Chapter Summary: We're nearing the end. Hermione decides to take matters into her own hands but is it already too late?
--- Begin Fic Here ---
"Harry, would you please tell me what's wrong?" Hermione pressed. "You've barely said a word." They were nearing the Gryffindor Tower entrance.
"I will, as soon we find Ron," Harry told her. The fat lady was dozing in the portrait entrance. "Stupid Night Gits." He hated the new Gryffindor password. The portrait swung open and they climbed in.
Ron was still in the common room but he was fast asleep. Harry wasted no time in waking him as Hermione took another seat by the dying fire.
Ron yawned openly. "Oy, how was detention?"
"It was fine until I almost got killed by Voldemort," Harry said as he started pacing.
Ron sat up quickly, eyes wide. "Harry, that's not funny, and don't say the name."
Hermione gasped. "You mean that thing… in the forest… that was Vold… I mean 'you know who'?"
Harry nodded. "He's the one killing the unicorns. He's drinking their blood."
"Ewwwww," Ron shuddered.
"Because it's keeping him alive," Harry continued. "Don't you see? Snape wants the stone for Voldemort and Voldemort's waiting in the forest. And all this time we thought Snape just wanted to get rich."
"Stop saying the name." Ron seemed to go spastic every time Harry would mention the Dark Lord by name.
Hermione hadn't grown up in the wizarding world so the fear of Voldemort's name had no real impact on her, but she had read that most wizards never mentioned him by name and so she knew to always say "you know who." What bothered her was that now there was a new more important piece to the puzzle. It wasn't just Snape they had to worry about; it was the Dark Lord himself. If he got his hands on the stone then he could return to full power. This was bigger than anything they could have ever imagined.
"All this time, I've been worried about stupid exams and studying when Voldemort's only a stone throw's away plotting to ravage the world again."
Harry was ranting now about how the centaurs were predicting Voldemort's return by the movement of the stars and Hermione remembered what Ronan had said to her earlier that night. "It will happen soon and he will need you by his side when it does." Is this what he meant?
Harry stopped pacing and looked directly at Hermione, "So, all I've got to wait for now is Snape to steal the stone. Then Voldemort will be able to come and finish me off. Well I suppose Bane'll be happy."
Hermione stared up at him and she saw the look of desperation in his eyes. "Harry," she started slowly. "Everyone says Dumbledore's the only one," she glanced at Ron, "'you know who' was ever afraid of. With Dumbledore around, 'you know who' won't touch you. Anyway who says the centaurs are right. It sounds like fortune telling to me and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."
Harry finally plopped down in a nearby armchair. "I don't know, Hermione. We thought Snape wouldn't try anything with Dumbledore so close but we were wrong about that too. Voldemort's desperate. He has a chance to get back to full strength and kill me once and for all. I don't think he's going to let Dumbledore stop him."
"Why do you suppose he wants to kill you?" Ron asked, not troubling to tell Harry off again for speaking Voldemort's name.
"I don't know!" Harry said in frustration. "Maybe he's mad that he couldn't kill me the first time."
"Maybe he's afraid of you," Hermione offered. "Maybe there's something about you that he's afraid of. After all, you survived his killing curse. No one has ever done that before."
"What could possibly be special about me?" Harry sighed. "I'm nobody; I'm just a normal boy."
"No you're not," Ron objected. "You're Harry Potter."
"Oh Ron," Hermione chastised. "He may be famous to you, but Harry's right. By all rights he shouldn't have survived that curse. There's still no logical reason why he did."
"But maybe," Ron started excitedly. "Maybe Harry has some sort of hidden power that we don't know about; something that can stop 'you know who' and he found out about it or something and that's why he keeps trying to kill Harry because he knows he can stop him."
"Well I wish I knew what it was so I could," Harry said in a defeated sort of voice.
"I really think we should go to Dumbledore now," Hermione pressed. "This is serious. If 'you know who' is really out there, then Dumbledore should know about it, before it's too late."
