I hope all of you liked last chapter, it came from the heart :P lol. Anyways, I'm gonna tie up all the loose ends in this chapter, as it'll be the last one before the kids board the Hogwarts Express for the year. Expect to be reading for a while. Enjoy!
On with the show!
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Chapter 6: The Tome of the Spellmaker
The first thing that Harry noticed when he woke was that it was barely light out. Figuring he and Hermione must've slept through the previous day and into the next, he got out of bed carefully, as not to disturb the girl next to him. That plan failed, though, when she stirred and opened her eyes.
"Harry?" Hermione asked sleepily. "Where are you going?"
"To see if Dumbledore's back from St. Mungo's," Harry replied.
"What time is it?" she asked with her face in her pillow.
"5:30 in the morning. We slept all of yesterday away." Hermione groaned at this, and blindly patted the bed next to her.
"Stay," she mumbled. "It's too early."
"Hermione, I have to find out if Krum's ok."
"It can wait," she said picking her head up and looking at him. "I want to be with you right now." Harry looked back into her eyes and couldn't say no. In secret, he really did want to stay in bed with Hermione, but his sense of duty had told him otherwise. It all went out the window when their eyes locked.
"Ok," he said laying back down next to her. "But only for a few minutes."
"That's all I want," she said. "Harry?"
"Yeah?"
"Did you mean what you said yesterday before we fell asleep?" Harry looked at Hermione.
"Of course I did," he said. "If it weren't for the fact that we were in this war, I'd ask you to be my wife right now." Hermione nestled her head under Harry's arm. "But we are in this war. The only consolation I can give you is that I promised you yesterday that I would do just that if we lived through this, and I intend on keeping it."
"Well then I'll promise you something too," she whispered.
"What's that?"
"I promise I won't say no." Harry brushed a strand of hair out of Hermione's face. She looked up at him and smiled, but saw in his eyes that something was bothering him. "What's wrong?" she asked, scared of what the answer might be.
"I'm so sorry," said Harry pulling her close to him.
"For what?" Hermione's fears were rising.
"For waiting so long last year to fall in love with you," he said. Hermione let her tears slide down her face and pulled her lips to his with all of her love. The two of them lay there for what seemed like an eternity, feeling as though nothing was wrong with the world, when Harry finally pulled away.
"Don't go," Hermione said.
"I have to," Harry said rising from his bed. "I have to know how Krum turned out. You can stay here and sleep."
"Like hell I'm going to stay here and sleep," she said rising to her feet and stretching. "I'm not letting you out of my sight from now on." Harry smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Let's get going then," he said.
The two of them made their way downstairs to find the kitchen occupied by the one person Harry was the least happy to see - Snape, reading the morning prophet.
"Potter, the headmaster has asked me to inform you that when you are ready, you may portkey to St. Mungo's where he is waiting to speak with you," said Snape not shifting his gaze from the newspaper.
"Where's the portkey then?" asked Harry with annoyance in his voice. Instead of answering, Snape merely pointed at the table in front of them, where a large phoenix feather was resting. "Let's go," Harry said to Hermione. He took the feather and held it out for her, and the moment she touched, the two of them zoomed out of the kitchen, without a word of farewell to their potions teacher.
The two of them landed with a 'thud' in the ward that Krum was staying in and were greeted with an all too familiar voice.
"Ah, Harry, Hermione, I was hoping I would be seeing you sometime soon," said Dumbledore from his seat across the room. The two students picked themselves up and brushed off their cloaks.
"Professor," acknowledged Harry. "You wanted to speak to us?"
"Just you, actually, Harry," Dumbledore replied standing up. "I hope you're not too offended Ms. Granger, but I could use a moment alone with Harry here." Hermione pursed her lips and gave a pout in response to this, which in turn received a slight chuckle from Harry.
"What?" she huffed.
"Nothing," he said shaking his head. Hermione looked completely unconvinced. "You just look adorable when you pout," he whispered in her ear. Hermione's cheeks flushed and her facial features relaxed.
"I'll leave you to it then," she said walking out of the waiting room. Harry turned and found Dumbledore beaming at him.
"What is it Professor?" he asked. The headmaster gave a slight sigh a smiled.
