Chapter 20 - The Calm Before The Storm Part 1
September slowly slipped into October and as it did so the initial wave of murders and attacks that had filled the front pages of the Daily Prophet for the last few months slowly petered out to the surprise of many.
Naturally this immediately started the rumour mills going and the letters page in the Prophet was crammed with correspondents from Wizards and Witches up and down the country with some claiming that it was due to the Ministry being mistaken and there was actually someone out there impersonating Voldermort (although Hermione was quick to point out to Harry and the others that none of the people subscribing to this theory actually sent in their names with their letters) whilst others put it down to the Aurors actually scoring a few noticeable successes against Voldermort's supporters including the arrests of Goyle's Father who was captured trying to kill Igor Karkaroff in Cardiff (Karkaroff, despite his pleas of innocence was also arrested) and of Oswald Borgin who was caught with some rather incriminating tomes and items when his shop was raided.
Meanwhile at Hogwarts Professor Gringle told Harry and the other Marauders that they now entered something he called the Twilight War with everyone waiting for Voldermort's inevitable attack but whilst the vast majority of the Wizarding world seemed to be expecting Diagon Alley to be top of Voldermort's target list Harry and the others knew that the Dark Lord's first strike would be Azkaban which they'd been told by Dumbledore himself Voldermort intended to take as a headquarters, a move even the Headmaster had admitted was a surprise.
But for now there was nothing to be done and so Harry and the others had contented themselves with preparing for the DA which would be having it's first meeting at the end of the week whilst also continuing their Marauder training where they now resumed the weapons training they'd first started at Grimmauld Place and had even advanced to duelling with the Professors albeit with the Professors using swords that had been charmed merely to sting.
***
"Good Harry!" panted Professor Gringle as he pulled the sleeve of his sweater-shirt across his forehead. "Very good, you seem to be a natural with a sword!"
Here Harry grinned back at the Professor as he too caught his breath before shooting a look up to towards the balcony where an anxious looking Hermione was stood with Ron and the others and gave her a crooked grin.
"Harry!" came Neville's warning and Harry moved just as Gringle lunged at him missing Harry narrowly.
"Now Harry!" chuckled Gringle softly. "What have I told you about taking your eyes of your opponent?"
"Sorry Sir!"
"Don't apologise! Just don't do it!" yelled Gringle with a grin as he raised his sword and brought it down in an arch forcing Harry to quickly raise his own sword to parry the Professor's attack but no sooner had he raised it than Gringle span on his heel and brought his sword under Harry's and almost tapped it against Harry's chest only for Harry to duck out of the way causing Gringle to stumble slightly as he overbalanced.
"Good show Harry!" roared Professor Hedges from above where he was stood with Professor Stoutbridge.
"I thought you were supposed to be on my side Bramble!" retorted Gringle without raising his gaze towards his own friends.
"Only complimenting the young man on his fine swordsmanship Tinker!" came the reply.
"Humph!" grunted Gringle as he and Harry now circled around the pit, both looking for an opportunity to strike.
Harry nervously ran his tongue over his bottom lip whilst feeling a bead of sweat trickle down his temple.
"Get him Harry!" called Ron enthusiastically from the balcony.
"Ron! Don't distract him!" hissed Hermione's voice.
Then suddenly Gringle lunged again but Harry's Seeker instincts kicked in and he was able to sidestep the attack whilst at the same time bringing his sword down towards the Professor.
"ARGGHHH!" growled Gringle as his sword clattered to the ground whilst he grabbed his right hand in his left.
"Oh crap!" yelped Harry as Stoutbridge and Hedges disappeared from their spot on the balcony rushed down the steps into the pit. "Professor, I'm….I'm sorry!"
To his surprise Gringle began to laugh and shake his head.
"Albus was right, you are too ruddy noble Harry!" he chuckled whilst Hedges wrenched his left hand away to look at the right one. "You've got nothing to apologise for my lad, you got me fair and square!"
