100 REVIEWS!!! ::BLOWS PARTY NOISE-MAKER-THINGYS:: 100 REVIEWS!!!
(Note that's only Portkey, not FF)
Smut. It is the lifeforce of all the great ships out there. Some of you took the time to read the second smut piece I wrote, this time it was a challenge from Heather_Sinclar on PK. It's chapter 3 of Pine Fresh: A Prefect's Tale, and it received reasonably good reviews. My first was a little better, looking back on it, but hopefully my third (expect it sometime this month) should beat the both of them easily.
As for this story, after much deliberation and careful consideration, there will a combined total of either 21 or 22 chapters. I want to get this story planned out and set in stone, so I don't have to do spur of the moment writing like I did for the past 4 chapters (and this one). So, without further ado, I present you with chapter 15.
And I'm sorry that this chapter is a little late, along with being short. My muse decided to take a poorly-timed vacation and it took me a few days to get her arse back here.
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Chapter 15: The Heart's Desire
When Harry woke the next morning it took him a minute to remember that he was back in 1997; only when he saw the letter from his parents on the nightstand did he remember where (or when) he was. Slowly, he made to reach for it, but a hand from beside him stopped his.
"It won't bring them back," Hermione said softly. Harry withdrew his hand and put in on her cheek.
"I know," he said. "It's just hard to wake up and know that they're not here for me to talk to anymore."
"I'm here," she said. "I always will be."
"And for that, I'm forever grateful," Harry said kissing her softly, when a shout from outside the door startled them.
"Hey!" Ron yelled. "Harry, get up! Hermione's not in her room, she's probably already gone down to breakfast. C'mon I'm starving!"
"You can't eat, Ron," Harry reminded him.
"Make sure to apply pressure when rubbing the salt in," Ron deadpanned.
"Does he actually think that I'm not in here?" Hermione whispered as she got out of the bed. Harry shrugged.
"Dunno. Let him find out the hard way." Hermione giggled at this as Harry put on his pants. Once they were both dressed Harry opened the door and let Hermione go through first, making sure to watch Ron's expression the entire way.
"Hi Ron," she said cheerfully. "Is Ginny around? I thought we could have that conversation after breakfast, it being a Saturday and all."
"Yeah," said Ron. "She's down at breakfast right now, though I daresay you'll be able to pull her out of there. She's fawning over some boy and I've been having trouble getting through to her."
"We'll manage," said Harry as he followed Hermione down the stairs to the common room.
"And I thought she was already at breakfast," Ron mumbled behind Harry. "I'm bloody daft..."
The three of them made their way down to the Great Hall, where upon arrival, the room went silent.
"Ah, I knew I forgot to mention something," said Dumbledore standing up. "Mr. Potter and Miss Granger have safely returned from their journey and will now continue in their everyday classes with you. That is all." With that, the headmaster sat back down and the rest of the student body continued conversing, shooting occasional looks and Harry and Hermione.
"Hey Ginny," said Harry sitting down opposite her, Hermione next to him. Ginny didn't respond. "Hello?" The youngest Weasley had a glazed over look in her eyes as she stared absently off into space.
"See, I told you, she's been like this for a few weeks now," Ron said floating down next to her. "GINNY!"
"What?!" she shouted, extremely startled. "Oh, hey, guys."
"Are you okay, Ginny?" asked Hermione.
"I'm fine," she replied hastily. "How about you two?"
"We're okay," said Harry. "But we'd like to know what's happened while we were gone, and I daresay you two will want to hear what happened to us, so how about let's eat then go for a walk around the lake?"
"Sounds great to me," said Ginny tucking into her food.
"Now if only I could join in on the 'eating' part," Ron whined.
After breakfast was over, the four of them made their way down onto the grounds. The day seemed to reflect Harry's mood: slightly cloudy. They all seemed too lost in their own thoughts to initiate conversation, so after five minutes of pointless silence, Hermione spoke up.
"So what happened on the train?" she asked, referring to the day that she and Harry had been transported into the past.
"When the death eaters realised you two were gone.....well, they got angry," Ginny said bowing her head. "They destroyed two whole compartments before Ron managed to fight them off." Hermione clasped her hand to her mouth, Harry ran his hand through his hair with a sigh.
"How many were killed?" he asked not looking up.
"About twenty," Ron said. "Another fifty or so had to be taken to St. Mungo's for injuries."