"Right and of course he'll believe us because we're the first year students who 'pretended' that we had a dragon just get Malfoy in trouble."
"We should at least try," Hermione insisted.
"Go ahead." Harry said standing up again. "I don't care anymore. I'm going to go to bed and wait for the inevitable." He stomped off upstairs.
"This thing's really gotten to him," Ron said to Hermione when Harry was out of earshot.
"Well you'd be upset too if you thought you were going to die," Hermione chastised not believing that Ron could be that dense.
"Well, maybe it wasn't really 'you know who,'" Ron offered. "Maybe it was a werewolf or something. Harry could just be overreacting."
"Ron you weren't out there tonight. Trust me, whatever was killing those unicorns, it wasn't a werewolf."
"Well you didn't see it did you?" Ron challenged.
"No I didn't see it myself," Hermione admitted.
"Well then there you have it. It could have been anything. The centaurs were probably just trying to scare Harry. You know, keep humans out of the forest. It's probably nothing."
Hermione was about to say she didn't think so, but Ron stood to leave. "I'm with Harry. We can't go to Dumbledore, not until we're sure. Else wise, we'll just be letting Snape know we're on to him and then we'll never catch him."
Hermione folded her arms, "Fine," she said irritably. She watched as Ron left the common room and headed up the stairs to his dormitory.
"Of course he agrees with Harry. That's all he knows how to do. I can't believe all this time I've been worried about a little thing like my father not letting me come back to Hogwarts next year when the whole world could be in danger. I can't believe this is really happening and there's nothing I can do about it."
After a few minutes of letting these thoughts float through her head, Hermione finally resigned herself to bed, but even after she had preformed the silencing spell that blocked out Lavender's thunderous snores, she still couldn't sleep. She kept having visions of a dark silhouetted man attacking Harry. She tossed and turned until exhaustion overtook her.
-----
Hermione decided that she was going to talk to Dumbledore herself. She was tired of waiting for Harry to decide the time was right because she was afraid that by the time he did, it would be too late. Ever since the incident in the forest it seemed that Harry had completely given up his will to fight and Hermione suspected that he was having nightmares again, even though he wouldn't talk about them. She was also fed up with Ron's blind allegiance. Even if it meant them being cross with her, she was going to do what she knew was right. She just had to find the right time to talk to the headmaster alone. Such an opportunity came the following Friday afternoon, the last Friday before exams.
Hermione, Ron, and Harry were in the library studying, when suddenly Harry slammed his book shut, signaling that he had had enough. "I'm going to go see Hagrid. I just need to get out."
Ron closed his books as well, "Alright, sounds good. Hermione?"
"No, I think I'll stay here and study a bit more. Exams are next week you know?"
"How could we forget," Ron sighed. "Suite yourself."
Hermione watched them leave the library. Harry gave her one last quizzical backwards glance at the door before leaving. She waited a few minutes to be sure they were long gone and then she stood as well. She had no intentions of staying in the library. This was her opportunity to go see Dumbledore.
Hermione shouldered her bag and left the library quickly. Her first stop was the staff room. Perhaps the headmaster would be there. She bounded down one set of stairs after another until she hit the ground floor. Then she made her way to the staff room and knocked politely on the door. There was no answer. She pushed the door open as quietly as possible. Sure enough the staff room was deserted.
Hermione decided to try McGonagall's study next. Perhaps the headmaster and deputy headmistress were in some sort of meeting. When she got there she once again knocked politely on the door and once again there was no answer. "Where is everyone?" she wondered as she pushed open the door to make sure the room was indeed empty.
"Looking for Professor McGonagall, Ms. Granger?" came a voice from behind her that made her jump. Hermione spun on her heels and found herself face to face with none other than Professor Dumbledore.
For a split second she was afraid Dumbledore would think she was snooping around again, but the gentle twinkle in his eyes told her that he wasn't upset at all.