"He got you pretty good too!" said Hedges with a grunt whilst Harry swallowed hard as he saw the nasty looking gash on the back of the DADA Professor's hand. "Nothing I can't fix thought." He now reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle which he unscrewed and then used a dropper to dribble some purple liquid onto the gash causing Gringle to wince whilst the wound started to smoke slightly.
"There you go," said Hedges with a nod. "You were lucky, any harder and he might have had your hand off but thanks to me you won't even have a scar!"
"Well, at least not another one!" added Stoutbridge with a snort and as Harry watched the gash fade to nothing but at the same time he noticed a web-like scar on the back of Gringle's hand. The Professor, unaware of Harry's gaze, now flexed his hand and grunted before turning to the pony-tailed Professor.
"Thanks Bramble," he said cheerfully before looking up towards the other Marauders.
"Alright you lot, down here please!"
The other five Marauders quickly made their way down into the Pit and, along with Harry, sat down on the bench that was built into the wall of the left hand side of the pit whilst the three Professors stood in front of them with Gringle continuing to flex his hand as he met the gaze of each the Marauders in turn before he spoke.
"All of you should be very proud of yourselves," said the DADA Professor with a broad smile as he started to pace in front of the six. "I have to confess thinking that maybe what we did at Grimmauld was a case of mass beginners luck but you've proven me very wrong much to my delight, especially Misses Granger and Lovegood!"
Here Hermione blushed whilst Luna merely smiled warmly at the Professor who now folded his arms across his chest before speaking again.
"Now, we're going to give the swords a rest for a bit as and start with you're archery training. However, we'll need a slightly bigger location for that so I want you all at the Room of Requirement on Monday evening alright?"
Here the six merely nodded at which Gringle smiled.
"Excellent. Now, how's the DA planning going?"
"We've got everything ready Professor," replied Hermione. "We going to go over the basics again to start with, then Harry's going to demonstrate a few of the new jinxes we've been learning."
"Good," replied Gringle. "I know that for the most part we'll be repeating what you did last year and what we've been doing in DADA but as the Muggles say 'practice makes perfect' and it won't hurt in case Voldermort decides to bring the fight here."
"Is that likely?" asked Ron warily to which Gringle shrugged.
"Honestly Ron we don't know, not even Albus, but I wouldn't be surprised. Oh, Tom might not come personally but Hogwarts must be a very tempting target and the chance to humiliate Dumbledore makes it all the more so which means we should remain on our guard and be as prepared as we can be!"
Harry nodded slowly as he exchanged a look with Hermione who was biting her bottom lip nervously.
***
After Gringle's warning the Marauders broke up into pairs for another half hour's training with each pair under a Professor's supervision before they were allowed back up to the Common Room and Gringle and Hedges left. Stoutbridge however came over to Harry and pulled him to one side.
"Just wanted to ask Harry, how are the Quidditch preparations going?"
More than happy to move away from the grim subjects of facing Voldermort and his Death Eaters and a potential attack on Hogwarts, Harry allowed himself a genuine smile.
"Pretty good sir, the new players are shaping up nicely and Ron's nerves don't seem to be problem, at least not yet!"
"And what about the other teams? Done any scouting?"
"I haven't," Harry admitted. "But Katie Bell's been to watch the other teams. To be truthful Sir I'm still trying to get the hang of understanding tactics!"
"Not surprising," said Stoutbridge with a broad smile. "We Seekers don't really need to know tactics, we just need to fly like bats out of hell and catch the Snitch!"
"You were a Seeker sir?"
"Oh yes," chuckled the Professor. "Captained the team myself in Seventh year and believe me if it hadn't been for your Grandfather it would have probably been a disaster!"
"My Granddad played with you?" asked Harry eager to here about his Grandfather.
