Chapter 69 is here. Sit back, relax and enjoy!
"There's been a marked difference in Potter in the past few weeks," began Snape. "He seems to have lost his tongue... the one that he inherited from his father," he added spitefully. "He's always covered in bruises... and tries to hide it from everyone. He's stopped going to the duelling club. Just yesterday, he got into a fight with his friends. Harry even gave Ron a detention," finished Snape.
"What about White?" asked Voldemort.
Severus looked down and stayed quiet in response.
"Severus," exclaimed Voldemort, loudly.
"My Lord," remarked Snape, apologetically.
"Fine... But, you have done well till now. Keep your eye on Harry and White. I want to know everything," remarked Voldemort.
Snape nodded and was about to leave when Voldemort spoke up.
"Severus," he called out.
"Yes, my Lord?"
"You will be here, the day after, correct?" asked Voldemort.
"Yes, of course, my Lord," replied Snape.
"... the death of the beloved old witch has saddened the entire nation," read out Ron, at the breakfast table.
"I have read about her in the history of magic. People went to her for her wisdom. She was a powerful witch and a great loss for the wizarding world," chimed in Hermione.
"Meraki," remarked Ron, sadly. "She almost lived through 3 different centuries," he chuckled.
"Ron," exclaimed Hermione, shocked at seeing him laugh.
"What? She lived 2-3 people's life... all in one," retorted Ron and received a glare from Hermione in return.
"Meraki isn't her real name, did you know? It was the name the Greeks gave her," said Hermione after a few seconds. "She was known for a lot of things. She was a great witch, alchemist, wand-maker and healer," she added.
"She even had 3 different careers," chimed in Ron with a chuckle.
However, before he could get the full force of Hermione's fury, the pair were interrupted by Professor McGonagall.
"Mr Weasley," called out McGonagall and instantly the pair turned their heads towards her.
"Your detention would be with Professor Slughorn... Tomorrow evening," she said and handed Ron a note.
Ron took the note with an annoyed expression on his face. The moment McGonagall left the pair alone, Ron's anger flared up.
"What a prat... I'm going to have to miss quidditch practice because of him," said Ron angrily.
"You didn't have to attack Harry," retorted Hermione.
"Don't you dare take his side... Actually, why am I surprised? You stood there like a statue yesterday," retorted Ron.
"What were you thinking attacking him? Don't take your anger out on me, just because you lost it yesterday... Not only did you initiate an unnecessary duel, but you also got your arse handed to you," retorted back Hermione.
"I... did not..." began Ron, but before he could complete his sentence, Hermione had gotten up and stormed away.
Hermione spent all day distressed over what she had seen the day before, Harry's injuries, his cagey behaviour and to top it all off, the boys' fight.
"Injuries are part of training. There is no mystery there," she told herself. "But, why would Harry hide it? Did Professor White refrain him from sharing details of his training?" she asked herself, however, had no obvious answer. "And since when did Harry start reading ahead? Advanced potions for 6th year? And why the room, and not the library? I should probably check the book during lunch"
Hermione skimmed through the book but got no insights into Harry's behaviour whatsoever.
"Maybe there's a potion here that he wanted to try out? If that was it, he'd come to me, right? Probably not, given his secretive behaviour," thoughts ran through Hermione's mind.
Hermione had an epiphany, right in the middle of their potions class. Hermione was following Professor Slughorn's instructions when she remembered something.
"Slug Club... Harry was active suspiciously there as well," she remembered. Hermione clearly remembered how social Harry was, that evening. "Is he trying to gain some favour with Professor Slughorn? This would explain why he's carrying around the potions book. But what does he want with Professor Slughorn?"
Hermione spent the rest of the class wondering about different theories, however, failed to come up with a reasonable one.
The day gradually moved on. And it was time for their combat class. Professor Benjamin White walked over to the castle grounds and greeted the students in his usual cheerful self. From the moment he arrived, Hermione decided to observe him closely.
"For a man who used a walking stick to walk around, White seemed to stroll a lot," she thought to herself.