"I also am looking for her," Dumbledore continued. "Perhaps we can wait together."
"Uh, well uh, actually Professor, I was looking for you," Hermione stammered.
"Really," Dumbledore said with a slight chuckle as if he found it amusing that Hermione was looking for him in another professor's office. The truth was, Hermione couldn't remember where the headmaster's office was, and she didn't feel like looking it up in "Hogwarts: A History," if it was indeed even in the book.
"Well I suppose since Professor McGonagall is nowhere to be found, she wouldn't mind us using her office for whatever it is you wanted to discuss." He pushed open the door and ushered her in. They both took seats.
"So what can I do for you?" Dumbledore asked politely.
Hermione thought about the best way to start but as soon as she opened her mouth the words just came tumbling out. "Professor Harry's in trouble. Something tried to kill him in the forbidden forest the other night while we were serving detention."
"Well the forest is forbidden for a reason," Dumbledore said lightly. "However I knew that you would be safe with Hagrid to protect you. He knows every creature in that forest."
"But this wasn't something that was normally in the forest," Hermione insisted. "Even Hagrid said so and the centaurs, they said that it was Voldemo… I'm sorry professor; I mean 'you know who.'" Hermione checked to see if he was upset that he had almost spoken the Dark Lord's name.
Dumbledore however was far from upset but rather amused. "No need to mince words with me, Ms. Granger. I am constantly telling people that they shouldn't be afraid of saying the name Voldemort."
"Thank you, Professor," Hermione said with relief.
"So you believe that Voldemort is lurking in the forest and that he's trying to attack Harry."
"Yes, I know it's far fetched but…" Hermione wondered how much detail she should go into. Should she reveal that she knew about the Sorcerer's Stone?
"My dear, there's nothing far fetched about it. If Voldemort were to be anywhere, it would be here. There have been many signs to prove that and there are other reasons that he would come to Hogwarts." Hermione nodded, pretending to be puzzled but Dumbledore must have seen through this because he added; "as I'm sure you're well aware of."
"So you believe me?" she asked finally.
Dumbledore smiled. "I believe that there are many things at work here, Ms. Granger, but rest assured, I will do
everything in my power to help Harry, just as I have always done." He stood. "I know you will do the
same."
Hermione didn't know what to say. She had expected Dumbledore to leap up and go charging into the forest to investigate but he acted as if Hermione had simply told him that there was poison ivy growing there. She began to wonder if he really did believe her of if the headmaster was just patronizing a gullible first year student but something about the seriousness in his expression told her that this wasn't the case. She had the feeling Dumbledore knew far more about the situation than they did but he, like Harry, was waiting for when the time was right.
She finally stood too. "I will, sir."
-----
Hermione didn't tell Harry or Ron that she had been to see Dumbledore. She knew they'd just be upset with her for going behind their backs. Still she felt better knowing that Dumbledore did know what was going on. The headmaster would put a stop to anything that would endanger one of his students and if he already knew there was a chance Voldemort might be lurking about, then that meant that he would be doubly protective. He wouldn't let Harry take any risks that could get him killed.
All in all, she felt better about the whole situation so when Monday's exams rolled around, she was able to put her full concentration into her work for the first time in several days.
The four days of exams seemed to fly by to Hermione. All of her tests were much easier than she anticipated and she was sure that she would score top marks. However as the end of term speed closer and closer, the dread of what awaited her when she returned home began to grow.
She still hadn't told Harry about the most recent letter from her mother. In all the excitement she had almost forgotten herself. She felt she at least owed it to her best friend to let him know that there was a possibility she'd never see him again, but the very thought of talking to him about it made her stomach churn. So she kept putting it off. /She figured she would wait until the right time to tell him. Harry looked so strained all the time lately that she didn't want to worry him with her troubles.
