AN: Not JK Rowling

"For the last time, just forget about Malfoy," I told Harry firmly. The last thing we needed was for Harry to find out what was going on behind the scenes. Dumbledore had a plan and as much as I didn't want to follow it I would.

We were sitting with Ron in a sunny corner of the courtyard after lunch. Ron and I were both clutching a Ministry of Magic leaflet — Common Apparition Mistakes and How to Avoid Them — Ron and I would be taking our Apparition tests this afternoon but Ron was starting to look a little green.

"Harry Potter?" Sarah asked coming up to us her cheeks flushed "I was asked to give you this."

"Thanks…" Harry said taking the note. Sarah waved at me before walking off to where her friends were standing.

"Dumbledore said we wouldn't be having any more lessons until I got the memory!" Harry said excitedly.

"Maybe he wants to check on how you're doing?" I suggested, as Harry unrolled the parchment. A moment later his eyes grew large and he shuddered.

"Look at this," said Harry, handing the note to me. I read it quickly frowning.

Dear Harry, Ron and Hermione!

Aragog died last night. Harry and Ron, you met him and you know how special he was. Hermione, I know you'd have liked him. It would mean a lot to me if you'd nip down for the burial later this evening. I'm planning on doing it round dusk, that was his favorite time of day. I know you're not supposed to be out that late, but you can use the cloak. Wouldn't ask, but I can't face it alone.

Hagrid

"Oh, for heaven's sake," I said, scanning the note again and passing it to Ron, who read it through looking increasingly incredulous.

"He's mental" he said furiously. "That thing told its mates to eat Harry and me! Told them to help themselves! And now Hagrid expects us to go down there and cry over its horrible hairy body!"

"It's not just that," I said. "He's asking us to leave the castle at night and he knows security's a million times tighter and how much trouble we'd be in if we were caught."

"We've been down to see him by night before," Harry said.

"Yes, but for something like this?" I said. "We've risked a lot to help Hagrid out, but after all — Aragog's dead. If it were a question of saving him —"

"— I'd want to go even less," Ron said firmly. "You didn't meet him, Hermione. Believe me, being dead will have improved him a lot." Harry grabbed the note back and looked down at it a pained look on his face. My heart jolted and I shifted uncomfortably.

"Harry, you can't be thinking of going," I said. "It's such a pointless thing to get detention for."

Harry sighed. "Yeah, I know. I s'pose Hagrid'll have to bury Aragog without us."

"Yes, he will," I said feeling relieved. "Look, Potions will be almost empty this afternoon, with us all off doing our tests… Try and soften Slughorn up a bit then!"

"Fifty-seventh time lucky, you think?" Harry said bitterly.

"Lucky," said Ron suddenly. "Harry, that's it — get lucky!"

"What d'you mean?"

"Use your lucky potion!" I gasped my eyes wide.

"Ron, that's — that's it!" I said excitedly. "Of course! Why didn't I think of it?"

Harry stared at us flushing dully. "Felix Felicis?" he said. "I dunno… I was sort of saving it…"

"What for?" Ron demanded incredulously.

"What on earth is more important than this memory, Harry?" I asked watching Harry carefully. A small smile spread across his face and he looked over the lake.

"Harry? Are you still with us?" I asked snapping my fingers.

"Wha —? Yeah, of course," he said quickly shaking his head as if water was in his ears. "Well… okay. If I can't get Slughorn to talk this afternoon, I'll take some Felix and have another go this evening."

"That's decided, then," I said getting to my feet. "Destination… determination… deliberation…" I murmured walking through the lake.

"Oh, stop that," Ron said "I feel sick enough as it is — quick, hide me!" Ron dove behind Harry blushing. Ever since he had bought Luna's engagement ring he'd been avoiding her trying to come up with the perfect proposal.

"Its not Luna." I said flicking water at him.

"Cool," said Ron, peering over Harry's shoulder to check. "Blimey, they don't look happy, do they?"

"They're the Montgomery sisters and of course they don't look happy, didn't you hear what happened to their little brother?" I asked incredulously.

"I'm losing track of what's happening to everyone's relatives, to be honest," Ron said his eyes distant.

"Well, their brother was attacked by a werewolf. The rumor is that their mother refused to help the Death Eaters. Anyway, the boy was only five and he died in St. Mungos, they couldn't save him."

"He died?" Harry asked shocked. "But surely werewolves don't kill, they just turn you into one of them?"