"Twenty?" Harry breathed, eyes wide.
"Anyone we know?" asked Hermione fearing the answer.
"No," Ron replied. Harry and Hermione let out the breaths they had been unconsciously holding. "Only five Gryffindors were killed, all of whom were fourth years in the same compartment."
"What about the other houses?" asked Harry.
"What about them?" asked Ginny.
"Did anyone from other houses we know die?" he reiterated.
"No, but I heard Pansy Parkinson was severely injured," Ron said. "She wasn't even in school until about two weeks ago." Harry nodded in understanding.
"What about after the train?" asked Hermione. "Did anything happen while we were gone?" At this, Ron and Ginny exchanged nervous glances.
".....yes," said Ginny after a moment of silence.
"I take it it's bad news?" Hermione asked. Ron and Ginny nodded. "Well what happened?" Ron sighed.
"Well the death eaters failed to get you two," Ron said. "And apparently Voldemort was none too pleased. Two days later..." Ron trailed off.
"What?" asked Harry.
"They destroyed your house, Hermione," Ginny whispered. Hermione and Harry froze in their tracks, and Ron and Ginny stopped a little ways in front of them. "And I don't mean just destroyed. They obliterated it. There was even some damage to the houses around yours from the blast."
"It...it's gone?" Hermione whispered. Ron nodded. "Just like that?" Another nod. Harry wrapped his arms around her as she began to cry into his chest.
"How'd it happen?" he asked.
"Dunno," said Ron. "The Order said that they used some kind of spell, but couldn't figure out what it was because of all the destruction."
"I...I lived there all my life," Hermione said into Harry's cloak. "And now it's....just gone."
"There's more," said Ron. "The Order found a note in the wreckage. It was on top of the debris when Dumbledore arrived there." Hermione looked up at this.
"What'd it say?" she asked, wiping her tears away.
"We'll get her yet," said Ginny softly. At this, Harry's arms tightened around Hermione as her eyes widened.
"So, all of it...the train, my house...all of it was because they were after me?" she asked. Ron nodded solemnly.
"This is exactly what I was afraid of," said Harry softly.
"Don't you dare start that argument again," said Hermione, still crying. "It's not your fault."
"Well if you weren't with me then they wouldn't have been trying to get you," Harry said.
"They'd go after me just for being your friend," she sniffled.
"She's right, mate," Ron said. "Look at me, I got killed, but you don't see me going to bed with you every night, do you?" This statement caused smiles to appear on the faces of Harry and Hermione, despite the sad mood.
"All right," Harry said. "Anything else happen?"
"Nah, just the usual. Filch is still grumpy as ever - oh and speaking of grumpy, Snape's been extra malicious lately, so watch your backs," Ron said. At this Harry and Hermione exchanged an awkward glance.
"What?" Asked Ginny seeing the looks of amusement on Harry and Hermione's faces.
"Let's have a seat," Harry said nodding towards their favorite tree. "We've got a lot to talk about." The four of them made their way over to the tree and sat down. Ron and Ginny listened intently as Harry and Hermione told them everything that happened while they were in 1977. Neither Ron nor Ginny could suppress their laughter at hearing about Tonks playing for the Gryffindor quidditch team.
"I hope she's a lot more agile in the air than she is on the ground," Ron snorted.
"She is," Harry replied. "Saved my arse in the match we played."
"You got to play Quidditch with your parents," Ginny said laughing. "Did James live up to his hype?"
"He got hit by a bludger early on in the match," Hermione said. "Harry took over for him after he went to the hospital wing."
"Hey, speaking of quidditch, we need you back on the team," Ron said. "Luckily the first match was Ravenclaw versus Slytherin, so we haven't had a chance to do badly yet."
"Who replaced us?" Harry asked Ron.
"I was taking over as seeker while you were gone," Ginny said. "But the two chasers we got were horrible. We really need to find some talent for this team or we're toast."
"Yeah," said Ron. "McGonagal made me honorary coach of the team, but we've got nothing without you." Harry nodded. "So tell us, did you guys complete the animagus training?" Hermione and Harry shared a quick glance.
"After you dear," said Hermione with a wave of her hand. Shrugging, Harry transformed himself into his Sagin form, earning an startled oath from Ron.
"Bloody hell, Harry!" he shouted, stumbling backwards through the air. Harry cocked his head down at Hermione and pawed at the ground softly. Getting the hint, she turned into her form of the small, long-haired cat and jumped into Ginny's lap.
