Unofficial Portkey Archive

Harry sat in a trance like state. Amelia was guiding his every move. This time was different though. Hermione was not an outside observer; she was a part of it. With each twist of his wrist or click of a piece, Amelia spoke through Harry. His voice was hers and in spite of the fact they were far from her final resting place, it allowed Hermione and her to communicate. Amelia spent most of the time just talking. She asked questions that most people would think silly or inane, but Hermione treated each one with care.

"Are you sure Harry can't hear my answers?" Hermione asked for the second time.

"I'm sure," Amelia giggled, "he's sort of in a different place right now. He's perfectly content reaching inside of himself and recreating my papa's work. I'm using his ears right now, so he can't. Only one person can use a part of the body at one time. Not sure why, but it just seems to work that way."

It was disconcerting to hear the answers of a young girl in Harry's voice, but Hermione tried her best to ignore how strange it was.

"So, go ahead and ask something else," Hermione prodded.

"What's your favorite color?"

Hermione thought for a moment, "Well, it used to be something different when I was your age, but I guess if I had to pick now it would be… green."

Amelia laughed as she said, "My, my where have I seen that color before? Hmmm, oh that's right that would be the color of his eyes."

"Whose eyes?" Hermione replied.

Amelia laughed even harder, "As if you didn't know! Let's see… 'Harry' has green eyes."

"I didn't notice," Hermione said curtly.

Amelia was giggling so hard that Harry's body was having a difficult time putting the pieces together.

Amelia suddenly stopped and gasped.

"He's done it…" she whispered.

Immediately she pulled out of Harry and floated nearby. Left to admire the finished handiwork, Harry wiped a touch of sweat off his brow and smiled.

"Right, so it's done then… and would you look at that, it's amazing."

Hermione could not agree more. There on the table was a complete mockup of the machine. They finally realized why the model looked so different from what was in the center of the room. The huge pipe in the middle was some kind of covering or sleeve that protected what was inside of it. For lack of a better term it appeared to be a sort of throne or large chair that would become perfectly sealed when the machine was activated. The nearby lever was obviously nothing more than a toggle to open and close the protective copper shell. Once opened a person could be comfortably strapped inside. Then, when the lever was pulled again to close it, the machine could be activated.

"So, how do you activate it?" Harry mused.

"Even with the outer shell, from what I can tell from Heaglevert's notes, the machine is far too dangerous to have anyone else inside the room while it is operating. The mechanism to start the thing will be somewhere outside of the laboratory," Hermione spoke authoritatively.

"So, I guess we need to find it then," Harry resigned.

"I already have my suspicion," she paused.

"Well, spill it then," Harry said with interest.

"The mechanism would have to be somewhere very close to the machine without actually being inside the room. Since the ground below us is solid stone and dirt, we would need to look directly above."

Harry pondered for a moment, "If we went outside the door and down the hall to the stairwell and then up to the next level… we would have to double back to where we are now which would put us right in…"

The two of them turned and looked at each other with wide grins.

"The crypt!" they exclaimed simultaneously.

With that they both jumped up and down and cheered loudly. Harry grabbed Hermione by the hands and they both began to spin around the room with glee. When they both become dizzy they stopped and Harry quickly pulled Hermione in close to him.

"You're a genius Hermione. I know you hear it all the time, but the difference is that I truly appreciate it in a way that no one else could possibly understand. In all my life I've never met anyone as amazing as you."

Hermione wrapped her arms around him and held him as tight as she could. Why was it that every time Harry paid her a compliment she would feel as tall as Hagrid? It was almost as if his words could make her feel like she was on some pedestal looking down at the world beneath her feet. Her hands would sway in the clouds and her head would touch the stars.

"It's like I've always said dear Harry. I may be smart, but you'll always be the hero."

"The hero? No Hermione, the fact of the matter is that no hero is a hero, unless someone makes them that. And you… you've always been the one who's had the gift of making me a hero. I'll never forget everything you've done for me. Never."

She knew she should probably let go, but that was the last thing she actually wanted to do. Holding him and being held, was the only place on earth she ever really wanted to be. Even if the rest of the world would slowly forget him, she would always look at his face and see The-boy-who-lived; the greatest hero of them all.