Hermione also hoped that if she was top of her class her parents would be more reasonable and then she wouldn't need to tell Harry at all. She decided that as soon as the exam results were posted, she would send an owl to her parents to show them what she had accomplished. That way they would get them before she even got home and it might temper the wrath that she knew was headed into.
Despite the fact that Snape didn't seem to show the slightest sign that he was trying anything, Harry still looked worried all the time. He complained that his scar hurt constantly. Hermione had tried repeatedly to get him to go to the hospital wing but he refused. She was right on the verge of looking for a cure for magical headaches when she stopped herself. This was exactly how she had gotten herself in trouble last time. So the night before their last exam, she resolved herself to talk to Harry about it.
"Ron, I thought you said that you almost always beat Seamus in chess," she said as she walked up to him and Harry in the common room. Harry eyed her suspiciously.
"I do," Ron confirmed. "Why?"
Hermione took a seat beside his. "Oh nothing, I just overheard Seamus saying something about being the house chess champion," she said casually.
Ron immediately jumped up, "Oh we'll see about that."
Harry snickered. "Do you think he'll ever learn?"
"Nope," Hermione said gleefully.
"So I'm guessing you want to talk to me about something."
"Just wondering how you're doing. That's all. I've been kind of worried about you. But I decided not to make a sleeping potion this time," she said lightly.
"Well good. I'm fine. Just have a lot on my mind. What about you?"
Hermione was taken aback. "What about me what?"
"Well I know you were worried about how your parents would react about you getting detention. You never told me what they said."
"Oh well, they weren't too happy with me," Hermione said vaguely. "But nothing I can't handle. I'm not going to let them pull me out of Hogwarts."
"So they're thinking about it then," Harry said, reading between the lines.
"It'll be okay. I'll handle it," Hermione said confidently. "You know, for some strange reason I actually believe that when I say it to you."
"I'm sorry I got you into this mess," Harry said sincerely. "If I hadn't been trying to protect Hagrid…"
"It's okay. I don't blame you. You didn't make me. I wanted to help too. That's what friends are supposed to do."
Ron appeared again. "That was fast," Harry said lightly.
"Seamus said he wasn't in the mood, lousy git. He just doesn't want me to stomp him in front of the whole house," Ron said with a grin. "So are you two ready for the History of Magic exam tomorrow?" he looked at Hermione first and then scoffed. "I mean, Harry are you ready? We all know Miss Know-It-All is ready."
Hermione pulled out her wand with a malicious grin. "Ron, you should be really careful about insulting the most knowledge witch in our year," she said pointing her wand at him for emphasis. "I can do things to you that you can't even imagine."
Ron shuddered. "You're scary; you know that don't you?"
-----
The History of Magic exam, like all the others, didn't seem nearly as difficult as Hermione thought it would be. Of course, her companions didn't think so but she was used to them not agreeing with her on matters of academia. Since this was their last exam they celebrated by finding a large tree to relax under near the lake. Everyone else was outside as well.
Hermione felt like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Now that exams were over, she had a rare opportunity to do nothing but relax. Harry on the other hand seemed even more stressed. His scar was still hurting him. No matter how many times she or Ron tried to convince him that everything would be okay, he still seemed worried about Snape, Voldemort, and the Sorcerer's Stone. He told them that he felt like there was something he was forgetting.
"That's just the exams," Hermione said dismissively, trying to sooth him. "I woke up last night and was halfway through my transfiguration notes before I remembered we've done that one."
Harry gave her a look that said all too clearly he didn't think whatever was bothering him had anything to do with exams.
Hermione sighed and settled back against the tree. She didn't want to fret about anything anymore. If Dumbledore was acting calmly about the whole thing, then why should they worry? There was no way they could protect the stone any better than him. As long as he was still at the castle, Voldemort wouldn't dare try to enter and as long as Fluffy was guarding the stone, Snape would never get it. These were two barriers that couldn't be broken.