"Nothing, Harry. Just an old man lost in thought." Dumbledore sat back down and motioned for Harry to sit next to him, which he did. "We need to talk about certain things." Harry was taken aback by this sentence. In all of his years at Hogwarts, Harry had never been told by the headmaster that he needed to talk to him about things. Preparing for bad news, Harry stiffened.
"Yes?" he asked.
"As you well remember, I told you that there was a reason that I let Lucius go yesterday morning." Harry nodded his understanding. "I put a transmission charm on him as he escaped."
"What's a transmission charm?" asked Harry.
"It allows the caster to hear everything the person upon whom the charm was cast says, along with anything said to that person," replied Dumbledore.
"Ah."
"Yesterday morning after the trip to Azkaban was over, I overheard a disturbing conversation that Lucius was involved in." Dumbledore made to remove something from his cloak, but Harry realized something and spoke up.
"Professor?" asked Harry. "Is it safe to talk about stuff like this here?"
"Oh, I've had a privacy charm surrounding this entire ward the moment Krum got here," said the headmaster now pulling a small black ball from his cloak. "Now listen carefully Harry, you cannot repeat this information to anyone whom you do not absolutely trust. They enemy cannot know that we are spying on them." Dumbledore tapped the ball with his wand and immediately a voice Harry knew too well came to his ears.
"They've escaped then," said the low hiss of Voldemort.
"Yes, master," replied someone, who Harry assumed was Malfoy.
"With Krum?"
"Yes."
"And now all 22 death eaters I had there with the exception of you, my slippery friend Lucius, have been either killed or captured?" There was silence following this but Harry could only guess that Lucius had bowed his head in shame.
"Master, I apologize. I have failed."
"The first smart thing you've said today."
"I promise you, I will not fail again."
"Perhaps, but I think I would like some insurance on that promise. CRUCIO!" Immediately Lucius Malfoy's screams filled the waiting room. This lasted for a few moments, then the room became quiet again.
"The last time we went after Potter, he was ready. He was waiting, and we lost loyal people because of it," spat Voldemort. "This time, we will make him come to us. I will give you one chance Lucius. Find me a way to get to Potter, and bring whatever that way is to me. Do this, and I might spare your life."
"Yes, master. You are too kind -"
"Enough with your groveling. Be gone from my sight." With that Dumbledore tapped the black ball with his wand one more time and put it back in his cloak.
"So?" Harry asked. "This isn't news to me, he's been trying to get me to fall into his traps since I was 11."
"Harry, Lucius isn't dumb. I have no doubt that he will have already asked Draco to see what he knows about you. It's not difficult to see what he will try to take to appease Voldemort." Harry's brow furrowed at this, he couldn't imagine why this was any different than before. What did Harry have that Voldemort could be certain would make him walk into a trap?
"I don't follow you," said Harry drawing a blank. The headmaster's expression became grave.
"He's going to go after Hermione, Harry."
Silence. That was the only word that could be used to describe the waiting room after that sentence. Fear flooded through Harry as he realized just how true Dumbledore's statement was.
"Well we have to protect her then," he said quickly. "I won't let her out of my sight, I should go and get her now and -"
"Harry do not worry. Hermione is perfectly safe here in St. Mungo's, you needn't be alarmed. I am telling you this, however, so that you can be prepared."
"And how exactly can we be prepared for an attack on Hermione that could come at any time? " Harry retorted.
"I do believe I sent you a rather useful birthday present that might be able to fulfil such a purpose," said Dumbledore twinkling away madly. "I assume you haven't tried using it yet?"
"The tome..." said Harry. "What exactly does it do? I mean, I would assume that it tells us how to make new spells, but what exactly does it do?"
"The book contains in its pages the very essence of magic. You will find that you will need to use the everything the book offers in order to create a new magic," Dumbledore replied. "I have no doubt, however, that you and Ms. Granger will be able to devise a way of protecting yourselves."
"Sir, why can't you just expel Draco? It would make more sense to not have him around and endangering Hermione....or myself for that matter," Harry muttered the last part under his breath. To his surprise though, Dumbledore simply smiled at him.