"Awww, you're so cute!" Ginny exclaimed, patting Hermione. Quickly she jumped out of her lap and transformed back into herself.
"That's enough of that, thank you," Hermione said brushing herself off as Harry turned back into himself.
"Harry, that's brilliant!" exclaimed Ron. "Now you can eat Malfoy!" Hermione and Ginny gave him disapproving looks at this.
"Don't say stuff like that, Ron," his sister said.
"I wouldn't dream of putting something so foul in my mouth anyway," Harry responded with a laugh.
"No worries, I'd probably be dead from your breath before you could sink your teeth into me," came an all-too familiar sneer from behind them. Turning, Harry saw Malfoy walking by them, curiously enough, alone.
"Bugger off, Malfoy," said Ginny. Surprisingly, he simply shrugged and continued on his path towards the school.
"That was odd," Ron said. "When has Malfoy ever left us alone?"
"Never," replied Harry. "So what now?"
"Well I'm going to head back in," Ginny said. "I've got some studying for a potions exam I need to do."
"I can help you with that," Hermione said standing up, but Ginny shook her head.
"It's okay Hermione, I've already got a really good study partner," she said. "Not that you aren't better, of course."
"Oh...well, okay," Hermione said, slightly downcast. Ginny walked off, leaving the three of them alone.
"Well what are we going to do now?" asked Ron. The three of them thought for a moment, when Harry snapped his fingers.
"I've got an idea," he said standing up.
"What is it?" asked Hermione.
"You'll see. Come on, I need to go get two things for this." Hermione looked at Ron who shrugged, and the two of them followed Harry off towards the castle.
They arrived in the Head Boy's room five minutes later, and Harry immediately opened his trunk and pulled out the Marauder's Map.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he said tapping his wand to it. The map revealed itself, and he gave it to Hermione. "Show Ron," he said searching through his trunk for something else. Ron laughed when he saw the change in the map.
"Paws?" he asked. Harry shrugged.
"It was the best we could come up with," he said, still searching through his trunk.
"You'll have to show Fred and George, they'll go nutters," he said.
"I'm sure they will. Here it is," Harry said standing up holding his invisibility cloak. "Come on, let's go."
"You still haven't told us where we're going," Hermione reminded him.
"Just trust me, it'll be fun," Harry said. "Now come on." Sighing, Hermione complied and walked over to him. Ron floated halfway into the floor and under the cloak, so that it would still cover all three of them. Slowly, they made their way down out of the Head Boy's room and Gryffindor Tower, and a few minutes later found themselves on the third floor.
"What're we doing here?" Ron asked as Harry scanned the map and directed them to take a left.
"Wait and watch."
All of a sudden they found themselves in front of an old oak door, and Hermione turned to Harry with a smile.
"We're clear," he said taking the cloak off. "No one's around."
"So why here?" Hermione asked.
"I thought it might be amusing," Harry responded.
"Does someone want to tell me what's going on?" asked Ron who had floated out of the ground and was now hovering next to them.
"Do me a favor Ron, go through this door and tell me what's inside?" Harry asked.
"Fine, but I better find out what's going on when I come back." Ron floated through the door while Harry and Hermione stood waiting outside. "There's nothing in here," his voice shouted. "Except.....ohhhhhhh."
With a quick 'Alohamora,' from Hermione, the door unlocked and they found themselves inside a vast empty chamber.
"I wonder where Hagrid put him..." wondered Harry as he walked over to the trap door and yanked it open.
"Probably in the forest somewhere," Hermione said.
"Reckon the devil's snare is still down there?" asked Ron, peering down into the darkness.
"I doubt it," said Hermione. "It only has a lifespan of five or so years, and that one was already mature."
"So how do you two get down there?" asked Ron. "I can float, but you two can't get down as easily."
"Conjurus," said Harry and immediately a thick rope appeared on the floor in front of them. Grabbing one end of it, he shouted, 'Adhesio!' and immediately it was fixed onto a spot on the floor, as if it had been welded there.
"I taught you good, didn't I?" asked Hermione with a smile.
"You taught me well," Harry corrected. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him but smiled all the same.
"Come on you guys, I don't have all day!" shouted Ron from down below the trap door having already descended into its depths.