White was a good orator and always managed to lift the students' spirits. And that day was no different. Gryffindor had a combined class with Hufflepuff and students from both houses were standing in a properly arranged matrix of rows and columns, something that White had insisted on from his first class. For the first couple of minutes, White addressed the students on the atrocities of Voldemort and then used it to inspire the students. There was always an air of gravitas whenever he spoke. While he spoke, there was complete silence from the students. It was almost like they were all lost in a trance.
After a quick rousing speech, White proceeded with the class. In the six weeks prior, White had mainly focused on the student's ability to perform combative spells, understanding the need for a spell, specifically when to use what spell. Occasionally, he made the students duel each other if he felt the need for it. Unlike their other classes, combat was much more student-centric. Everyone got their attention from White. Apart from being an excellent orator, White seemed to have inhuman observation skills. He noticed, observed and informed every single student, about what they were doing correctly and where they were going wrong.
And on this class, White had everyone practising defensive spells, mixing defence with attack to tilt the tide of a duel. Hermione, while she was practising her spells, was focusing most of her attention on White instead. There was absolutely nothing in the way he held himself with the class that arose any suspicion.
"I'm just assuming things..." she told herself. "Harry's injuries are likely from his training session. Maybe he's just worried about the future? Yeah, that'd make more sense. I remember how I was after I found out... An absolute mess"
Some time went by and Hermione was fully into her world.
"I wonder how John and Jane travelled back in time. I remember John telling me that he had no idea how. If they travelled through time, so can anyone else. Is there somebody in the future who invents time travel?" Hermione's thoughts scattered around. Meanwhile, she kept a close eye on Professor White. He seemed too engrossed in correcting Lavender's posture. "I wonder what I'd be doing. An Auror... Maybe a higher post in the ministry... I could become the Minister for Magic... Stop dreaming, Hermione... What are Ron and Harry doing?"
Hermione turned around her eyes briefly searching for Harry. Harry was at the back of the class, doing something on his own. By the looks of things, he was definitely not practising defensive spells, the wand movements were all different. Before Hermione could decipher, her eyes darted around to look for Ron. He was a couple of rows ahead, along with Dean, Seamus and Neville. The boys were murmuring to each other fervently.
"Mr Weasley and Mr Finnigan..." called out White and everyone's heads turned around to look at the pair. "Could you please share the joke with the rest of the class, as well? I'm sure all of us are a little tired and would love a bit of laughter," remarked White with a chuckle and the entire class burst into laughter.
"Sorry, Professor," exclaimed Seamus from the back.
"Miss Granger," called out White and Hermione was taken aback for a moment.
"Yes, Professor White?" responded Hermione, cautiously.
"Miss Brown and Miss Granger... would you both like to test out your skills against each other?" remarked White with a big smile and glanced at Lavender, who had a look of newly found confidence. Hermione nodded in response and slowly made her way towards the front of the class.
"What has gotten into you, today?" asked Cedric as he saw his co-partner in the duelling club, looking furious.
"She's chickening out of a duel, that's what," replied Hermione, angrily.
"You lost fair and square, Granger," retorted Lavender, sharply.
Cedric stared at the pair, confused.
"Yeah... why don't we go again, right now? We will see who's better," retorted back Hermione.
"I don't have to duel you... You're clearly upset about losing. I just hope you learn from your mistake, as Professor White said," said Lavender calmly, though there was a hint of a smirk on her face.
"My mistake? That was not a fair fight..." began Hermione angrily, but before she could continue, she saw Snape walking towards the ruckus and stopped herself. Lavender bolted out of there, leaving Hermione and Cedric alone.
"Well... well... what do we have here?" sniggered Snape. "Miss Granger, you're a prefect. You're expected to act a certain way, need I remind you?" he scorned.
"Sorry, Professor Snape," apologies Hermione, instantly.
"10 points from Gryffindor," remarked Snape and walked away.
Hermione looked heartbroken and on the verge of tears.
"Hey, you alright?" asked Cedric, taken aback by the events of the past couple of minutes.
"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine," replied Hermione, calming herself down.
"Come on, let's go and have something to eat, I'm starving," remarked Cedric, looking at Hermione's face.