"Draco will not be expelled because he not a lost cause," the headmaster replied. "I know for a fact that he does not entirely envy his father. Draco may be scheduled to be marked by the end of the year, but that doesn't mean that there isn't someone who may be able to show him the error of both his and his father's ways."
"Yeah, and who precisely could that be?" asked Harry his voice dripping with sarcasm. Dumbledore's twinkle increased after this sentence.
"I have a slight feeling as to who it might be, but as I'm not entirely sure, I'm not going to tell you, in fear of getting your hopes down," he said smiling.
"You know, Albus," began Harry stressing the headmaster's name. "You did say that you would tell me the things I wanted to know."
"Yes, but if you'll recall what I told you after your induction, it will be a lot more fun for you to figure it out on your own. And I daresay that we need more fun in this day and age." Harry couldn't help but smile in spite of himself, and nodded.
"One other thing, headmaster," he said. "During his induction, Krum said something about a torch of green fire. What exactly does it do that would make Voldemort so eager to welcome a coward back into his ranks?"
"The Green Flame Torch, as it's been called, is the source of all dark magic in this world. It is what gives strength to all of the dark curses out there. Undoubtedly, if Karkaroff had managed to find it and give it to Voldemort, the dark lord would indeed have become invincible," the headmaster replied grimly.
"Then why not destroy it?" asked Harry.
"Because it would unbalance everything in the world, Harry," Dumbledore replied. "There cannot be evil without good, and visa versa. I'll be happy to show it to you sometime, letting its power enter your body can help in understanding exactly how evil works. I confess, I used its power once upon a time myself."
"Defeating Grindlewald?" asked Harry. Dumbledore smiled.
"You've been reading my chocolate frog card, haven't you?" Harry smiled.
"I read it once or twice back when Ron, Hermione, and I were trying to figure out who Nicolas Flamel was." Dumbledore chuckled at the memory of Harry's first year adventure.
"Yes, I used power from the Green Flame Torch to kill Grindlewald. However, I daresay you won't be able to do the same with Voldemort, seeing as how you can't duel with him."
"Yeah about that," Harry interjected. "How AM I supposed to kill him if we can't duel properly?"
"I think Harry, that you will learn the answer to that when the time finally comes," answered the headmaster. Harry understood that that was the end of that particular conversation. "I think you should go and see Viktor before Hermione comes back, he said he wanted to talk to you privately before Ms. Granger joined you."
"Ok," said Harry standing up. "Thanks for telling me what I need to know, Albus." The headmaster stood next to the raven-haired boy and smiled.
"I may make bad decisions, but a fool I'm not," said Dumbledore. "I now know what the consequences are of keeping vital information from you. Rest assured that I have learned from my mistake, and have become wiser because of it."
"It's hard to believe that the great Albus Dumbledore could become any wiser," said Harry shaking the headmaster's hand. Dumbledore twinkled at Harry.
"As much as I would like to accept your kind words, there are a few wizards out there who either already have or will easily surpass my wisdom or power in their lifetimes."
"Like who?" asked Harry in disbelief.
"Certainly Tom Riddle is more powerful than I," replied Dumbledore almost lazily.
"Sure he is," said Harry with a sarcastic nod. "Anyone else?"
"I daresay that you and Ms. Granger will more than surpass my knowledge and power respectively before all of this is over." Harry stood there looking at Dumbledore with a blank expression on his face. Dumbledore chuckled slightly. "But I digress, I'll go retrieve Ms. Granger. Go in and see Viktor." And with that he turned and walked from the waiting room.
Harry stood there in silence, watching the retreating back of the headmaster. Surely he had been joking. Harry Potter, more powerful than Albus Dumbledore? Harry chuckled to himself at the thought and dismissed it as a joke by his eccentric headmaster. He walked back through the doctor's area to Krum's room and stepped inside, where Viktor was sitting up in his bed reading over what looked to be lesson plans.
"Glad to see you're feeling ok," Harry said sitting down next to Krum. He looked up from his work and smiled at Harry.
"Yes, vell, I'm glad you haff come," said Viktor through his thick accent. Harry nodded.
"Dumbledore said you wished to speak with me privately?"
"Yes," Krum said. "I vanted to thank you."
"For what?" asked Harry slightly surprised. This earned a chuckle from the Bulgarian seeker.