"Ladies first," Harry said, and Hermione grabbed the rope and slid down through the trap door, followed closely by Harry.
They slid down to the bottom, and sure enough, the devil's snare that had once occupied that space 6 years ago, was gone.
"Brings back memories, being here," Ron said looking around.
"Sure does," Harry said as Hermione helped brush him off. They walked over to the door and opened it, entering the room that once held the flying keys.
"Those brooms were absolutely terrible," Ron said, remembering their short flight to catch the key with the broken wing.
"You flew admirably," Harry said to Hermione. She nudged him in the arm playfully.
"I haven't been on a broom since," she admitted. "That entire flight I thought I was going to crash."
"Still, though, you'd be a great flyer if you tried." Hermione snorted and they walked over to the next door, and entered the room that housed the giant chess set.
The only problem was that the chess set was still there.
"Oh, bollocks," said Harry. "And I really wanted to see the room where I fought Quirrell again."
"Who says we have to go back?" asked Ron with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"No," said Hermione simply. "Absolutely not, not in a hundred years will I go through another game of giant wizard's chess."
"Oh come on," Ron said whining. "How about this, I'll let you be the king, so they can't hurt you."
"What about Harry?" she asked.
"Queen?" suggested Ron. Harry laughed and shook his head.
"No, if we're doing this, we're going to do it the right way. I'm a bishop."
"And I'm a knight," Ron said with a huge grin on his face. Hermione sighed and shook her head.
"I guess that means I'm a castle," she said, defeated.
"That's the spirit!" Ron whooped. Hearing them, the same three chess pieces that they had occupied the spaces of all those years ago moved over for them once again. Once they were in place, the king's pawn on the white side moved forward two spaces.
"The beauty of this game, especially when controlled like this," Ron said. "Is that humans can get better. The intelligence of the pieces stays the same." How very true that was. It took Ron only ten minutes to win the game, and this time none of them had gotten taken.
"See now, that wasn't so bad," he said as they moved onward through the next door.
"Except for the part where Harry would've gotten captured if I hadn't pointed out to you that his pawn was pinned," Hermione said with her arms crossed.
"Well I'm okay, so no harm done," Harry said putting an arm around her.
"Honestly, you're as bad as Ron sometimes," she said.
"I am right here you know," the ghost said as he floated across the empty chamber. "What was in here?"
"A troll," Harry said. "Quirrell knocked it out before we arrived here, so we didn't have to deal with it."
"Like the one that we saved Hermione from?" he asked.
"Bigger," she replied. "And more foul-smelling." Ron grunted his disgust as they passed through the doorway into a room that contained only a long, barren, table.
"And here?" he asked.
"Snape's trial," Harry said, remembering it all too well. "I have Hermione to thank for that one."
"What was it?" Ron asked.
"There were black flames preventing us from going forward, and purple from going back," Hermione said. "Seven bottles on this table, each containing something. Three were poison, two were wine, and the other two got us through the purple and black flames respectively."
"So you figured out which was which?" Ron asked, bemused. Hermione blushed slightly and nodded.
"Why have we never talked about this before?" Harry asked as they walked into the final chamber.
"Dunno, I guess after we won the house cup, no one thought to ask because we were all so happy about beating Slytherin," Ron said. "Bloody hell, is that...?" He voice faded away as Harry and Hermione looked in the direction that Ron was gaping at.
"It's still here? After all these years?" asked Harry walking towards the mirror and looking up at it with a small smile.
"What is it?" Hermione asked, examining the writing on the frame.
"The Mirror of Erised," Harry responded, causing Hermione to gasp.
"I've heard about this," she said looking at it. "It -"
"We know what it does, Hermione," said Ron interrupting her. "Harry found it in a room near the library in our first year."
"What's it doing here then?" she asked.
"It was how Dumbledore hid the stone," Harry said. "Only one who wanted to find the stone, find it, but not use it, would be able to get it," he quoted. "Dumbledore said it was one of his more brilliant ideas."
"Naturally," said Hermione. "Anyone who would go through those trials just to get the stone would have to want to use it. Unless it was us," she added grinning.
"Well go on then Ron, have a look," Harry said. "Might as well while we're here." Ron shrugged and floated in front of the mirror, staring for a second before his mouth fell open slightly as ghostly tears formed in his eyes.
"Ron?" asked Hermione tentatively. The ghost reached out and touched the mirror, tears falling freely down his face.
