CHAPTER FIFTY SIX- Hogwarts Bound
The quick lurch of the broom scared Hermione so much she was afraid she was squeezing Harry Potter too hard around the ribs. Harry darted quickly through the trees of the forest with ease. Once they came to the end of the woods he took a sharp turn up and flew higher than would ever be comfortable for Hermione.
The sun was now fully raised and Hermione knew the students would just be opening their eyes. She worried how long it would take them to arrive until she saw Hogsmeade and knew it wasn't far. Something was different however about the little village. Even through the quick flight over Hermione could tell something was off. It seemed dreary and sad unlike the bustling little place she used to know.
"Is the cloak still on us?" Harry shouted over the wind. "Yes! Keep going," Hermione shouted back. Harry went higher in the air still when the gates were in view. She saw a small group of wizards in black robes standing near the gate and closed her eyes to ease her nerves.
"Hold on as tight as you can!" Harry yelled. Hermione didn't know how she could possibly hold on tighter but she tried with all her might. Suddenly, Harry did a nosedive that caused her to feel like she would be sick. She opened her eyes to see where they were and instantly regretted it.
The Whomping Willow was bellow them and Harry showed no signs of slowing down. Closing her eyes tight again she felt them come to a halt and her feet clumsily hit the snowy ground. "Don't get out from under the cloak yet," he instructed. They were far enough away from the willow so it would not hurt them and Hermione hoped it would be close enough to cast a spell on it.
Grabbing her wand she cast an Immobulus spell at it that appeared to do nothing. "Carefully walk with me," Harry said with his legs still between the broom. They waddled closer and closer to the tree when the willow knew they were there. She cast spell after spell at it all while backing away slowing. Only after the fifth spell did it seem to slow down a little.
"There is a tunnel at the base of the tree just in front of us. How fast can you run?" Harry asked. "Hopefully fast enough. I'll be fine. Once I'm out of the cloak fly back as quickly as you can," she said. Harry nodded and wished her luck. "You too, be careful," Hermione said ducking out of the cloak and making a mad dash to the tree.
The great Whomping Willow attempted to crush her but it was slow and lethargic enough that Hermione hadn't been mashed yet. She was nearly at the trunk when her spells wore off and the soil slowly became sticky and tough to run in. Panicking she frantically made a jump to the tree and landed on her back near the base.
She was in incredible pain because it seemed she managed to land straight on top of a knot in the tree's trunk. Hermione was cursing her luck and trying to get up and dodge the next branch when she fell straight through a dark hole. This time she landed face first and onto her stomach.
She screamed and moaned in pain in the dark hole and could hear that the willow had given up its attempt to crush something. With heavy breaths she held her stomach and tried to get up. She grabbed her wand out and muttered Lumos while she attempted to see where she was. It looked like she dropped about ten feet underground and into a tunnel. Hermione could not see far ahead of her but saw the tunnel get lower and lower to the ground.
Putting her wand down and sitting on the ground she reached into her bag and grabbed one of the potions Draco prepared for her pain. The potion was no longer fresh and made without a few ingredients but it still helped her a little. She knew logically she had only been under the tree for less than three minutes. Surely it didn't take Harry and I more than five minutes to get to Hogwarts? How much longer could he be with Ron? Hermione thought.
Regardless of time she began to prepare how to get Ron safely under the willow. She would never be able to hear anything so far underground and there was no way for her to get back to the surface… Unless she did what Harry did. Reaching into her bag she pulled out the old rickety broomstick they picked up at the house in Greece.
Putting her legs over she tried to give a push off the ground and failed miserably. Landing on her bum and cursing her luck for the second time that morning, she tried again. If she could fly close enough to the opening of the hole she could hear Ron coming and hopefully help him in.
She got up again and pushed harder than before and the broom hovered slightly. "Up! Come on, let's go you old duster," she said giving the broom a shake beneath her. Slowly it crept up further and further till she gently hit her head on the top of the hole. Hermione hovered with difficulty in the air for a few more minutes until she heard what could only be described as obscene profanity.