"For saving my life," Krum said. "Dumbledore told me that you had seen my kidnaping in a dream, and because of that, you vere able to save me before I vas harmed beyond recognition." Harry lowered his head and blushed slightly.
"It was nothing, really."
"Bollocks," said Krum smiling. Harry looked up, taken aback that his future Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher would use such language. "I owe you my life."
"You own me nothing of the sort," replied Harry. "Just don't assign any ten-scroll long papers this year. Although Hermione would probably love it, come to think of it...." Harry added as an afterthought. He looked up and saw Krum smiling at him. "She's standing right behind me, isn't she?"
"As much as you would like to believe it, I do NOT like doing homework," Hermione said angrily. Harry looked behind him with his eyes wide.
"You don't like homework?" he asked unconvinced. "Since when?"
"Since ever," she replied. "I only like reading and studying because it makes me feel good about myself. Although homework does help me get good exam results, so I guess in a sense there's nothing wrong with it......"
"Whew," said Harry with relief. "I was scared that you had been abducted and were actually someone else using polyjuice." She hit Harry on the arm lightly and sat down next to him.
"How are you feeling Viktor?" she asked.
"A little drained, but othervise ok," he said leaning back in his bed.
"I can imagine," said Hermione. "So tell me..." Hermione and Viktor's conversation faded from Harry's attention as he became lost in his thoughts. He sat there looking at Hermione wondering how to tell her that she was going to be a target for abduction. Worry ran rampant through his mind, wondering what he would do if he ever lost her. The image of her body laying dead in a dark room crossed his mind, and brought tears to his eyes.
"Harry? Are you ok?" Hermione asked noticing that his eyes were watering.
"Huh?" asked Harry snapping out of his reverie. "Oh, yeah I'm fine," he said wiping his eyes.
"Maybe we should go," said Hermione. "I hope you don't mind us leaving like this Viktor."
"Not at all," Krum replied. "It vas nice to be visited by you Herm-own-ninny. You too Harry. Thank you for effrything."
"It was nothing," said Harry getting up. "Really."
"We'll be back to visit you soon, Viktor," said Hermione now standing next to Harry.
"Don't go out ov your vay to see me," Krum said grinning.
"It's not out of our way, and we're happy to see you," she said. "Hope you feel better!"
"Thanks," said Krum and Harry and Hermione exited the room.
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"Harry what's wrong?" asked Hermione as they each sat down on Harry's bed back at Grimmauld Place.
"Hermione," he said pulling her into an embrace.
"What is it?" she asked. "What's happened?" Harry drew away and looked into her eyes.
"You remember how Dumbledore said that he let Lucius Malfoy get away on purpose? That night when I was at Azkaban?"
"Mmhmm," Hermione nodded. "Why?"
"He put some sort of spying charm on him. He overheard a conversation between Malfoy and Voldemort, and played it back to me using some sort of small black ball."
"A recording bit," said Hermione. "I've used them before to help take notes in class."
"Yes, well," said Harry resuming. "I heard the conversation. Voldemort threatened Malfoy with his life if he didn't find a way to bait me to him."
"This isn't news though," said Hermione. "He's been trying that since you were 11."
"I know," said Harry. "I thought the same thing at first. Then Dumbledore told me what he was going to go after. That's what really scares me." Hermione looked at him questioningly. Then after a moment, realization spread across her face and she moved her hand to cover her mouth.
"I.....he means me?" she whispered. Harry, not able to speak, simply nodded. "Oh my...." Hermione's face fell and she put her head in her hands. Harry saw this and put an arm around her in comfort.
"I won't let them get you," he said resolutely. "I promise."
"I know, Harry, it's just....well...I'm not used to being a target," she said shaking slightly.
"Welcome to my world," he said with a weak smile. She looked up at him and kissed him passionately.
"I don't know how you can do it," she whispered, her face inches from his. Harry shrugged.
"You get used to it eventually. Besides, we have enough warning this time to prepare ourselves." Hermione looked at him with question etched in her eyes. "Dumbledore said that we should use my birthday present to come up with something suitable to defend ourselves with." Hermione's eyes widened with understanding.