"Ron..." said Harry softly as the realisation hit him.
"What's he see?" whispered Hermione.
"I'm guessing it's Luna," replied Harry in an equally low voice. Hermione brought her hand to her mouth as they watched Ron mouth 'I'm sorry,' over and over again at the mirror.
"Ron, maybe you should look away," she said after a few minutes. Ron slowly nodded and floated away from the mirror over into the corner of the room, where he attempted to regain his composure.
'What about you?' asked Harry silently. Hermione looked up at him.
'You're all I could ever want,' she responded.
'Are you sure?' he asked. Hermione nodded. 'Okay. But I still want to look.' Again, she nodded and Harry stepped in front of the mirror, the sniffles of Ron the only noise in the room.
Just like in his first year, Harry was again surrounded by his family. Lily and James beaming down at him and Hermione from either side of them - wait, when did Hermione become part of his family?
Sure enough, there they were, Harry and Hermione surrounded by generations of Potters, some of which looked young enough to be his children. Glancing at Hermione's left hand, which was intertwined with his, he saw a simple, diamond engagement ring, accompanied with a gold wedding band.
'Is that really what you see?' Hermione asked, having read his thoughts. Harry nodded.
'I thought I was going to see the death of Voldemort, or something of the sort,' he replied silently. 'But a family with you....'
'A bit more than you expected?' she asked.
'A lot more,' Harry replied. 'Although...it doesn't really surprise me that much.' Hermione embraced him as he continued to stare into the mirror at his family. A minute later Ron came back over from the corner.
"Sorry about that, guys," he said wiping his eyes.
"Not at all," said Harry. "You ready to head back?"
"Sure," said Ron. The three of them made their way to the doorway that led to the potion room. With one last glance at the mirror, and the room where his journey had really begun all those years ago, Harry stepped out of the room and continued on back towards the trap door.
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After that, everything went back to normal. The school pretty much seemed to have accepted that nothing drastic had happened to Harry and Hermione, and although they received more stares than usual, nothing out of the ordinary occurred.
Harry had to admit, Krum was a hell of a Defense Against Dark Arts teacher. He had personally expressed his relief to him and Hermione after their return had been announced. During his classes, he taught them spells with such a professional manner, it was hard to tell he was once the seventeen year-old boy that caught a snitch in front of 100,000 strong and asked Hermione to the Yule Ball a few months later.
All of a sudden, Harry found himself ready to head back to Grimmauld Place with Hermione and Ron for the holidays. Their last period of the day before they were to board the Hogwarts Express was Defense, and Krum had just finished teaching them about the supereffects of the sleeper jinx, and how its only practical use was in law enforcement to render criminals unconscious, much like the stunner. The difference was that it didn't cause the same physical harm as the latter.
"A foot on the sleeper jinx and its uses in historically important captures," Krum said as the bell signaled the end of class. Harry, Ron, and Hermione bade goodbye to their teacher for the holidays, and walked out of the room, only to run into a very disgruntled Snape.
"Ten points from Gryffindor for not watching where you're going, Potter!" he yelled.
"I didn't see you there, professor," Harry said acidly.
"Well, keep your eyes open. You don't want to end up like your father and not see a bludger hit you in the back of your head." With that he stormed off leaving Harry there with his mouth open.
"What the..." Ron began, but Harry and Hermione had already hurried off towards Dumbledore's office. "Hey wait for me!"
By the time Ron caught up with them, Harry and Hermione were already at the gargoyle. Upon gaining entrance, they went up the stairs and knocked on the door.
"Come in," said the voice of the headmaster. The three of them entered, and a smile appeared on Dumbledore's face. "Ahh, what can I do for you three today?"
"Does Snape remember what happened in 1977?" Harry asked, not wasting any time. At this, Dumbledore sighed and nodded.
"What?" asked Hermione, shocked. "I thought you said that you memory charmed everyone who knew!"
"I memory charmed everyone who knew the truth," the headmaster said. "People such as Professor Snape, Madam Pomfrey, and Madam Hooch all figured out what had happened when you disappeared back in September, although I daresay Snape probably knew since your first year, hence his animosity towards you, Harry. You can ask them about it if you like."
"So that's why he hates me so much..." Harry said miserably.
"More than likely," replied Albus. "Even though your little trick with the snowballs was quite amusing."
"You knew about that?" Hermione asked.