"Yup," replied Stoutbridge. "Bloody good Chaser and not a bad beater either when the need arose but he was best chasing! Not quite good enough to play pro but he played in the Amateur National Leagues for a few seasons, even won a Championship medal with the Wiltshire Warlocks! You could probably find a picture of him in the back issues of the Prophets they keep in the library if you wanted to!"
"Yeah, I'd like that," said Harry thoughtfully.
"As for tactics don't worry yourself to much," added Stoutbridge. "Miss Bell's a bit of a Veteran herself right?"
"Been in the team as long as me," agreed Harry.
"Then she's probably got a pretty good understanding of tactics," said the Professor. "Come up with a basic strategy and get her to help you implement it! Plus take a hint from a fellow Captain, don't try complicated! Simplicity is very often the key to victory."
Harry considered this for a moment then nodded.
"Thanks Professor."
"Think nothing of it," said Stoutbridge with a broad smile. "Anyway, I'd better be off. I've got some marking to do." And with that he turned and headed out of the portrait hole whilst Harry walked over to where the others were sitting and flopped down beside Hermione.
"What did Stoutbridge want?" asked Ron from the opposite sofa where he was sitting with Luna's head in his lap whilst she read the latest Quibbler.
"Oh, just offering me some advice on how to be a good Quidditch Captain," replied Harry as Hermione leaned her head against his shoulder whilst he started to twirl a bang of her hair around his finger. "Apparently he was Gryffindor Captain when he was here."
"That's where I know the name from," said Ron snapping his fingers. "He's on the Quidditch Honours board up in the trophy room!"
"Not surprised you remembered that Ron considering how many detentions you've served there!" chuckled Neville causing Hermione and Ginny to giggle whilst Harry smirked.
"Actually, that's where me and Ronald go to snog a lot of the time," murmured Luna without lowering her magazine. For a moment there was silence as Ron slowly turned an odd shade of purple before the other four all burst into laughter.
"Luna!" wailed Ron in dismay.
"Oh, did I say that out loud?" replied Luna without the slightest hint of embarrassment.
"Yes!" moaned her boyfriend who was now glaring at his three friends and younger sister as they shook with laughter.
"Oh," and with that Luna returned to her magazine causing Ron to merely sigh and shake his head.
***
"What kept you?" asked Gringle as Stoutbridge stepped into the DADA Professor's office and closed the door.
"Quidditch!" snorted Hedges. "Come on Emric, you should…..oh bugger!" he groaned as he realised his error.
Emric Potter however merely chuckled whilst Stoutbridge grinned.
"Don't worry about it Abercrombie," said the DADA Professor. "No offence chaps but I was certain one of you to slip sooner or later!"
"Well thank you for the vote of confidence," grunted Hedges, albeit with a wry smile.
"Your welcome," replied Emric. "Just try not to do it in front of the kids Okay? Firstly we can't afford to have Harry know yet and secondly I need to be the one who tells him when it's time!"
"Fair enough," said Hedges. "Anyway, now on to the 'but'!"
"What 'but'?"
"Oh come oh!" grunted Stoutbridge. "You dumped a bloody great 'but' into your talk with the kids, we both saw it and I'm surprised they didn't!"
"I bet Hermione did, she just didn't say anything," chuckled Hedges. "Anyhow, come on Tinker, what is it?"
And with practised ease borne of sixteen years of playing the role of his dead friend Emric Potter once more became Thaddeus Gringle.
"Stamina," said Gringle firmly. "For Harry, Ron and Ginny its fine, they've got Quidditch practice. Neville's seems to be pretty reasonable to from the fact he does most of the heavy lifting for Pomona. It's Luna and Hermione I'm concerned about. Their skill level's fine like I said but if they got into an extended fight…"
"…They might have problems," finished Stoutbridge nodding slowly. "Okay, so the solution's easy enough, extra training. We just need to do it in a way that makes sure the kids don't think we've got any worries about them."
"Well, that's easy enough," said Hedges with a grin as he flopped into a chair whilst the other two turned to him.
"Well," said Gringle folding his arms across his chest. "Do you want to enlighten us?"