"Of course!" she said getting up and rushing over to Harry's trunk. "We can create spells now," she said pulling the book out and walking back over to the bed. She laid it out and opened it to the table of contents. "That's what we need," she said. "Creating a new spell, page 26." She leafed through the book until she found what they were looking for.
"This doesn't seem so hard," commented Harry from her side. "Looks like we just have to log the spell in the book with a description, and make a potion."
"Yeah," said Hermione. "I really thought it would've been a little harder than that." She said reading the potion instructions. "Oh."
"What?" Harry asked squinting at the tiny print that was the potion ingredients.
"No wonder," she breathed. "It's a blood potion."
"Blood potion?" Harry asked.
"It's a potion that requires the use of a wizard's blood," she said. "It makes sense, if you think about it. It's theorized that the magic power that we posses runs in our blood, so in order to create new magic, it's only logical that old magic would have to be already present."
"Why is that so bad?" asked Harry.
"Blood alchemy is very dangerous, Harry," she said. "It's almost as dangerous as fooling around with time."
"Why?"
"Because it's extraordinarily powerful," Hermione said. "If there's not enough blood the potion can become poison. Too much......." Hermione's voice faded.
"What?"
"There have been some cases in history where the drinker has...well...exploded." Harry's eyes widened.
"Exploded?" he asked. "As in blown up?"
"Yes, and that's not all. The people who were around the drinker that were touch by the...entrails," she shivered as the thought crossed her mind. "-were burned as if the blood that touched them was an acid. There was a case where about 35 people were killed, and another fifteen or so were badly injured."
"Ah," said Harry, hesitation apparently in his voice.
"Listen Harry, if you don't want to do it-"
"No," he retorted regaining control of his voice box. "One, if it will protect you then I'm willing to do it. Two, as long as you're making the potion, I doubt anything will go wrong." Hermione blushed slightly at the compliment.
"Well let's get started on it then," she said. "The potion takes two weeks to make, and we need to be able to think of a suitable purpose for a spell in that time." Harry nodded and Hermione immediately summoned Dobby to start collecting the ingredients for her.
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A week and a half had passed since Hermione had begun to brew the potion. She and Harry had been back to visit Krum a couple of times, but their attention had been more focused on the task they had undertaken. Although they had ideas on what a good spell would be, they had yet to decide what it would actually do. They were talking about it over breakfast the morning before they were to add the final ingredient to the potion: Harry's blood.
"We should really know what we're going to have it do before we cut you open," she said. "I still feel bad enough that it's your blood we're using and not mine." Harry and Hermione had had an argument over this a few days earlier. Hermione, being the one to brew the potion, wanted to use her own blood, but Harry would hear none of it. He blatantly refused to let her hurt herself, and made a point that he was more used to cuts and bruises and such.
"Well, it needs to keep you safe," he said. "Some kind of spell that we can cast that will prevent you from being in danger." They were both silent for a minute until the light went off in Hermione's head.
"I've got it!" she said, her face lighting up. "We can make the spell send us to the safest place possible." Harry's face broke into a smile when he heard her say 'us'.
"Will it work?" he asked.
"Of course, we just need to want to make it work," she responded. "We should go and write down the theory in the book like we're supposed to, while the idea is still fresh." Harry nodded and summoned the tome into the kitchen from his room. He conjured a quill with ink and handed it to Hermione.
"Ok," she said flipping to the spell index. "We're supposed to write down the name of the spell, along with the incantation, the classification, and the description of what it does."
"Well, it'll be a charm, won't it?" Harry asked. "It doesn't seem to me that it would be a jinx, a hex, or a curse, so it must be a charm, right?"
"Those aren't the only classes of spells Harry, but yes, it will be a charm," Hermione responded writing in the book. "What will the incantation be?" she asked. "The book said that it should be related to the purpose of the spell, as long as it's easy to distinguish. Latin, or a variant of some sort, is a good idea," she finished. Harry nodded and summoned his birthday present from Remus to him.
"Well safety is 'salus'," Harry said looking at the dictionary.
"There won't be anything under transportation," Hermione said. "I already checked."
"What then?" Harry asked.
"Try escape," she said still writing in the book.
"Escape...." Harry leafed through the book. "Evolo."