"But we have more than half the session remaining," retorted Hermione.
"It's just one session, Hermione. Not a big deal. Let's go," convinced Cedric.
And with that, Hermione and Cedric left the duelling club early. The pair made their way to the great hall. It was just dinner time and hence the great hall was fairly empty. Cedric and Hermione took seats beside each other and the moment they did, food appeared in front of them.
"Wow," gasped Cedric and began piling his plate with roast meat, potatoes and gravy. Hermione on the other hand reluctantly took some chips and let them go cold on her plate.
After a couple of minutes, Cedric spoke up. "You know, Hermione, there is no point in letting your food go cold," he remarked, calmly.
"I'm not hungry," retorted Hermione.
"So, this girl you were fighting with, beat you in a duel?" asked Cedric, casually.
"She did not," retorted Hermione, instantly.
"She seemed to think otherwise," remarked Cedric, in response.
Hermione went quiet for a few seconds.
Breaking the silence, Cedric continued, "so, what happened?" he asked.
Hermione contemplated her response for a while and replied. "I can't believe I lost to that... to her," she said.
Cedric had stopped eating and had his full attention towards Hermione.
"We had our combat class today," began Hermione. "Everything was normal... and then Professor White asked us to come forward," she added.
"He wanted you two to duel?" asked Cedric.
Hermione nodded and continued. "I have duelled Lavender many times. It has always been a cakewalk," she said and paused. "I mean... I don't want to sound like I'm boasting..." she added, looking a little sheepish.
Cedric chuckled and replied, "I know you are better than her," he remarked.
"Anyway... it was the same today. She was told to be defensive and I was to attack her," continued Hermione. "And then something happened," she added and took another pause. She was trying to filter out the things that she did not want to reveal to Cedric.
Cedric glanced at her, intrigued.
"Right... So, what happened... Professor White interrupted us and hit me with a spell. I didn't anticipate it," continued Hermione.
"What did he do?" asked Cedric, confused.
"Well, he told us all that, the spell he used on me will render my magical capabilities unstable. He wanted to test my limits, he said," replied Hermione.
"Wow, he can do that? I have heard about it, but never actually knew anyone who could do it," replied Cedric, impressed.
"It worked... From then on, nothing I did, worked. Within a couple of minutes, Lavender had the control and I was the one defending," said Hermione, looking dejected.
"Why are you upset about this? He clearly told everyone what he was doing. It's obvious that she didn't beat you," remarked Cedric.
Hermione shook her head sadly. "Well... so, the thing is... after Lavender gained control, Professor White announced to the whole class that he had restored my magical capabilities. A couple of minutes later, was when Lavender actually won the duel," replied Hermione.
"Oh," groaned Cedric.
Hermione shook her head, still in disbelief.
"I mean, that was unfair on you," remarked Cedric.
After a few seconds, he continued. "But you cannot let yourself get upset over such things. You lost a duel against your classmate... Big deal!" he said.
Hermione controlled herself from letting things slip. What she had told Cedric was just a part of the story.
"She's going to use that to mock me for the rest of the year," sulked Hermione.
Cedric chuckled in response. "Look on the bright side... Professor White knew you were the better witch. He told the whole class you were better than her and that he was reducing your power to make it an even fight," he remarked, trying to cheer her up.
Hermione gave a brief smile in response. Cedric resumed eating his food, and Hermione began tucking in as well.
"Speaking of which... Where is Harry? Haven't seen him in the club for a long time," remarked Cedric and glanced towards Hermione in time to see her expression turn. "Oh, don't tell me... You guys had a fight as well?" he asked, with a chuckle.
"Don't even get me started," thought Hermione to herself. "Harry is just busy with a bunch of different things," she replied.
"He's getting some special training from Professor White, isn't he?" asked Cedric.
"Yeah"
"As long as he's not 100% focused on quidditch," chuckled Cedric.
"Does it even matter? He's going to get the snitch before you regardless," retorted Hermione.
"Ooh... We will see," remarked Cedric.
After a long silence, Hermione spoke up.
"I... uh... Cedric," began Hermione, hesitantly.
"Hmm?"
