A/N: We shall not talk about the time that Em wrote a fic that spanned most of a year and forgot that Hogwarts celebrates Christmas and that it means that prolly most of the characters do as well and so a whole section of chapter had to be written post-haste so that it wasn't totally overlooked. Cos...when would that ever happen O.o
Much love to you all.
-0-
Time sped up in a way that Hermione had not ever experienced. Every day felt too short as she got up, talked over things with the others, then did a full day of school, followed by nearly four hours of training every night. If she thought she was tired before this, she had been sorely mistaken. Minerva had properly ramped up their sessions and Hermione felt like her shoulders were constantly seizing. Minerva had swapped duty with Filius so often, he cornered Hermione during Charms and asked her whether Minerva was alright. She'd assuaged his fears without revealing the purpose of all these meetings, but Minerva had groaned when Hermione told her.
"I will speak to him. I really don't feel like I have the time to teach you everything."
"I don't need to know everything," Hermione said gently. "Just enough to get us through this one. I'm not helpless Min, I never have been."
"Oh darling, I know you think that, but you have never faced such an enemy."
"Sorry?" Hermione asked incredulously. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"People who are willing to hurt you."
"Minerva," Hermione scoffed. "Tell me you're joking?"
"You have been lucky. Many, many times, you cannot deny it."
"I take offence at that!" Hermione said incredulously. "You think me and Harry teaching Dumbledore's Army to defend the school was luck?" Minerva looked pensive but Hermione wasn't going to give her quarter in this. She was tired and grumpy again - Minerva had been working her hard - but there was no way she was going to allow this. "I saved your backside, thank you very much. I stood in front of that bitch, wandless, I might add and defended the school and your life. I have fought with people who were trying to kill me. I Obliviated my parents because I know exactly who and what we're facing." Minerva seemed to have just realised what her words had sounded like but Hermione had had enough. "You seem to think I'm a child that just needs to be babysat and I'll not have it. I have not been idle in this war, Minerva McGonagall, any more than you have. So you can take that opinion and shove it." She was breathing so hard she could feel her heart pounding against her shirt. "I'll see you in class."
She turned and slammed the door as hard as she could as she left, refusing to heed Minerva's calls as she slammed the portrait too.
"Sorry," she muttered, glancing up at Michael.
"Not the first time, won't be the last. She's on her way, so if you plan on leaving I would do so," he said measuredly.
Somehow, Michael still seemed to be able to tell her things that he, by rights, shouldn't have been able to. He had started to behave a bit differently to any entrance portrait she's seen, too. She wasn't sure the majority of them had quite so much autonomy.
She ran away, further than the entrance to the tunnel that she'd crept into last time and ducked into a classroom that looked long disused. She slid down the wall with a sigh and wrapped her arms around her knees, resting her head on her knees.
She heard Minerva go by the first time and when the door opened she rolled her eyes. Nobody came in though and she held very still until she scoffed at herself for being so stupid.
"Go away," she muttered as Minerva's Animagus form stood and pressed her two paws on Hermione's arms. The cat meowed mournfully but Hermione was still so annoyed she didn't care. "Seriously. There's no point really, is there," she huffed. "If that's how you feel, why bother? I'll just get lucky again."
The cat shimmered and Minerva McGonagall was sitting cross-legged in front of her looking sorrowful.
"I didn't mean it like that," she whispered, sadly.
Hermione looked up and considered her.
"Yes, you did."
Minerva sighed and let her head drop. They sat in silence for a very long time before Minerva looked up and placed her hand on Hermione's knee.
"I -" She sighed again. "Didn't mean to make it sound as though I do not think you are one of the greatest magic wielders we have ever seen at this school, sweetheart," she whispered. "I genuinely didn't. You know I value your intelligence and your lightning-fast reflexes and I know probably a handful of people that are as powerful as you are now, at seventeen, let alone what that will potentially look like in ten years or so." Hermione didn't reply. "Hermione," she said again, touching Hermione's chin so she would be forced to meet Minerva's eyes. "I think you are one of the greatest witches I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, power and prowess aside. And honestly, as the day draws closer, I can only feel the fear. The utter terror -" Her voice cracked a little and Hermione took her hand and squeezed it. Minerva closed her eyes and relaxed for a moment before continuing. "If anything happened to you, I would never recover from that. I have lost friends and even family in these wars, but the thought of losing you fills me with such abject fear that some days it is all I can do to function."