"Yeah, come on Bramble," added Stoutbridge. "What's the plan?"
"It's simple enough," replied Hedges. "Harry, Ron and Ginny have Quidditch to help with their fitness so if we were to suggest fitness training for Hermione, Luna AND Neville I doubt they'll have any objections."
"Now that," said Stoutbridge turning to Gringle while waving his finger at Hedges. "Is why he got the top scores in our OWL's!"
Gringle nodded in agreement as he grinned at Hedges.
"Nice thinking Bramble!"
"Thank you!" chirped Hedges cheerfully. "Sorry, no autographs!"
"Oh shut up!" snapped both his friends before all three dissolved into laughter.
"Okay then," said Gringle after he managed to regained himself. "We'll talk to them tomorrow and start the training on Wednesday."
***
The next evening Hedges was proven right as when Gringle asked Hermione, Luna and Neville if they'd be prepared to do a bit of extra fitness training to balance out the fact that Harry, Ron and Ginny had their Quidditch training the three non-Quidditch Marauders all agreed without hesitation and none of the teenagers showed any signs of suspicion about the new training.
"It certainly can't hurt can it?" said Hermione to the others after Gringle had left following his talk.
"Nope," replied Neville as he stretched his arms above his head. "And I could probably do with losing a bit of weight!"
"Oh come on Nev," snorted Ginny. "You're no Crabbe or Goyle! I mean have you noticed how many of the girls have been checking you out this term!"
"You what?!" exclaimed Neville looking shocked.
"It's true," added Luna. "A lot of girls consider you one of the best looking boys here, after Harry and Ron of course but there are still quite a few of the girls who are jealous of Becky!"
Neville stared at Luna for a moment then turned to Ginny who nodded confirmation before suddenly standing up.
"'Scuse me, I've got to go and find my girlfriend!"
And with that he turned and hurried out the room.
"Soooo," said Ron slowly, a smug expression on his face. "A lot of girls find me good looking do they?"
"Oh yes," agreed Luna. "But they also think you're a bit of a hot-head who loses his temper too easily!"
"Can't argue with that Ron!" chuckled Harry as Ron scowled slightly.
"I'm not that bad!" grunted Ron. "Ginny's worse! She can get crankier than Mum at times!"
"Actually that's probably true," admitted Ginny with a sigh as she pulled a hand through her hair. "I guess having six brothers, three of whom were constantly winding me up, didn't help!"
"I never picked on you!" protested Ron. "I didn't dare!"
"I wasn't talking about you, you twit!" replied Ginny. "I was talking about that pompous twerp Percy! You were just a slight irritation in comparison!"
"Hey," snapped Ron glaring at his sister who was now grinning broadly whilst Harry turned to Hermione.
"You know, I love all these warm Weasley family moments we witness don't you?"
"Oh yes," replied his girlfriend. "Moments like this make me glad I'm an only child!"
Almost as soon as the words were past her lips Hermione wanted nothing more than the ground to open up and swallow her.
"Oh god!" she moaned in horror. "Harry, Luna! I'm so sorry! I didn't…."
"Hey," said Harry quickly putting an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders as tears started to trickle down her face. "It's alright; we know you didn't mean anything by it, right Luna?"
"Of course we do," replied Luna with a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry about it Hermione, it was just a slip of the tongue."
Hermione now wiped her sleeve across her face and gave Luna and then Harry a weak smile.
"Thanks guys."
"No problem," said Harry before placing a quick kiss on Hermione's temple.
"So, eh, you guys done?" asked an uncomfortable looking Ron from beside Luna whilst Ginny who looked just as uncomfortable as her brother shifted in her seat.
"Yeah, we're done," replied Harry as he gave Hermione another squeeze.
"Good," sighed Ron in relief. "'Cause things were getting a little awkward for a moment back there!"
"Sorry about that Ron," sniffed Hermione causing Ron to grin whilst he gave a small shrug.