Hermione went silent for a few seconds.
"You want to talk about something?" asked Cedric.
Honestly, Hermione wasn't sure. It wasn't like she could tell Cedric the secrets of the golden trio, anyway.
"I don't know what to tell you... I suppose I haven't got anyone to talk about this..." said Hermione, her voice suddenly too low.
"You can talk to me... about anything you'd like," said Cedric, gently.
"It's about Harry," said Hermione. Cedric nodded in acknowledgement.
"Something happened yesterday. Ron and I got into a fight with Harry," continued Hermione. "I suppose, it has been brewing since earlier this year. We all dealt with John's death in our own way. He was our best friend. More than a best friend, if that is at all possible," she added. "Harry chose seclusion. He was right in the mix of things and blames himself for John's death. We tried to get him to open up. For a while, he had started to come back to his usual self," said Hermione. She was right on the edge of bursting into tears. The only thing stopping her was the surrounding.
"Anyway... Ever since coming back to Hogwarts, things have been pretty bleak. Harry looks and acts fine, and then there are these days when he pushes us away. Ron lost his cool yesterday and they ended up in a wand fight. To make things worse, Harry gave Ron detention. Ron's royally pissed off at him and I feel stuck and helpless," continued Hermione and finished with her eyes glistening.
"I'm so sorry, Hermione," reacted Cedric the moment Hermione finished. "I cannot imagine what all of you have gone through," he remarked.
"I just... feel helpless. I want to help him, but I don't know how," added Hermione.
"I don't know what to say... But, I know one thing. The 3 of you are thick as thieves. I sometimes envy the kind of friendship the 3 of you have. You should just let Harry be himself. I'm sure he knows that he has the 2 of you. Just be there, whenever he's ready," replied Cedric, gently.
After a few seconds, Cedric continued. "Unfortunately, You-know-who is still out there. And until the time he's gone for good, none of us can have a good night's sleep. The only thing we can do is to be for each other," he remarked.
There was silence between the pair for a few minutes. By then, the great hall was full and buzzing.
"I should leave now. I have to study Arithmancy. Thank you so much for listening," said Hermione after a while.
"Yeah, sure... You can speak with me anytime you want to," replied Cedric with a smile and with that the pair left for their dormitories.
Harry ascended out and looked around. Even if there were anyone in the bathroom, they wouldn't have been able to see Harry, for he was wearing his invisibility cloak. After reaffirming that the bathroom was empty, Harry removed his cloak and kept it in his bag.
After the previous day's debacle that ended with Harry detaining Ron, Harry was left confused, angry and devastated. He couldn't convince himself that Ron had decided to attack him. What for, he couldn't comprehend. But, there was another thing that was bothering him. The room of requirement, as versatile as it was, wasn't safe to use. He needed a place that was safer. And just as Harry lost any hope of finding such a location, Harry remembered something. A skill that he didn't know he had for the longest time. A power that he had been born with.
After classes that day, Harry took the Prince's book, some of the other belongings that he needed and the invisibility cloak to the 2nd-floor girls' bathroom. Harry stood in front of the entrance of the chamber of secrets. Unbeknownst to himself, Harry spoke Parseltongue and opened the chamber once again. To his surprise, all he had to was to put a spell on the dead remains of the basilisk to make it not stink. And the chamber was pretty much in a state that was worth using.
After spending a while in the chamber, Harry made it out, without being seen by anyone. Harry made his way out of the girls' bathroom and towards the Gryffindor dormitory. Just as he was on the stairs, he noticed Hermione walking over from the opposite side.
"You're joking," Harry thought to himself.
"Harry," exclaimed Hermione, surprised.
"Hi" greeted back Harry.
"Didn't see you at dinner," remarked Hermione.
"Uh... No, I was just going to have," replied Harry.
And then, out of nowhere, Hermione dove at Harry and grabbed him into a hug.
"I miss you, Harry... I miss John... I miss all of us," whispered Hermione, her voice breaking as she did.
Harry stood like a statue, taken aback by the rush of emotions he had witnessed on Hermione's face.
After a moment, he hugged Hermione back. Everything, suddenly, felt so much better.