"Min," Hermione whispered, linking their fingers palm to palm. There was a warmth that crept up her arm a little. "I'm going to be standing at the back gate, where you insisted we needed a lookout. Where it is likely I won't even know what's going on inside, where I'm going to be freezing my backside off waiting for you, for you, to go inside and fight. How do you think I feel? You are," Hermione scoffed. "My best friend. And I know that some of us might not make it until the end of this," she growled. "Fucking war." Ever the teacher, Minerva raised an eyebrow, but Hermione tightened her grip. "But it won't be us. Because we'll look after each other and we'll come to an end battered and bruised and probably heartbroken but we will be there. I just know it. So please," she ducked down a little to meet Minerva's eyes. "Please don't treat me like a child. We both know that I am not. And we both know that of all the seventeen-year-olds in this Magical World, I am undoubtedly the best prepared to stand at a garden gate and freeze my arse off."
Minerva snorted and immediately covered her mouth.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it."
"You're forgiven," Hermione whispered, putting her head back on her knees and dropping their hands to Minerva's knee. "I suppose."
Minerva shifted a little and lay her head on Hermione's for a while and they just sat quietly, lost in thought.
-0-
Minerva's small outburst had properly tapered her enthusiasm to train Hermione until she collapsed. While they still worked hard, Hermione noticed that Minerva was paying more attention to when she needed a break or when she needed to stop. More and more they would do a bout of intense duelling and then sit together quietly, or not, until it was well beyond lights out.
It was on one such night that Hermione finally gathered the courage to ask the question that had been burning in her mind for days.
"Min?"
"Hmm?" she muttered as she read over a passage in Charms Quarterly.
"What are you doing for Christmas?"
"Oh," Minerva blinked and looked up. "I do not know. I am usually on duty as there aren't many students that stay over this particular holiday. Why?"
"Just wondered if you wanted to hang out, I guess. I didn't want to get in the way if you were going to Madam Pomfrey's or whatever."
"Oh, like me, my brother usually falls on his sword and works. Poppy goes and keeps him company."
"Ah," Hermione chuckled. "You're all so noble."
"Martyrs perhaps," Minerva snorted. "Are you going to," she giggled. "Snuffle's place?"
"No," she sighed. "We agreed that we would stay here at the beginning of term when Molly was, well. And I don't think any of us have changed our minds. Besides, we can get a lot more training done if we're here."
"Good point," Minerva nodded. "I, likewise, do not want to get in the way of your Christmas with the others, though?"
"Nah, we do presents in the morning - I may not even get a sweater this year." They both snorted and then laughed at them matching. "And look, that's about all we do. Harry and Ron will play chess and then they'll probably all go out flying."
"Oh, now there was a time when I could not wait," Minerva sighed.
"Well, maybe you could come down and have a go on Harry's broom?"
Minerva laughed loudly this time.
"Alas, no. My flying days are over. But thank you for the offer. But if you are insistent you'd prefer to spend some of the day with me, then, of course, you may come and see me. I will probably be marking something."
"You don't do, like, a party with the other Professors?"
"Filius usually drinks a little too much and serenades us with carols on Christmas Eve." Hermione was the one to giggle this time. "We tend to do Christmas day separately with our families, or without."
"That's nice though."
"Hmm," Minerva chuckled.
"I want you to know that I haven't got you anything," Hermione said quietly before she lost her nerve. "I didn't have time."
"You do not have to get me anything, sweetheart," Minerva said gently. "It's alright."
"But -"
"Let us decide now that we will simply enjoy the day together and that will be our gift to each other, alright?"
"Okay," Hermione smiled bashfully. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around Minerva's and leaned her head on her shoulder. "Thanks, Min."
"You are most welcome, Trouble."
-0-
"'Mione! CHRISTMAS!"
"Oof," Hermione groaned as Ginny jumped onto the bed beside her. "What are you doing?"
"Christmas! And also, for reasons I cannot fathom, you have a bunch of presents," Ginny disappeared from Hermione's cracked-eye vision and then returned. "Some of which are from my mother."
"What?"
She opened her eyes and looked down at the foot of her bed and found that yes, there seemed to be an excessive number of presents by her feet, where Crookshanks was curled up after what looked like a hard night out.
She tickled his ears, ignoring the baleful look she got for disturbing his sleep and she and Ginny gathered them up and took them downstairs to where the boys were waiting.
"Damn, Hermione," Harry laughed. "Now who's the chosen one."
Hermione rolled her eyes and shoved him sideways and they all sat down in a circle in front of the fire.
"You're going to have to open 2 for every one we have," Ron frowned. "Rotter."
Hermione poked out her tongue and looked a little at the wrapping. She wasn't totally sure but it seemed as though there were too many to just be from Molly. She was absent the ones from her parents, to be sure, but it still didn't seem to make much sense.
"You gonna open one or what?" Ron nudged her with a laugh.
She pulled the closest one forward and blinked as she saw the writing.
"That can't be -"
"What is it?" Ginny asked.