"Perfect," said Hermione writing in the book. "Salus Evolo. What are we actually commanding the spell to do?"
"Well we need to make sure that the spell will affect both of us," Harry said. "But it can't include our immediate surroundings, because that might cause whoever is attacking you to be brought with us." Hermione nodded.
"How about, to send the caster and the one person the caster wants with them the most to the safest place possible along with the belongings that the caster truly needs?"
"Isn't that really complex though?" asked Harry sipping on his butterbeer.
"Yes, but with practice it should be fine," Hermione replied not stopping her writing.
"This isn't really a spell we can practice, Hermione. What if we get sent to a place we can't come back from easily?" Harry asked. Hermione stopped and looked up at him, biting her lower lip.
"I guess we'll just have to trust our instincts," she said.
"I don't want to fool around when it comes to your safety, Hermione. Isn't there any way we can make sure we know how to do it beforehand?"
"Well......I suppose we could try an anti-apparition field, like the one Dumbledore created last year," she said.
At that exact moment, Ron floated through the door to the basement, followed closely by Ginny.
"Hey, Moody told us you were down here-" Ron began as Harry and Hermione looked up at him. "What are you two doing?" Hermione gave Harry a nervous glance, neither sure whether to tell Ron and Ginny the truth.
"It's obviously something very important," Ginny noted. "They're trying to figure out whether to tell us or not."
"Fine we'll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else, especially while we're at Hogwarts," Hermione said. Ron and Ginny both nodded eagerly and took a seat across from the two teens.
An hour later, the story telling was all over, and Ron and Ginny sat there speechless.
"Well I can help you with your problem," Ron said. "Don't forget us ghosts have some very useful magic that we can cast up our sleeves."
"I'm curious," Ginny interrupted. "What's this about Draco not being all bad?"
"I have absolutely no idea," confessed Harry. "Dumbledore was going on about how it might be possible for someone to show Draco his errors in life, or something like that." Ginny nodded her head in understanding.
"So how can you help us Ron?" asked Hermione.
"Well ghosts can latch onto a person and keep them from going anywhere. Can't disapperate, can't use a spell to get out, nothing. I know that Dumbledore can do it too," Ron said.
"So what will happen if you do this, and then we cast the spell?" asked Harry.
"You'll feel as if you're trying to move, but are glued to the floor. Nothing bad will happen, it'll just feel like you're encased in cement and can't move."
"Sounds harmless to me," Harry said. "We should get ready Hermione, we need to add my blood in a few minutes."
"Whoa whoa whoa!" exclaimed Ron. "Blood alchemy? You do know how risky that is right?"
"Harry and I have gone over this again and again, and we're sure that we're doing everything accurately," said Hermione. "Besides, Dumbledore gave us this book for a reason, I'm sure he thinks us capable of not committing any fatal errors."
"I guess you're right," conceded Ron. "Just be careful."
"You sound like Hermione," chuckled Harry. Hermione swatted and him with a grin.
"Ok Harry, pull up your sleeve," she said drawing her wand from her robes. He obliged and Hermione conjured a small vile, similar to the one Wormtail had used to collect his blood in the fourth year. "I'll try not to make this hurt too much," she said. She muttered a few words under her breath and the tip of her wand glowed white. Carefully, she placed the tip against Harry's bare skin and drew it down his arm slightly. Harry winced as a cut was made and blood started to flow from the wound.
"It needs to be deeper," Ron commented from the corner. "Don't forget, you need a good amount of blood for this, and we don't want to have Harry bleeding for an hour you know." Hermione glared at Ron and looked at Harry.
"It's ok," he said. "It's not all that bad." Hermione nodded and flicked her wand slightly. Immediately the cut went deeper into Harry's arm and he drew a sharp breath. Blood was now pouring freely from the wound, and Hermione had Ginny summon the blood into the vile. When the tube was almost full, Hermione stopped and sealed the wound with a flick of her wand. She immediately wrapped her arms around Harry in a hug.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"For what?" asked Harry nonplussed.
"For hurting you," she said.
"Don't worry about it, let's just get this potion made. And carefully too, I might add, as I'm the one drinking it."