"I told you once that I try to make it a personal goal of mine to know everything that goes on in this school," he replied with a smile. "Do not think that the Polyjuice Potion you brewed in your second year went unnoticed by me either, as you've suspected all these years."
"But Professor, if you knew, then why not stop us?" Hermione asked referring to the Polyjuice. "We must've been breaking dozens of school rules."
"Sometimes rules are better broken if in the end we gain more wisdom," the headmaster said. "For example, Fudge would have benefitted greatly if he had done as I advised at the end of your fourth year, but he didn't, and remained ignorant because of it." Harry nodded at this.
"So who else knows?" he asked.
"Tonks," came the reply. "She's waiting until you arrive at Grimmauld Place before she brings it up, however."
"All right," said Harry running his hand through his hair. "Well, I guess we'll be going then." The three of them turned to leave and were at the door when Dumbledore cleared his throat.
"Yes?" Harry asked.
"Sometimes you'll find that asking for forgiveness is the easiest way to obtain it," the headmaster said. "Ask Miss Weasley if you have any doubts about that." The three of them stood there with their brows furrowed until Ron spoke.
"You mean my sister, right?" he asked. Dumbledore nodded. "Who did she need forgiveness from?"
"I will say nothing concerning the matter," he replied. "You will find out when you are meant to." With that, the three teens left the headmaster's office and made their way back to the Gryffindor common room, very confused.
That night after dinner, Ron had gone up to the dorm to get some rest, (which raised an eyebrow from Harry; Ron seemed perfectly awake to him) leaving Harry and Hermione to their own devices in the Head Boy's room.
"What do you think Dumbledore meant by 'the best way to obtain forgiveness is to ask for it'," Hermione asked. Harry shrugged.
"He probably meant that I might be able to get Snape to forgive me if I apologise," he suggested.
"What about Ginny?"
"What about her?" Harry replied.
"Well there's obviously something going with her that Dumbledore wants us to find out about," she said. "Why else would he mention it?"
"Do you think it has to do with that crush of hers?" Harry asked.
"There's no way to tell, considering we don't even know who she's pining over," Hermione replied. Harry sighed.
"Well considering we have the whole night ahead of us before the holiday, what do you want to do?" he asked suggestively. Hermione smiled and got out of bed. "Hey!"
"Since we're Head Boy and Girl," she said walking over to Harry's trunk and retrieving the Marauder's Map from it, "We need to make the rounds and tell people off for snogging in broom closets."
"Are you sure we can't just catch ourselves snogging here and be done with it?" Harry asked playfully. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him but grinned anyway.
"Positive," she said. "Let's go." With a groan, Harry got up from the bed and followed Hermione out of Gryffindor Tower into the hall. After the first few telling-offs, Hermione sighed.
"They never learn," she said shaking her head. "And they know I have to take points from them for doing it."
"Well what if it was us?" Harry asked. "And the only way we could be together was in a broom closet?"
"Somehow I think that we could be more resourceful than that," Hermione said, not moving her gaze from the map. "The Astronomy Tower, perhaps."
"Nah," said Harry. "Overused. Seamus once said he had been caught four times up there with Parvati." Hermione shrugged and they continued on until something on map caught Harry's attention. "Hey, what's that?" he asked squinting in the dim light. Hermione brought the map closer to her face so she could read it, and her eyes widened when she saw the names of the two people who were alone in the Room of Requirement.
"Should we check it out?" Harry asked tentatively.
"Yes," said Hermione after a moment. "One, they're breaking rules just like everyone else. Two, I'm going to need to see this to believe it." Harry nodded and they set off at a quick pace for the seventh floor.
When they arrived, they saw that the door was already there, proof that it was occupied.
"You open it," Harry said. "I don't want to be the first person they see." Hermione nodded and extended a shaking hand to the doorknob.
"I can't believe he'd to this," she said without opening the door.
"Let's just get it over with," Harry said. Giving one last sigh, Hermione pulled the door open.
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BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Like I said, my muse was on vacation and came back, although she was quite angry, thus the cliffie.
Sorry to keep you all hanging like that, and I'll just give you this one little clue: It's not as big a
surprise as one might think. With that in mind, you may expect Chapter 16 on TUESDAY, not Wednesday as this one was.
Auf Wiedersehen bis naechstes Mal (let's see how many of you understand that one, considering I probably made an
error in the word placement).