"Don't worry 'bout it," he grinned. "Anyway, come on. You said you'd look at my Charms essay!"
"Alright," sighed Hermione rolling her eyes before turning to Harry. "And I suppose you want me to take a look at yours as well?"
"Well," said Harry slowly as a wry grin crossed his face. "I think I've covered everything Flitwick went over with us but if you're offering I wouldn't say no!"
***
The rest of the evening saw the five remaining Marauders checking and completing homework until finally just before nine they packed their bags and left the Marauder Common Room and made their way back down the corridor into the DADA classroom.
"I'll, eh, catch up with you guys in a minute or two," said Ron as he took hold of Luna's hand in the doorway causing a dreamy smile to cross the Ravenclaw's face whilst Harry smirked at his best male friend.
"Okay mate, don't do anything I wouldn't do!"
"Wouldn't dream of it!"
"And don't take to long," added Hermione. "Filch is in a real mood at the moment and prefect or not, if he catches either of you there'll be trouble!"
"Yeah, Yeah," said Ron with a grunt. "Now get out of here, I want to snog my girlfriend and I don't want an audience!"
"Alright, we're going!" said Ginny with a snort. "Luna, just make sure you don't snog him to hard or his brain might melt!"
"Don't worry, I won't," replied Luna whilst Ginny ignored her brother's glare. "See you in the morning."
"Night," called the other three and started down the corridor leaving Ron and Luna to have a private moment together.
***
"Evening dearies," said the Fat Lady a few moments later as Harry and the two girls reached the portrait hole. "Password please."
"Nosebleed Nougats," said Harry who along with Ginny both smirked at the look of annoyance that now crossed Hermione's face as the portrait swung open.
"It's so totally irresponsible having a password like that," she muttered as she made her way through the portrait hole. "It's just encouraging the younger students to order more of the damn things!"
Harry now shot Ginny a grin behind Hermione's back which the youngest Weasley returned before she made her way after Hermione with Harry bringing up the rear.
"Hey, Harry, Gin!" called a voice. "Over here!"
The three turned to see Katie Bell waving an arm frantically, a beaming grin on her face.
"Go on," said Hermione turning to Harry. "I want to find Jon and Rosie anyway and have a word about that password!" And with that she turned and headed towards the far left hand corner of the room where a group of seventh years including the two Senior Gryffindor Prefects, Jonathan Gibbs and Rose Munroe, where sitting.
Harry now turned and along with Ginny made their way to where Katie was standing, the grin still lighting up her face.
"What's up?" asked Harry.
"Oh, nothing much," replied Katie. "Apart from the fact that Slytherin are in trouble!"
"Why? Who got injured?" asked Ginny.
"Their chaser Harris and Babington the seeker had a collision," came Katie's reply. "But that's not the best part. After those two collided Montague ripped into the rest of the team for about ten minutes! Anyway, after he'd done Bulstrode said something that got him even more mad and then he yelled 'I quit!' and stormed off.
"Blimey," murmured Ginny. "Are they going to be able to field a team on Saturday?"
"Dunno," said Katie with a shrug. "But even if they do their not gonna have anytime to prepare properly!"
"What happens if they can't play?" asked Harry.
"Depends," said Katie. "If their just a player short then we play but anymore than that and we get a snitch win."
"One-hundred and fifty points straight in the bank," murmured Ginny. "I wouldn't argue with that but I'd prefer to play a game!"
"So would I," admitted Harry. "But in the meantime as far as training goes we've still got a game on Saturday and that's all that matters."
***
By next morning the news of the chaos surrounding the Slytherin team was the hot topic throughout the school especially after Montague and Casper Yaxley, another of the teams Chasers had a fight in the Entrance Hall after Yaxley had called him a Mudblood coward. After the pair had been patched up by Madam Pomfrey they'd been given both been given a month's worth of detentions by Professor McGonagall and docked twenty-five points each which had made them far from popular with Snape and the rest of the Slytherins.