"Ron! Be quiet!" Hermione urged. She cast spells above her head attempting to disarm the Whomping Willow but Ron's language proved it wasn't working. With her fist she banged and banged the top of the hole until she struck a nerve in the roots. Daylight began to pour into the hole while Ron Weasley fell down on top of Hermione.
Unprepared for his arrival they both tumbled to the hard ground with their limbs intertwined. Hermione untangled herself and rubbed her back the best she could. When she used her wand to get some light in the tunnel again she saw that Ron was covered head to toe in the thick soil that nearly trapped her.
"What happened? Are you all right? Did anyone see you?" Hermione asked rapidly. Ron began to try and get the gunk off him and answered, "They didn't even know we were there! It was excellent! They might now though… After all the screaming I did. Are you all right? I didn't mean to fall on you!"
Relieved, Hermione rolled over and longed for a stronger pain potion. "I hurt you! Oh no! Oh Merlin! I am so sorry Hermione," Ron said. "Really Ron, I'll be fine. Are you sure no one saw you and Harry? Did he make it past the gates again to Draco?" Hermione said trying to ignore the pain.
"I don't know. Harry took off again so quickly and I just ran as fast as I could… Then the damn soil got me and the willow nearly broke my leg. Were you casting spells? It seemed to help a little," Ron said. "Can you fly up? Try to hit the root and disarm the willow for Draco and Harry? I don't think I can get up yet," Hermione said.
"I would but… err, Hermione I think we broke the broom," Ron said bending down to grab what indeed was their boom broken in half. The two landed directly on top of the old thing and it was obvious no one would ride that broom again. "Then together we'll have to cast spells. You do Immobulus and I'll try to hit the root," Hermione instructed. "We won't be able to hear them so in two minutes we'll try, okay?" Hermione said.
Two minutes seemed to last forever when they began to cast their spells. No one was coming through the hole and they could only hear the spells they were casting. Ron and Hermione tried this for what seemed like ages before sunlight peaked down on them. Harry, half covered by the invisibility cloak, was the first to fall down the hole while grabbing onto his broomstick. He landed flat on his back and gave a painful moan.
"Draco? Where's Draco?" Hermione panicked. Soon after, Malfoy tumbled down after Harry and landed on top of him. Ron ran to Harry and Hermione crawled to Malfoy to make sure they were all right. Harry was still moaning in pain but Malfoy did not make a sound at all. "Draco? Draco!" Hermione yelled in his ear shaking him.
The shaking did no good and she resorted to slapping him across the face. This time he opened his eyes slowly and said, "What'd you do that for, Granger?" Reassured, Hermione helped him sit up. "What happened? What took you so long?" Hermione asked. Not ready to explain Harry answered for him. "They saw us," he heaved trying to catch his breath.
"Malfoy was too tall for the cloak and his feet were hanging out. They heard screaming too by the willow. I assume that was you, Ron?" Harry said. Ron blushed and apologized for his overreaction. "Were you cursed? What exactly happened!" Hermione said still trying to rouse Malfoy.
"I flew us straight to the tree and Malfoy protected us with counter curses and protective spells. We landed in the sticky soil and they were running after us. I think he got a spell to the back. Then we landed in here… Is he okay? We need to move! They know we're here," Harry said shaking off his injuries.
"Let me try to wake him," Ron said. He kneeled down by Malfoy's ear and shouted "Oi! Wake up! We've got a war to win!" Instinctively Malfoy swung his fist into Ron's face and punched him right in the nose. "He punched me!" Ron said mortified and holding onto his nose. "Yes Ron I saw, we can sort that out later. Let's get going!" Harry said lighting his wand and heading down the tunnel with Ron following.
Malfoy got up and shook off the spell the best he could and helped Hermione stand. "Are you okay? What happened to you? Can you walk-" he began. "I'll be fine and I can explain later. Like Ron said before you decked him, we've got a war to win," Hermione said following the Gryffindors through the tunnel.