Hermione's eyes were beginning to droop as she started to drift off to sleep but then suddenly Harry jumped to his feet like he was on fire.
"I've just thought of something," Harry said as Hermione rubbed her eyes and straightened up. "We've got to go and see Hagrid, now." He bolted across the courtyard without further explanation.
Hermione jumped to her feet, yanking Ron up with her. "Why?" she asked as they ran to catch up with him.
Harry was running so fast that she could barely hear what he was saying but she caught enough to understand. He had made a connection that they'd all missed. It couldn't have been a big secret that Hagrid always wanted a dragon and then all of the sudden, someone turns up in Hogsmeade with an illegal dragon egg and just happens to bump into Hagrid. It had to have been planned, but why? She knew what Harry was thinking; was this a ploy by Voldemort?
Hermione ran faster, clutching a stitch in her side, trying to keep up with Harry as he made a mad dash for Hagrid's hut. As it came into view, they saw Hagrid himself sitting outside, casually shelling peas. He offered them a drink which Harry quickly declined, much to Ron's chagrin.
"I've got to ask you something," Harry said quickly. "You know that night you won Norbert; what did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"
"Dunno, he wouldn't take his cloak off."
Harry and Hermione exchanged worried looks. She knew exactly what he was thinking.
"It's not that unusual, you get a lot of funny folks up in the Hogs Head. That's the pub down in the village. Might have been a dragon dealer mighten he? I never saw his face; he kept his hood up."
Hermione gulped.
Harry dropped to the ground next to Hagrid and pressed further about his conversation with the pub stranger. It seemed that Hagrid had been extremely drunk that night because the cloaked man kept buying him drinks. This was all he needed to do to get the information he really wanted out of Hagrid. After that it didn't seem to take Hagrid long to mention the large three headed dog he had raised at Hogwarts.
Harry's voice was shaking as he asked his next question. "Did he seem interested in Fluffy?"
"Well yeah, how many three-headed dogs do you meet, even around Hogwarts?"
"I should hope not many," Hermione thought to herself.
"So I told him; Fluffy's a piece of cake if you know how to calm him down. Just play him a bit of music and he'll go straight off to sleep." Hagrid's eyes widened. "Uh, I shouldn't have told you that."
Hermione felt a hand grab her and jerk her away. It was Harry and he was dragging her and Ron back to the castle. It was clear by the time they reached the entrance hall that Harry had made up his mind about going to Dumbledore. Now that they knew that Hagrid had inadvertently given away the secret of getting past Fluffy, they had some proof. They couldn't necessarily say it was Snape, but at least Dumbledore would believe that the stone was in danger.
Hermione was about to tell Harry that she had already spoken to Dumbledore and that the headmaster would probably at least believe it was Voldemort who had tricked Hagrid but before she could, their discussion was interrupted by Professor McGonagall. She was carrying a large stack of books which seemed rather odd to Hermione considering the fact that McGonagall knew about a thousand different spells to keep from having to carry the books herself.
"What are you three doing inside," the deputy headmistress asked as if some rule had been declared that students were no longer allowed inside the castle.
Harry looked lost for words so Hermione decided to take over. "We want to see Professor Dumbledore." She knew there was no use telling her what was going on. She wouldn't believe them, but Dumbledore would.
"See Professor Dumbledore, why?"
Hermione didn't have an answer for this. "Why does it matter," she thought to herself. "It's none of your bloody business." She knew better than to say this aloud though.
"It's sort of… secret," Harry said weakly.
The deputy headmistress snorted. "Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago. He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off to London at once."
"Ten minutes! We missed the professor by ten minutes. This isn't possible." Hermione felt like she was in a terribly bad television drama. "It's Snape; he sent that letter. That means he's planning on stealing the stone tonight."