"I'm sorry about yesterday..." whispered back Harry. "I didn't mean to... I didn't expect him to do that... I shouldn't have reacted the way I did," he added, feeling guilty.
"Just let me know you're fine. Don't keep us worried, Harry," whispered Hermione.
"I'm fine, Hermione... just need some time to... I need some time," whispered back Harry.
Harry and Hermione stayed hugging each other for a few more seconds. And then, almost involuntarily, Harry turned his face towards Hermione and planted a soft kiss on her cheek.
"Harry..." moaned Hermione, shocked and surprised.
And then almost instantly, Harry released the hug, just enough to make eye contact with Hermione. The moment he saw her expression, Harry leaned in and Hermione made no attempt to stop him. And they shared their first kiss.
Harry and Hermione tasted each other's lips for a few seconds before Hermione unwillingly pulled away from Harry.
"Harry..." she breathed. "Someone will see us..." she whispered.
At those words, Harry seemed to sober up and stared at Hermione.
"See you later," he remarked and with that, the couple went their own ways.
The following morning, Harry woke up with a plan. He had been in possession of the advanced potions book for a while now. He was going to go to Professor Slughorn that evening with a few doubts in an attempt to get closer to him.
So, right after quidditch practice, Harry rushed to his dormitory, took the book and made his way towards Professor Slughorn's office.
The moment he reached it, he knocked on the door and entered.
"Professor," called out Harry and walked in.
"Harry? Yes... please come in," replied Slughorn. Just as Harry entered, his eyes fell on Ron and he stood rooted to his spot. Harry was unaware that Ron's detention was going to be with Slughorn.
Ron glared at Harry, still angry about the events that led to him being here.
"You know, Mr Weasley, don't you, Harry?" asked Slughorn cheerfully.
"Yes, of course, Professor," replied Harry with the exact enthusiasm. "Ron's my best friend," he added and gave Ron a quick glance.
"Oh, good good," remarked Slughorn.
Ron's presence with Slughorn might have been unexpected, but wasn't going to impact Harry's plan one bit. So, he went ahead and requested Slughorn's help with a few of the questions he had. Slughorn, in his cheerful self, cleared Harry's doubts happily. Adding cherry to the cake, Slughorn even compared Harry to some of his great students, who were now doing very well for themselves. Harry acted modest in return, the best bet he had at the time.
"Thank you so much once again, Professor," remarked Harry.
"It's my pleasure, my boy," replied Slughorn and with that Harry got up and made his way towards the door.
And just then, something happened.
One second, Ron was watching Harry walk away. And the next, Harry was standing still. And then suddenly, Harry collapsed to the ground.
"Harry," exclaimed Ron and dashed towards him.
"What happened? Harry," exclaimed Slughorn, shocked.
Harry lay on the floor, unconscious.
"Harry... what happened?" exclaimed a panic-stricken Ron. And then suddenly, Harry's eyes opened and he shoved Ron away.
"Woah... hey... calm down," remarked Ron, gesturing with his hands the same.
…
***{Meanwhile, in another part of the world}***
"We will do as you command, my lord," exclaimed Bellatrix, as she knelt in front of Voldemort.
"Severus? Can I consider your presence at the castle, a given?" asked Voldemort.
"Yes, my lord. I shall be on the side of the order, though my loyalties will lie with you," replied Snape, bowing down.
"We shall capture on Halloween night then," announced Voldemort loudly and there was a huge cheer from the crowd in front of him.
"My lord?" remarked Snape after a few seconds.
"Severus?"
"My lord... what about Barty Crouch Jr and Eldon Redwood? Are they not going to be with us?" asked Snape, cautiously. He quickly glanced at Barty and Eldon, though their expression revealed nothing.
"Their presence is not required at the castle," replied Voldemort. And that was that. Severus remained to wonder what the pair could possibly be tasked with.
The wait is over, I suppose... I couldn't wait to get this chapter out into the world. I was wondering when the right time would be for our favourite couple to lock lips. I finally ended up choosing this moment.
PS - The next chapter is an interesting one. We are going to travel to the future!