Harry and the Gryffindor team meanwhile did exactly what Harry wanted and ignored the internal fighting that seemed to be enveloping their opponents and after dinner that evening trooped down to the Quidditch Pitch.
While the others lead the way Harry cast a look back towards the school and sighed. Hermione, Luna and Neville were starting their fitness training tonight and so for the first time in quite a while Hermione wouldn't be there to watch.
There was of course the benefit (albeit slight in Harry's opinion) that he could practice some of his more dangerous moves without scaring Hermione out of her wits and getting threatened with being hexed when he got back down to the ground.
"Hey Harry! You coming?" At the sound of his name Harry pulled his gaze from the castle and turned to see Ron and the others about halfway down the path toward the castle.
"Sorry guys," he called grinning sheepishly as he jogged down the path to catch up with them. "Got a bit distracted."
"No need to ask why," chuckled Ron causing Seamus and Dean to snigger until they suddenly both yelped as Ginny smacked them on the back of the head.
"Hey!" said Dean as the pair both rubbed their heads. "What was that for?"
"Being a pair of dirty minded gits!" growled Ginny. "Anyway come on! We're wasting time!" And with that she turned and started back down the path towards the Stadium.
Harry and Ron shared a grin before making their way past Dean and Seamus who were still rubbing their heads and jogged after Ginny who was now smirking slightly.
"Nice shot sis," chuckled Ron.
"Thanks," said Ginny. "Oh, nearly forgot!" And with that she clapped Ron on the back of her head causing Ron to wince before turning and glaring at his sister.
"Oi!"
"Well don't say I haven't warned you!" retorted Ginny with a grin. "Now come on! I need to get my eye in for Saturday!"
"Not tonight you're not!" grunted Ron as he rubbed the back of his head whilst scowling at his sister.
***
Practice, in Harry's opinion, couldn't have gone better. Ginny, Katie and Vicky were gelling into well organised unit. Seamus and Dean were hitting the bludger as if it was second nature and Ron was saving almost everything the girls threw at him. In fact he was as good as his word and whilst Katie and Vicky both put a few shots past him he managed to keep every shot Ginny took he turned away much to her visible frustration.
"Good work mate!" called Harry from above as he watched Ron catching a shot by Ginny almost hanging upside down from his broom whilst Ginny pounded her fist on the handle of her broom in annoyance. "Okay guys, let's call it a night!"
The team now all slowly headed back to earth and trooped back to the changing rooms chatting happily with the exception of Ginny who seemed a little unhappy.
"You Okay Gin?" asked Harry as he fell into step beside her.
"Apart from absolutely sucking out there?" asked Ginny glumly causing Harry to chuckle.
"Don't worry about it! Ever Chaser has days when they can't score and your passing was still great! And it's not as if you were off target either, Ron just had one of those evenings!"
"I guess," replied Ginny but she certainly looked happier. "Thanks Harry."
"No probs," said Harry as he stopped by the door for the boys' section of the locker room. "See you upstairs!"
"Okay," said Ginny before disappearing into the girls' section whilst Harry stepped through the door into the boys' area.
"What did my sister want?" asked Ron as he stripped off his jersey and tossed it into the washing basket.
"Just needed a bit of a pep talk," replied Harry as he sat down on the bench and started to unstrap his pads. "She wasn't too happy about her performance tonight."
"Ah," said Ron with a knowing grin. "She was pissed she couldn't score past me right?"
"That's about the size of it," admitted Harry at which Ron nodded slowly.
"Her problem is she relies too much on the moves Bill and Charlie taught her," he said as he sat down on a bench and started to unstrap his arm pads. "What she needs a few moves of her own!"
Here Harry pursed his lips then grinned.
"There are some moves for chasers in my book. I'll dig it out for her!"
"Good idea," agreed Ron with a grin of his own as he grabbed his towel and headed for the showers.