--- ---

Amelia watched the two of them and felt a bit jealous. Not that she begrudged Harry being with Hermione. She just missed physical contact. The idea of hugging someone or being hugged was something she dearly missed from back when she was alive. After watching them and seeing the expression on their faces it began to dawn on her. She might have been nine when she died, but she had learned a few things since then. She had seen a woman look at a man like that before. It was the way her mama used to look at her papa. She sighed and shrugged her ghostly shoulders. It could be worse. They could be kissing. That would have been gross.

--- ---

Bilibaum had walked into the run down manor with a dejected look on his face. Again he had followed yet another false lead. How many more times was he going to have to face disappointment? How many more avenues would run dry before Colette ran out of time? He was beginning to face the reality of his situation. If Harry Potter did not figure out that old machine in his cellar, than the love of his life would die. If anyone could figure it out, it would be Harry; especially now that his smart friend had shown up to help him out. If the two of them could not break Heaglevert's code than most likely nobody could. He had been in contact with an old friend who knew Harry quite well and he had been assured that Potter was the right man for the job.

It took all he had not to rush over to Leakwood Manor everyday and breathe down Harry's neck until he figured the damnable thing out. He knew that would be counterproductive. People do not tend to work well doing scientific study with some maniac pushing and prodding. He thought about telling Harry how important the machine was to him. What it might mean if he could get it working, but he knew the less people knew about the whole thing the better. If the ministry were ever to catch wind that the Leakwood family secret had the possibility of rearing its ugly head again, they would be on Harry like a pack of wolves.

So, all he could do until then was to exhaust every other possibility. The old medicine man in Peru had actually heard of the strange malady that had befallen Colette. He said that his grandfather had told him about an entire village in the Andes that had been wiped out in a matter of three or four years. What a terrible waste. All that life taken before its time, and in such an awful and painful way. He knew Colette was suffering. He knew that she was beginning to give up, if she had not already.

The thing that tore him up inside is that the healers at St. Mungos would probably be able to find a cure for it, if they pooled their knowledge and magic into researching it. However, he had been informed many times that was not going to happen. It was not a disease that affected witches and wizards. It only affected muggles and the rule was fast and firm. The magical community does not meddle in the affairs of muggles. The ministry would only involve themselves in the muggle world when the magic world spilled over into it and they had to 'clean up' after the fact. However, they were certainly not going to allow the muggle problems to spill over into their affairs. It was after the eighth rejection from the ministry and St. Mungos that Bili decided enough was enough. He turned his back on his wizarding fortune and his place in wizard high society. If he could not get the wizarding community to help the sister of his best friend, then he wanted nothing to do with them.

Shortly after that his best friend had died in a terrible accident and everything changed. Colette had no other family and so he took her in. She had been used to living a wealthy life as her family had been quite well off. However, his friend had spent the entire fortune on trying to find a cure for her. He died a pauper. Bili also separated from his fortune had only this old estate to turn to. It had been left to him by an eccentric Uncle, so he took Colette and the two of them moved in here. As time passed, the friendship he shared with her had become so much more. He had fallen deeply in love with her and she him. Colette and her brother never had any idea he was a wizard, and since he had turned his back on the wizarding world he felt no need to ever tell them. Her life was already plenty complicated enough without having to cope with the idea that there was magic in the world; especially when that same magic had turned its back on people like her.

He had finally made it to the top of the stairs. He heard violent weeping coming from the sitting room. He rushed down the hall and burst into the room. There was Colette sitting naked on the floor sobbing. In her left hand was a strange looking mirror. He recognized it immediately. It was an all-seeing mirror of true sight. It could allow anyone to see themselves as they really were, even if they could not see on their own. If a person were transfigured into some animal and looked in the mirror, they would see themselves as they look when they are in their true human form. If a person were rendered invisible they would see themselves without any problem. The one thing Bili had prayed would never happen, somehow had. Magic had intruded into their lives and had done terrible damage.

He had no idea of how she got a mirror like that. He certainly never had such an item. That was of no consequence now. For now, she had one in her hand and in spite of her blindness she could gaze into it and see her own reflection. Her skin had become mottled and gray. The illness caused the muscles to become all contorted. This would cause a persons face and body to become crippled and disfigured. Terrible sores would develop all over and would leave deep pocks. Colette had once been a woman of great beauty, but now she looked almost like death itself. These things did not matter to Bili. He hid her body so that if others would see her, she would not hear them gasp in horror. Bili saw past all that and saw that she was truly beautiful on the inside as well.