"That really looks like Professor Vector's handwriting. That's," She shook her head. "Really weird."
"She's arithmancy, right?"
"Yeah."
She pulled open the paper and blinked, going back to look at the label again.
"Holy shit."
They all looked up at her.
"What?"
"She sent me her university notes. We were talking about them the other day, I was saying how awesome it must be to still have them to look back on or something." She blinked. "I have no idea why she's sent me this."
The others did another round; opening a jumper from Molly and a set of limited edition Gobstones from Bill and a very squashed box of biscuits off Hagrid before it returned to Hermione again. By now, she'd looked through them all and was staring at a small pile that accounted for the excessive number that she'd received.
"I dunno if I'm making this up," she said quietly. "But I think the Professors sent me gifts."
"What the -" Ginny leaned over. "They did too, that's Flitwick's handwriting, isn't it? And I guess Professor Sprout's?"
"Yeah," Hermione nodded, looking at them. It suddenly occurred to her what had happened and she sat back with a laugh. The others looked at her sideways and she grinned while she opened them all in one go. A set of charmed quills from Professors Flitwick and Sprout - obviously Professor Flitwick's doing and a book on duelling. A beautifully, hand-decorated star chart from Professor Sinistra. Ginny drooled over that. A bag of sherbet lemons from Professor Dumbledore and a pair of the softest socks she'd ever felt - Harry had interrupted her and laughed at that before explaining to everyone what had happened when he'd been caught in front of the Mirror of Erised in his First Year and as she looked into the pile the only Professors that hadn't sent her a gift was Professor Snape, obviously and Minerva. "I told her not to get me anything," she rolled her eyes. "So she got everyone else to, instead."
"Sneaky," Ginny laughed. "I like it."
They spent the rest of the morning laying in front of the fire sucking on Molly's toffee eclairs and looking through the book on duelling while the boys played with the gobstones. They went down to the hall for lunch and as the others went back up to fetch their broomsticks, Hermione detoured after Minerva and just about caught up to her at her portrait.
"You," Hermione giggled as she wrapped her arm in Minerva's and shoved her gently with her hip. "Are a cheat."
"Et moi?" Minerva laughed. "Whatever gave you that idea."
"I didn't get you anything."
"Sweetheart," Minerva said as she unpinned her hat and set it aside once they'd made it into her living room. "You got me a knife for my birthday - and no!" she said over Hermione's question. "They are not ready yet. These things take time. I am sorry but they do."
"I know," Hermione groaned. "You still cheated though."
"Hmm, I'm not known for it, but occasionally when it is appropriate, I have been known to cheat just a little." Minerva smiled. "Come 'ere then. Merry Christmas, trouble."
"Merry Christmas, Min." Hermione fell into Minerva's arms and sighed against her shoulder.
"You alright?"
"You always know," Hermione sighed as she settled against Minerva's neck. "I didn't think it would hurt quite like this."
"I know," Minerva said, rocking them gently. "It will ease in time." She rocked them for a while longer before she stood back, holding Hermione's arms. "Now, have you eaten enough? I have in mind we might use this time to have some fun?"
"Us?" Hermione said, remembering when Minerva had made a similar joke. "Have fun? You must be joking."
"Oh darling, just you wait," Minerva chuckled.
-0-
Christmas had been a blast. Minerva had taken her down to her classroom where they'd created some of the silliest spells Hermione had ever seen, using a mixture of transfiguration, charms and even nonsense at one point, all using Hermione's method of shortening words and splicing them with others. It had been magical but after a week or so of a Christmas lull, training had returned in earnest.
They had trained and trained and trained. Hermione's casting was now almost as quick as Minerva's and now that it was, she had done a fine job of very nearly beating Minerva in their last duel. As she lay panting on the duelling floor, Minerva had muttered that the mission was set for the following week and Hermione had woken up every day and looked at the sky. Dark clouds in the distance had rolled in and the temperature in Scotland had dropped significantly. Even the Prophet had made mention of the blizzard expected and then, she knew, it was time to level with the others.
Two days before the mission was proposed to happen, Hermione dragged Harry, Ginny and Ron to the Room of Requirement. The rain had already started battering the castle and she despaired at the strength of the gusting winds.
"Alright," she said quietly. "I can't tell you exactly what we're doing but," she tried to phrase it carefully. "We're going somewhere we've all been before, the day after tomorrow. I need you to all know a few things before we get started, okay?"
Ginny and Ron nodded immediately and Hermione was reminded of how much she loved them.
"I know we've discussed oaths before, and we've sworn them to each other but you need to know that this is where it gets real. This is the Order we're talking about and so many people beyond ourselves. Add to that what we already know about what's going on here at home, and I feel the need to remind you all that if you break our trust, you are no longer our friend but our enemy and we will respond in kind. Are we agreed?"