Harry now removed his jersey and tossed it into the laundry hamper and then opened his kitbag to retrieve his own towel and shower gel only to find a scrape of parchment with his girlfriend's familiar scrawl on it.
You know where.
Harry felt a grin cross his face before he screw the parchment up and tossed it to the small stove that warmed the changing room then grabbed his towel and made his way to the showers where he showed quickly before heading back to the locker room.
"Meeting Hermione then?" asked Ron with a chuckle as he rubbed his hair with his towel.
"Yup," said Harry as he pulled on his jeans. "You meeting Luna?"
"Room of Requirement," said Ron, the grin on his face broadening widely.
"Well, have fun," replied Harry as he slipped on the t-shirt he'd brought with him before stuffing his uniform into his bag.
"You too," snorted Ron as he chucked his gloves and pads into the bag and then hurried through the door just as Dean and Seamus walked back from having their showers.
"Where's he's going in such a hurry or do we need to ask?" asked Dean with a grin.
"Now what kinda crazy question is that? Gonna to snog Luna 'asn't he?" snorted Seamus before he turned to look at Harry. "An' I suppose you'll be off to find Hermione won't yea?"
Here Harry raised an eyebrow before giving a grin.
"Now Seamus, I'm not one for kiss and tell, you know that!" he replied with a chuckle. "See you guys later!" And with that he turned and head out the door after Ron leaving Seamus and Dean alone in the dressing room where the pair now exchanged knowing grins.
***
Harry made it back to the castle in a few minutes and after a quick trip to one of Filch's store cupboards to check the map he was making his way towards the Guest Quarters where he'd found the dot bearing Hermione's name. A further glance at the map showed him that Filch was tonight stashed away in his office as were most of the other teachers. The only one who wasn't was Professor Hedges whose dot had him at the top of the Astronomy Tower for some reason.
"Mischief Managed," murmured Harry as he slipped the map into his bag before slipping out the cupboard and racing up to South Wing where he slipped through the connecting door and made his way down the corridor.
On reaching the door to the room he paused and glanced left and then right and was just reaching for the doorknob when the door open and an arm shot out, grabbed the front of his t-shirt and pulled Harry into the room before slamming shut again at which point in flashed gold as a silencing charm came into effect.
For a moment a silence fell over the corridor broken only by an owl's hoot. Then there was a brief rustle of material before Albus Dumbledore stepped into the dim light cast by the torches followed by a surprised looking Emric Potter who walked past the Headmaster and stared at the door his grandson had just disappeared through whilst slowly running his hand through his hair.
"Gryffindor's Ghost!" murmured the younger man softly.
"I take it you were unaware of this development in Harry and Hermione's relationship?" said Dumbledore although he already knew the answer even as Emric turned to face him.
"No, no I didn't," murmured Emric before raising an eyebrow. "They've done a good job of hiding this. How did you find out?"
Here Dumbledore smiled before turning to look out of one of the windows.
"Have you noticed anything different in regard to Harry and Hermione's abilities in the last few weeks since Miss Granger's birthday?"
Emric had known Albus Dumbledore for over sixty years and had been friends with his former Headmaster and Mentor for nearly forty-five of them and so was well use to the Headmaster avoiding answering a question by asking one of his own and so instead of pressing Dumbledore for an answer to his question he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck as he thought back over the last few weeks.
Then slowly the pieces began to fall into place before his eyes.
"Now that you come to mention it I have," he murmured as he began clicking his fingers as he gathered his thoughts. "When we started the training Hermione was fine at one-on-one combat but if she had multiple targets she tended to struggle with her accuracy when she tried to get shots off quickly but then overnight she was suddenly able to pick them off with no problems whatsoever!"
"And Harry?" asked Dumbledore.
"Well, from what I've heard he's been performing a lot better in transfiguration and charms over the last few weeks," replied Emric as he now started to pace. "In fact I recall both Minerva and Filius saying Harry's even outperformed Hermione on a couple of occasions and that Harry was as surprised as anyone when he did the spells correctly." The younger man now turned to Albus with a curious expression to find the Headmaster once more looking at him.