"They sometimes kill," Ron muttered looking unusually grave. "I've heard of it happening when the werewolf gets carried away."

"What was the werewolf's name?" Harry asked quickly.

"Well, the rumor is that it was that Fenrir Greyback," I said shivering.

"I knew it — the maniac who likes attacking kids, the one Lupin told me about!" Harry said angrily.

I looked at Harry bleakly. How could they not see that all of this was interconnected? It hurt to see all the broken and desolate looks on everyone's faces.

"Harry, you've got to get that memory," I said. "It's all about stopping Voldemort, isn't it? These dreadful things that are happening are all down to him…"

The bell rang overhead in the castle and both Ron and I jumped up. My heart stuttered painfully in my chest. If only Sirius hadn't had to go off with Remus to do something with the Order he could be here with me. My stomach churned and I gripped Ron's hand hard.

"You'll do fine," Harry told us, as we headed toward the entrance hall to meet the rest of the people taking their Apparition Test. "Good luck."

"And you too!" I said as Harry headed off to the dungeons.

The test hadn't taken long. I had Apparated easily to my destination but Ron hadn't. Leaving behind half of your eyebrow should not have been considered being splinched. Ron was glaring at anything that moved as we made our way back to the castle. Harry was sitting on one of the couches when we pushed open the portrait hole.

"Harry!" I cried happily. "Harry, I passed!"

"Well done!" he said. "And Ron?"

"He — he just failed," I whispered as Ron came slouching into the room looking morose. "It was really unlucky, a tiny thing, the examiner just spotted that he'd left half an eyebrow behind… How did it go with Slughorn?"

"No joy," Harry said, as Ron joined them. "Bad luck, mate, but you'll pass next time — we can take it together."

"Yeah, I s'pose," Ron said grumpily. "But half an eyebrow – like that matters!"

"I know," I said soothingly, "it does seem really harsh…"

We spent most of their dinner roundly abusing the Apparition examiner, and Ron looked fractionally more cheerful by the time we set off back to the common room, now discussing the continuing problem of Slughorn and the memory.

"So, Harry — you going to use the Felix Felicis or what?" Ron demanded.

"Yeah, I s'pose I'd better," Harry said. "I don't reckon I'll need all of it, not twenty-four hours' worth, it can't take all night… I'll just take a mouthful. Two or three hours should do it."

"It's a great feeling when you take it," Ron said reminiscently. "Like you can't do anything wrong."

"What are you talking about?" I said laughing. "You've never taken any!"

"Yeah, but I thought I had, didn't I?" Ron said, as though explaining the obvious. "Same difference really…"

Slughorn had only just enter the Great Hall and we knew that he liked to take time over meals, we lingered for a while in the common room, the plan was that Harry should go to Slughorn s office once the teacher had had time to get back there. When the sun had sunk to the level of the treetops in the Forbidden Forest, they decided the moment had come, and after checking carefully that Neville, Dean, and Seamus were all in the common room, sneaked up to the boys' dormitory. As much as I wanted the others to be a part of this I knew it couldn't happen.

Harry took out the rolled-up socks at the bottom of his trunk and extracted the tiny, gleaming bottle.

"Well, here goes," Harry said, and he raised the little bottle and look a carefully measured gulp.

"What does it feel like?" I whispered shaking slightly. The brightest easiest smile I had ever seen spread across Harry's face.

"Excellent," he said. "Really excellent. Right… I'm going down to Hagrid's."

"What?" Ron and I gasped together. Everything would be ruined!

"No, Harry — you've got to go and see Slughorn, remember?" I said firmly trying to reason with him.

"No," Harry said confidently. "I'm going to Hagrid's, I've got a good feeling about going to Hagrid's."

"You've got a good feeling about burying a giant spider?" Ron asked looking stunned.

"Yeah," Harry said pulling his Invisibility Cloak out of his bag. "I feel like it's the place to be tonight, you know what I mean?"

"No," Ron and I said at the same time feeling dread seep through me. What if it hadn't been Felix Felicis he had drank?

"This is Felix Felicis, I suppose?" I said anxiously, holding up the bottle to the light. "You haven't got another little bottle full of — I don't know —"

"Essence of Insanity?" Ron said, as Harry swung his cloak over his shoulders.

Harry laughed and my stomach jolted painfully. This was not how it was supposed to happen at all!

"Trust me," he said. "I know what I'm doing… or at least" he strolled confidently to the door — "Felix does."

AN: Please Review!