"I know," Hermione said. "Ginny, can I have the vile?" Ginny handed the vile to Hermione and she drew marks on it with her wand. Walking over to a closet in the back of the kitchen, she opened the door and revealed the cauldron containing the potion, sitting on a small iron grate above a fire. Eyeing the vile carefully, she pointed her wand at it and muttered words causing blood to slowly vanish from it until there was a specific amount remaining.
"Ok, if I use the right amount, the potion will turn a bright white and emit some sparks and steam, before settling again," she said. "Here goes." With that she emptied the vile into the cauldron. Just as she had predicted, the potion turned white and emitted sparks and steam before settling down again. She turned to find the other three members in the room beaming at her.
"I always said she was genius," said Harry.
"I always said she was mental," replied Ron grinning. Hermione shot him a glare, but knowing he was joking, her expression softened quickly.
"We have to let it sit for three days before you can drink it," she said. "We still need a name for the spell."
"How about the Fleeing Charm?" asked Ron. "I know it doesn't sound very chivalrous, but it's what it does."
"I like it," said Harry, impressed that Ron had an idea that neither him nor Hermione had been able to come up with. He looked at Hermione and she nodded, writing in the Tome of the Spellmaker again.
"Oh!" exclaimed Ginny digging through her pockets. "I completely forgot the reason that we came down here looking for you anyway." Ron's face suddenly sported a huge grin and he floated over to Ginny.
"What?" asked Harry and Hermione.
"I've got them here somewhere...." Ginny mumbled. "Ah! Here they are." She procured two envelopes sealed with the Hogwarts crest from her robes and handed them to Harry and Hermione. "Don't get all excited at once now, you hear?"
"Do you know what these say?" asked Hermione somewhat disgruntled that someone might know what was in her post before she did.
"Of course," Ron said smiling. "We had Moody tell us what they said when we went to find him to tell us where you were." Hermione's jaw dropped at this.
"That's a very rude thing to do, Ron," she said.
"Yeah, but it was worth it," said Ginny. "Go on, open them!" Harry looked at Hermione and they nodded to each other, opening the envelopes at the same time. Their eyes grew wide at about the same time while they were reading and they looked up at Ron and Ginny.
"Isn't it grand?" asked Ron. "Head Boy and Girl, I can't wait to tell Fred and George about this."
"Oh Harry!" Hermione squealed throwing herself at him. "We're Head Boy and Girl! Oh it's so wonderful."
"I don't believe it," said Harry in awe. "I wasn't even a prefect. Why aren't you Head Boy, Ron?"
"Well it's not like I'm a prefect anymore, considering I'm not even alive. I'd have to say that having the Head Boy alive is much more preferable. Besides, I like rooming with Dean, Seamus, and Neville just fine, thank you." Harry's brow furrowed in confusion.
"What are you talking about?" he asked. Ron and Ginny looked at each other and grinned.
"Finish reading your letter," Ron said. Harry finished reading his letter while Hermione was going on about how she was sooooooooo proud of Harry to make Head Boy and nearly fell out of his chair when he got to the part that Ron had been referring to.
"Hermione," Harry said pulling her up to look at him. "Read this." Hermione read the part that Harry was pointing at and looked at him as if he were daft.
"Of course we have our own rooms now," she said. "The Head Boy and Girl have always had separate rooms from the rest of the students to ensure privacy and peace."
"Hogwarts, a History?" asked Harry.
"Naturally," she replied. "You really should read it sometime it's quite-"
"Why read it when you can recite it to me for memory?" asked Harry smiling. Hermione swatted at him and gave him a quick kiss.
"Ahem," said Ron. "Perhaps we should be going. Ginny?"
"Right behind you," she said as they left the kitchen leaving Hermione sitting on Harry's lap.
"Our own rooms," said Harry smiling mischievously. "It even says they have connecting doors?"
"And private bathrooms attached," whispered Hermione into his ear. Her talking in that voice to him was enough to make his blood pressure rise. Hermione noticed this and grinned. "You have no idea how amazing this year is going to be, Harry."
"I've got a slight idea," he said. "Where are they anyway? How come I've never seen them before?"