"What the heck's going on Albus?"
Here Dumbledore pursed his lips and brought his hands together as if in prayer.
"Do you recall what I told you about what happened this summer?"
"You mean when Harry and Hermione blocked Voldermort from tampering with Harry's memories?" offered Emric. "Why? Has that got something to do with all this?"
"Indeed," replied Dumbledore. "Originally I believed that what Harry and Hermione had was a bond much like you and Margaret had, based around Occlumency and Legilimency. However I now believe that their bond goes further than that."
"How so?" asked Emric not even attempting to hide his curiosity.
"I believe that somehow this bond somehow enables them to 'share' their abilities," said Dumbledore slowly. "Where one is weak, the bond, which has now increased in power due to their intimacy, helps them grow strong!"
"So you're saying their shared bond has improved Hermione's combat skills and Harry's spell casting abilities?" murmured Emric. "Circe!"
"That is all speculation of course," Dumbledore added. "However, there is a precedent for this kind of bond. One buried right at the beginning of our history."
For a moment Emric's brow furrowed as he racked his brain back to his own school days when he would sit in Professor Binns classroom back when the old codger was still very much alive and listen to the old man drone on in his monotonous voice.
Then suddenly the answer sprang forward and Emric's eyes widened whilst Dumbledore smile as he slowly began to nod.
"I see you remember."
"You're talking about the bond that Merlin had with Nimue aren't you?" murmured Emric, his voice trembling slightly. "Wasn't it that bond that helped Merlin defeat Mab?"
"So it is written," Dumbledore agreed. "And it is also written that Godric was descend from Merlin and Salazar from Mab."
Emric now gave a low whistle and pulled his hand through his hair.
"Bloody hell!"
"I take it from that that you believe my theory to be correct then?" asked Dumbledore.
Emric now turned to his friend and nodded.
"Yeah, it sounds like you're onto something, but then Albus you've know about this 'bond' all along haven't you? That was why you brought Hermione to Hogwarts a year before she should have started isn't it?"
Dumbledore merely smiled.
"I felt the sooner the bond was established the better."
"And it is the Headmaster's privilege to allow students who show remarkable talent to start a year before they should," added Emric slowly. "So Hermione isn't a Muggleborn then?"
"No, but for all intents and purposes she is," replied Dumbledore. "It was her Great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother on her mother's who was the last witch in her family, but since then the powers have lain dormant and the magic forgotten only to remerge with Miss Granger."
"Fair enough," said Emric. "Okay, so if this bond improves their abilities how come Harry's still struggling in potions?"
"Ah well, the answer there is quite simple," replied Dumbledore. "The bond only influences magical abilities and magic is not required for the brewing of potions, a fact our own caretaker proves. Argus can, and does, brew most of his own cleaning potions but as we both know he has no magical powers whatsoever."
"Good point," Emric murmured as he stopped pacing and turned to Dumbledore. "So the bond doesn't help Harry in potions but it would say help Hermione fly a broom right?"
"Correct," agreed Dumbledore. "Although I doubt that would be of much comfort to Miss Granger due to her fear of heights."
"So the bond doesn't help that then either," chuckled Emric at which Dumbledore merely smiled as he shook his head in reply.
"Unfortunately it does not," said the Headmaster. "She would have to overcome that fear with her own courage." Here he now turned to Emric and looked over the top of his half-moon glasses at his younger friend. "So, do you understand what I have told you?"
Here Emric nodded slowly.
"Yes I do," he replied before pursing his lips thoughtfully. "So you really think this bond that they've got as well as the staff is what will bring Voldermort down?"
Dumbledore held Emric's gaze for a moment then turned towards the door to the room currently occupied by two of his finest students.
"Yes old friend, I believe that this is the key to destroying Voldermort. Once and for all!"