Ron and Ginny both answered yes and Hermione looked up at Harry and offered her hand. He took it and then Ginny placed her hand on Harry's and Ron on Ginny's.
"We're unbreakable, right?" Hermione asked, looking at them all. "No one can stop us."
"Obviously," Ron snorted.
Hermione nodded.
"Alright," she nodded. "Get comfy, I'm going to tell you everything I know or have worked out, with as much detail as I can manage around all the secrecy. It is some of what you already know, from Dumbledore and from us, but I'm going to lay out all I can in case," she fell quiet. "Well."
She told them everything she could and then everything in between. She told them about Harry - he interjected where it was necessary - and about Dumbledore's plans that they weren't privy to. And, while she didn't specifically label them as Horcruxes as an added layer of protection, she did tell them they would have to find up to six items that were required to destroy Voldemort forever. It wasn't that she didn't trust them, but knowing she was going against Dumbledore's expressed wishes was a little frightening. She kept expecting him to walk in and silence her.
"I know it's a lot," she said finally as she trailed off at the end. "And you will probably need to discuss it a little but it's vital you do not. Not out in public. Not in the dorms, not in the corridors, not even outside. Only somewhere where you can absolutely guarantee that nobody is listening. Alright?"
"Best work on my silencing charms," Ginny huffed.
"That does help," Hermione chuckled. "But still somewhere where you can be absolutely assured that nobody can overhear. Nobody can ever know. This mission is a big deal, too. A lot of people are involved and the plan isn't perfect but they think it'll work."
"What do you think?"
"I think it's ridiculous and we would have done it differently and better," Hermione answered without hesitation, making them all laugh.
"What does McGonagall think?" Ron asked thoughtfully.
"She thinks it's okay for what they know, which is very little." She shrugged. "That's her prerogative, I guess."
"And you're fighting?"
Hermione tried to answer but found the words wouldn't come so she held up her hand as she tried to phrase it carefully.
"I -" she managed before she was stopped again. "Do you have green hair?" she asked finally.
"What?" Ginny asked. "No?"
"Exactly." Hermione chuckled. "That was the best I could do."
"Oh," Ginny laughed. "I see. That's really annoying."
"Tell me about it. I only joined so I could tell you guys everything. Kinda a shock when I had to swear an actual oath."
"Did you ever ask him about it?"
"No," she laughed. "He just did that annoying smile thing," she chuckled. "And then I swore it anyway."
They giggled for a while, enjoying the fun in between all the worry.
"Harry, you're going to have to go and talk to Slughorn. I know you don't really want to and that you've been avoiding it, but he's noticed your potions work," she smirked. "You're welcome, by the way."
He laughed and ran his hand through his hair.
"I dunno why he's so obsessed."
"Dumbledore told us, remember? He likes powerful people. He's a collector."
"Wait, what?" Ginny blinked.
"That's what I said," Hermione winced. "Dumbledore assured me that it isn't like that but watch your back anyway, right? Anything untoward and we will rain down holy hell."
Harry snorted and sighed.
"How are you supposed to go up to someone and ask them those questions?"
"You're going to have to be a bit subtle about it," Hermione shrugged. "He's not going to come out and say it - otherwise he would have told Dumbledore but," she patted his arm. "It'll be alright. Use your brain, get him comfortable talking about any other things and then maybe mention that you were reading about a guy called Tom and how good he was at potions or something. I bet he'll tell you cos he thinks you wouldn't know who he is. But if not? We'll get the answers we need eventually. Even if we have to coerce him."
"Bloody hell, Hermione," Ron laughed. "Brilliant, but bloody scary."
She preened a little and let that sit. Harry had gone very still and when she looked over at him, he met her eyes.
"So," Harry said quietly. "What if?"
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Yeah but," he frowned. "It's usually me doing what you're doing, not the other way around. I don't like it."
"That's how we feel when you have to be the hero, Harry," Ginny smiled sadly. "Sometimes you gotta just do your bit, right?"
Harry nodded but Hermione's heart broke at how sad he looked.
"I'm coming back," she whispered, taking his hand. "I'm always coming back. Cos we're all in this together, right?"
"Absolutely," Ginny muttered, taking Harry and then nudging Ron and offering her hand to him.
Hermione smiled as he looked awkwardly at it before he met her eyes. She nodded to Harry and he quickly grabbed Ginny's hand and then Hermione's too.
"It'll be alright," Hermione promised. "Nothing is going to happen while I'm standing at the back gate freezing my arse off."
That drew a small smile out of him and they sat in silence for a long while knowing that words were cheap and that nothing The Order ever did seemed to go right.