"You can only see the doors to the rooms if you're Head Boy or Head Girl," Hermione said. "There are two in each house, in case the Head Boy or Girl are in that house. You'll see when we get there. There are two rooms just like the one's that we'll be living in in each of the other house areas. Naturally though, they won't be occupied since there are only one Head Boy and Head Girl each year. In Gryffindor, they're each at the top of the respective dormitory towers and are connected up there."
"You really do know everything about Hogwarts, don't you?" Harry asked smiling.
"Not nearly everything, but I try to know everything that's been written about the school," she said. "I'm sure there's plenty about the school that I know nothing about."
"I'm not sure," replied Harry. "Don't forget I have the Marauder's Map, and that shows everything in the school. You seem to know everything as it is." Hermione blushed and they left the kitchen to go find Ron and Ginny.
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Three days later Harry and Hermione were standing at the closet facing their potion, with Ron, Ginny, Dumbledore, and much to Harry and Hermione's disdain, Snape, behind them. The potion had long since cooled and Hermione brought it out onto the table for Snape to examine.
"Is everything satisfactory Severus?" asked Dumbledore while Snape was checking the potion.
"It seems to have been brewed correctly," Snape drawled. "How much blood did you use?"
"Three ounces," Hermione replied.
"Exactly how many spells are you planning on making?" asked Snape with arrogance.
"Well I figured it would be best to brew a big batch all at once, since it doesn't spoil," said Hermione with a slight air of annoyance. "Since we probably won't use this book only once." Snape let out a low growl but said nothing. Dumbledore beamed at Hermione.
"Excellent work Ms. Granger," he said. "You may go now Severus." Snape nodded and left the kitchen. "I must say, you've done an excellent job on this. What is the spell that you are creating?"
"It's called the Fleeing Charm, aptly named by Ron," said Harry smiling. Ron let out a snort but kept to himself while the other four chuckled. "The incantation is Salus Evolo, and it will transport the caster and whatever belongings the caster needs with him or her, along with one person of the caster's choice to the safest place possible."
"A bit complicated for a first attempt, I must admit," said Dumbledore peering over his half moon spectacles. "But I'll assume that you have found a way to practice it?"
"Yes, Ron said he can help us with that," said Hermione. Dumbledore looked at Ron.
"I've practiced my holding techniques," he said. "I won't let them transport themselves to who knows where."
"Still," said Dumbledore. "I'd like to be present when you first try it, just to make sure nothing goes wrong." Ron huffed but agreed along with Harry and Hermione.
"Well," said Hermione looking at the potion. "It's ready." Harry nodded and conjured a flask into which Hermione laded some of the potion. "After you drink it, wait for the shaking to pass and then put your wand on the name of the spell in the Tome, and speak the words Magus Erogo." Harry nodded and swirled the white liquid around in the flask.
"Well," he said with resolve. "I hope you did this right Hermione. Bottoms up." And with that he drained the contents of the beaker. The first thing he felt was heat travel throughout his body, much like when one imbibes alcohol. Then the shaking started. It was dull vibrations at first but quickly increased to that of a seizure. Harry fell to the ground and the other four rushed over to him.
"Is he ok?" asked Ginny frantically.
"He should be in a moment," said Hermione. "This potion does awful things to one's body, even when brewed properly." Again, Hermione was right, for a few moments later the violent spasms stopped and Harry sat up, visibly shaken.
"That was not pleasant," he said standing with the aid of Hermione. "Where's the book?"
"Right here," she said pulling it towards him. "Remember, Magus Erogo." Harry nodded and drew his wand from his robes. Placing the tip on the words "The Fleeing Charm," he drew a breath and spoke.
"Magus Erogo." Immediately his body glowed a bright red, and for a moment, it just stayed like that. Then, all of a sudden, the red glow was funneled down through his right arm, through his wand, and into the words on the page of the book. The words of the spell, including everything else that Hermione had written about the spell glowed white momentarily, then faded back to black. After that, Harry collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
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Well I hope you all liked it, it took me long enough to write. Sorry to leave a cliffie like this, but it's not nearly as bad as it could've been. Don't worry the next chapter will finally at long last set the plot for the story. I promise to have it up by sometime next week, and I hope you all enjoy my writing.
A/N: By the way, I did my research this time. The latin in this chapter is accurate, I found a dictionary online, so no complaints! :)
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