Harry was in shock as well and Hermione could tell McGonagall was getting tired of their conversation. She obviously thought that the three of them were up to some sort of childish prank. If Dumbledore was gone and Snape knew how to get past Fluffy then that meant there was absolutely nothing stopping Voldemort from coming back.
It seemed Harry was desperate now. He began to explain to Professor McGonagall that they knew about the Sorcerer's Stone and that they were sure someone would try to steal it that night.
McGonagall took this news much better than Hermione that she would. She was expecting the deputy headmistress to give them all another round of detention for trying to lie to her, but instead she just dropped the stack of books she was carrying in shock. "I don't know how you found out about the stone but rest assured no one can possibly steal it. It's too well protected," she said through pursed lips.
"But Professor…" Harry tried again.
But she had heard enough. McGonagall gathered up her fallen books and dismissed them. She strolled off down the hall.
"Well, that went well," Hermione muttered.
-----
Harry had decided that the best way to protect the stone was to keep a constant eye on Snape and the third floor corridor entrance. Ron and Harry went off to guard the corridor entrance, leaving Hermione to try and tail Snape.
She was pacing outside the staff room. Snape had been in there for several minutes. She had no idea what she was going to do when he came out. Ron had suggested just telling him that she was looking for Professor Flitwick, but she thought that was stupid. Unfortunately she hadn't come up with any better ideas.
Snape had already warned them earlier that he knew what they were up to. He had overheard them talking after Professor McGonagall left. He hadn't actually said that he was aware that they knew about his plans to steal the stone but he did threaten to have them expelled if they snuck out after hours again. This meant that if they tried to stop him that night, all he would have to do is tell Dumbledore he caught them out of bed and they'd be kicked out.
"Miss Granger," a harsh voice interrupted her thoughts. It was Snape. She hadn't even noticed him come out. "Is there some reason why you'd rather be strolling outside the staff room than out in the courtyard with your miscreant friends?"
"I uh…" Hermione tried to think of a viable answer but in the end she used the excuse Ron gave her. "I was waiting for Professor Flitwick. I needed to talk to him about our exam."
Snape's lips curled into a sinister smile. "Well then, wait right here and I'll fetch him for you." He strolled off.
"Great," Hermione thought in panic. "I can't follow him because he'll know what's up and I can't let him come back here with Flitwick because then he'll know I was lying." The truth was Hermione had talked to Flitwick earlier that week and he had told her she'd gotten 112% on her exam. So there was absolutely no reason she'd need to talk to him.
Hermione bounced from one foot to the other for a few minutes and then decided not to risk it. She ran up the stairs and made a bee line for Gryffindor Tower.
"Oh well, at least Harry and Ron are still guarding the third floor entrance," she thought as she pushed her way into the Gryffindor common room.
Much to her chagrin, Harry and Ron were sitting there, a distraught look on her face. McGonagall had caught them waiting outside the forbidden corridor and had sent them away.
Hermione joined them near the fireplace and explained what happened with her assignment. They sat in silence for a few minutes, pondering.
"Well, that's it then, isn't it?" Harry said softly. "I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the stone first."
Hermione looked up at him. She could tell by the solemn look in his green eyes that he was completely serious.
"Oh Harry," she thought. "This won't end well."
-----
Hermione sat alone in a corner of the common room, reading "The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1." Exams were over and she was still studying. But the stakes were higher this time. She'd be putting her knowledge to a real test to face whatever challenges awaited her, Harry, and Ron down the trap door in the forbidden corridor.
Of course she was going. When she knew that Harry had made up his mind, she knew she had to go. She didn't want to; she was scared out of her mind, not because of the prospect of being expelled if they were caught, but of facing Snape and possibly Voldemort. She was worried that all her knowledge would do her no good if she was too scared to remember anything she'd learned. Classes and exams were one thing, there was no pressure there. If on the off chance she got something wrong or was slow to answer, there were no real consequences, but this could be life and death and it wasn't just her life she had to worry about.
"Find anything new?"
