the tower."
"Do you know who it is?" Charlie asked.
"Mr. Weasley, I do not believe that is your business and if it was, I still wouldn't tell you," Professor McGonagall said sternly and turned and walked away.
"You really thought she would tell you?" Ginny asked, laughing as they walked up the moving staircase toward the Gryffindor tower.
"I thought it was worth a shot to try," he replied, agitated.
"I guess whoever is writing you is a Gryffindor," Hermione decided.
"One would think. Do you remember ever letting anyone else into the common room?" Ginny wondered.
"No," her friend answered as they stopped in front of the familiar portrait of the fat lady.
"Ah, Ms. Granger, Ms. Weasley! Professor McGonagall informed me you would be visiting me today," the big women greeted the two young ladies happily.
"Do we need to tell you a password?" Hermione asked the lady politely.
"What was the last password from last year?" the painting asked.
Hermione looked at Ginny for the answer. She hadn't been in the tower at all the previous school year.
"House Loyalty," Ginny said, causing the portrait smile and open the door.
"Its been forever since I've been in here," Charlie said, looking around with a far off look in his eyes.
"It's the one place that didn't change last year," Ginny replied, smiling sadly.
They looked around the room, all deep in their own thoughts.
Hermione wondered over to the table that she had always claimed as her own, even in first year. It was in the back corner, farthest away from the center of everything. She grinned widely when she found a piece of parchment and a Gerber Daisy.
Deciding to read this one alone, she sat down in her chair and began to read.
Hi! I'm glad you found this over here. (Oh and to let you know, I'm not trying to rhyme anymore. I'm bloody awful at it.) I remember seeing you over here so often all alone, studying. I wanted to come over and talk with you, but I knew you were studying and didn't like to be bothered.
I loved to watch you from across the room. You always looked so peaceful; so beautiful. Yes, I've been watching you from a far for a while now. Usually I'm not a shy person, but these feelings that I have for you are so strange. Okay, enough sap for now!
Here is your clue. I have many friends, but only one person knows me, truly know me.
The Professor will be downstairs waiting with instructions on where to go next!
"You found it?" Ginny asked as the two Weasley's made their way over to where she sat, slightly shell shocked by what she just read.
"Yes," Hermione replied, standing and putting the letter in her jeans pocket, holding onto the Gerber Daisy. "It said to go to McGonagall for the clue on where to go next."
"What did the letter say?" Ginny asked, watching Hermione's face closely.
"I just told you," Hermione snapped at the red head girl.
"Is something wrong, Hermione?" Charlie asked, coming to stand close to her.
Hermione sighed. "I'm sorry Ginny, Charlie. Here," she pulled the letter out of her jeans and handed it over to them to read.
As they quickly looked over it, Hermione thought about all clues she had so far. One: he knew what her favorite candy was. Two: he is very well liked, but only one person truly knows him. And of course there are all of the other clues, she thought. He knows where I am staying, he is most likely a Gryffindor and he's watched me from a far.
"Thats interesting," Ginny observed as they joined Hermione by the door.
"Yeah,it was," the brown haired girl replied, opening the portrait door. Charlie held onto Hermione's hand tightly as they made their way down the stairs. He didn't say anything; he was deep in thought over the letter they had just read.
"Finally," they heard the voice of Professor McGonagall say as they made it to the ground floor. "Charlie, Hagrid is looking for you. And girls, here is the port key that will take you to your next destination," she informed them, handing over a muggle rubber duck.
"A port key?" Charlie asked, slightly annoyed. He was beginning to think that he had a clue as to who this man was.
"A rubber duck?" Hermione asked, laughing. She couldn't help it...the rubber duck thing was hilarious.
"Yes, a port key, which will be leaving in four minutes. I suggest you go outside, seeing that it won't work here in the castle."
"Thank you, Professor," Hermione replied. The older women shooed them out of the castle, holding a smile back.
"There you are, Charlie," Hagrid's voice boomed from across the way.
"I had better go," he said reluctantly, holding onto Hermione's hand.
"I'll see you tommorow night," she promised him, standing on her tip toes to kiss his check, causing him to smile.
"Alright," he said, pulling her into a tight bear hug. He let her go and walked back over to help Hagrid.
"I suppose we had better both hold onto this thing," Ginny said, holding out the yellow duck for Hermone to grab. A few moments later, the girls felt the duck warm up and they were quickly taken away.
"Blimey! Where did those two go?" Hagrid asked Charlie as they finished putting the boats in the lake.
"I'm not sure. To another place on their Scavenger Hunt with lover boy," Charlie answered bitterly.
"Do you know who he is?"Hagrid wondered.
"I think I might," the Weasley replied.
"Well, I believe we have nothin' else to do for a while if you need to be goin' anywhere," the games keeper said pointedly.
Charlie grinned and patted Hagrid on the back. "Thanks, mate. I'll be back soon," he promised as he walked towards the gates to the apparition point .
"Where are we?" Ginny asked as they landed in the middle of no where.
"I'm not sure," Hermione said as she slowly pulled her wand out of her pocket, just to be on the safe side.
They began walking towards a clearing up the path that they were on.
"Oh my gosh," Hermione gasped as they came to the clearing.
"What? What's wrong?" Ginny demanded, quickly pulling her own wand out.
"Put that away before someone sees it," Hermione instructed, quickly following her own directions as a pair of muggle hikers passed by them.
"Where are we?" the read head asked, completly confused.
"Don't you remember? This is the camp ground where we stayed during the Quidditch World cup," Hermione replied, taking in the less crowded camp ground.
"Bloody hell, you're right," Ginny gasped. "Where do you think your clue could be?"
"I don'tk now. Let's go to the office and check there." They walked over to the small office and opened the door, causing a little bell to ding.
"Good afternoon. I'll be right with you," a voice called from the back room. A young man with sandy blond hair walked into the lobby. When he saw the two ladies in front of him, he grinned widely.
"Ms. Granger, Ms. Weasley. I've been waiting for you," he told them sweetly.
"How do you know our names?" Hermione demanded, pulling her wand out of her pocket, but keeping it out of site.
"A man came in about thirty minutes ago and gave me fifty pounds to give you this piece of paper and this bag. And he told me to tell you there is only a few more stops," the man informed the two.
"And how did you know it was us?" Ginny asked suspiciously.
"He showed me a picture," he replied.
"Well, thank you," Hermione said, taking the parchment and the bag .
"Your welcome, ladies. Have a great day," the man said as he watched the two girls walk out of the office area.
And none to soon, the young man thought as he felt himself become taller. He touched his hair, that had moments before been smooth. It was now back to its normal, dread locks. He moved quickly from behind the desk just in time for the door to open.
"Okay, Mr. Jordan, I have your camp site all set up for you," the young man with sandy blonde hair informed the wizard, smiling.
"Thank you so much," Lee Jordan said happily. George owed him, big time.
So I know I said that we were going to be on hiatus, but I was sick and had nothing to do but write. I have 3 chapters of this story and one of each of my other stories. :) LOL. So much for hiatus. But yea for update. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think. I'll put another chapter up as soon as I get tons of reviews. LOL. Happy reading.