Hermione almost jumped out of her skin. "Harry, you scared me half to death!"
Harry sat down across from her, "Not nervous are we?" How he could manage even a half grin at a time like this was beyond her.
"Uh, a bit," Hermione confessed.
"Hermione, I'm grateful you want to help, but you don't have to come if you don't want to. I know you're worried about what your parents might do if we really did get expelled."
"No," Hermione said stoically. "You were right about what you said earlier. It won't matter if we get expelled or not. Keeping the stone away from 'you know who' is more important. I want to help."
"Well good, because I don't think we could pull it off without you," Harry admitted. "I honestly think we've got a chance against Snape, what with the cleverest witch in Hogwarts on our side."
Hermione blushed. "I'm not the cleverest witch in Hogwarts… just our year," she added with a gleam in her eyes.
"And so modest too," Harry said with a slight chuckle.
"What are you two so giddy about?" Ron said plopping down in a seat nearby, a strained look on his face.
"Nothing," Harry said. "Just imaging what life would be like if the fate of the entire world wasn't resting on our shoulders."
"Oh," Ron sighed, "is that all."
"In a couple of hours," Harry said quietly, "our lives are going to change forever."
Hermione resumed studying. Harry and Ron just sat with nervous looks on their faces. Time ticked by slowly.
-----
The common room was completely deserted now except for Hermione and Ron who were waiting patiently in the dark for Harry to return with the invisibility cloak.
"Are you nervous," Ron asked Hermione. It sounded like he wanted to justify his own nervousness.
"Yes," Hermione answered immediately.
"Oh," Ron said.
"Well what did you expect?" Hermione asked him.
"I didn't think you got nervous."
"Uh Ron, remember the troll?" Hermione asked with a nervous chuckle.
"Oh yeah, but you know so much."
Hermione was about to respond when Harry descended the stairs, cloak in hand. They were about to put it on when a noise distracted them. It was Neville.
"What are you doing?" he asked sleepily as he came into view. He was holding his toad, Trevor.
Harry shoved the cloak behind his back. "Nothing, Neville, nothing,"
But Neville had already figured it out. He stared angrily at all of them. "You're going out again."
"No, no, no, no we're not." Hermione put on a sweet smile as she tried desperately to come up with a plausible excuse, but none came to mind. "Why don't you go to bed Neville?"
But Neville wouldn't budge. He started hissing at them about getting Gryffindor into trouble and in a rare show of bravery blocked the entrance to the portrait hole, threatening to fight them. Hermione momentarily put herself into his shoes and realized she would have probably done the same thing if she didn't know what was going on. She briefly recalled the night that Harry and Ron snuck out to duel with Malfoy and how she and Neville got caught in the middle of that outing.
Neville was already ostracized for being an inept wizard and now he was an outcast in his own house all because he was trying to help Harry. He felt completely betrayed by him and Hermione so there was no way he'd listen to them now.
Harry was growing inpatient. "Do something," he hissed at her.
"Since when do I get to do the dirty work," Hermione thought as she pulled out her wand. She cycled through all the spells she could think of and picked out the one that she thought would hurt the least.
"Neville, I'm really really sorry about this. Petrificus Totalus!" Neville's entire body seemed to lock up in an instance and he fell to the floor face first. Hermione immediately ran forward to turn him over. Fortunately her full body bind curse had made his entire body solid as a rock so he hadn't broken anything when he fell over. Neville looked scared out of his mind but he couldn't say or do anything except move his eyes.
After they assured that he was okay, the trio gathered around the portrait and Harry threw the invisibility cloak over them.
"Well at least we know Hermione's prepared," Ron muttered as they stepped out of the portrait exit.
Hermione didn't answer but her stomach felt like it was tied in knots. Leaving one of her friends completely petrified on the common room floor didn't make her feel any better about what they were about to do. She only hoped she could keep her wits about her when they came against whatever challenges were beyond the trap door.