How could he explain to her that he had been lying about her appearance all this time? She was stricken with grief when faced with the reality of what this illness had done to her. How could he possibly undo the damage that been done?

"Colette, my dear…"

"Don't! Don't you dare call me dear! You lied to me Bili! You've been lying to me this whole time!"

"I'm so sorry. I should have told you, but I just couldn't do it. I didn't want you to think that you were any less beautiful then you have always been." Bili replied softly.

"That's NOT what I'm talking about! So, what am I to you?! Do you wizard people consider us 'muggles' to be your pets? Are we your playthings?!"

"No! What on earth would make you think that I see you like that Colette? I love you. You have to know that."

"Do you? I don't know what's real or what isn't. How could you be a wizard? How could magic actually exist? It doesn't make any sense. If I had known how awful this illness has ravaged my body I never would have agreed to you gallivanting all over the world to find some cure that doesn't exist! I don't want to keep living if this is what I've become. I want you to let me die! Do you hear me?! I want to DIE!"

Bili began to feel the edge of hysteria welling up inside of himself. He was fast losing control of this situation and he had no idea of what to do.

"Please don't say that Colette. Please, I love you and I want you to stay right here with me. I promise no more going abroad. No more. I'll just stay right here with you."

Colette began to weep all over again.

"You don't get it to do you. I don't want to live with you anymore. I don't want to live anywhere anymore. I don't want to be trapped in this body for another minute. I just want it to be over. I'm so tired of fighting it. The pain has gotten so unbearable. I can't go on. Why won't you let me go?"

"Because I love you and I thought you loved me? I know you love me. You have to! I won't let you leave and I won't let you hurt yourself. Since you know that I am a wizard now, then you know that I have the power to keep you safe and to prevent you from hurting yourself."

"I knew you would say that," Colette said accusingly. "Don't you worry, I've already fixed that little problem."

"What are you talking about?"

"I sent one of those owl thingies. I wrote a letter and I sent it with those wizard owls."

"What owl? What letter?"

"I wrote a letter to your wizard magic ministry and I told them about what Harry Potter is doing over at the Leakwood place. That's right, I heard all about it. I won't let you keep me trapped in this body any longer. Even if you cure me, the damage has already been done. I can't live like this."

"You wrote… to the ministry… about the machine? Oh Colette… you have no idea of what you've done."

"Oh, but I do! That old Griltskin fellow told me everything. He said the ministry will come down and shut that wizard contraption down. You can't force me to get cured by that hideous thing."

"No Colette, you've got it all wrong. They'll destroy the machine all right. Then they'll arrest Harry and Hermione and lock them up in Azkaban. A terrible, horrible wizard prison that is far worse than any prison the muggle world has ever come up with. They'll go there and never be let out. The ministry is afraid of Heaglevert's machine. They always have been. They had no idea that it even still existed anymore. Old Heaglevert had placed some extremely powerful enchantments on the manor that hid what was inside even from the most powerful wizards. He even made a show of destroying The Great Machine to prove that he was not continuing the work. He only destroyed a prototype of it. The real thing was still intact. Sitting, waiting for someone of the Leakwood family blood line to return and finish the work."

"P..prison? They'll send Hermione to wizard prison? Why would they do that? She's a good person."

"Because the ministry is very afraid of the machine. Of what it would mean. It would mean that wizards would have the ability to heal the most awful curses of the muggle world. Curses like cancer, incurable viruses, birth defects and many other things. Wizards would no longer be able to hide themselves from the world. Knowing they could cure all of these ills, their conscience would not let them remain in hiding any longer. As long as the machine does not work and the ministry could keep it hidden from the general wizarding population, then they could pretend that it never existed in the first place. They will do anything to keep it from seeing the light of day. And that includes locking up Harry and Hermione then throwing away the key."

While Bili was explaining all of this, the look on Colette's disfigured face began to change. She began to realize that she had been confused and angry by the things Griltskin had told her. How could she accuse Bili of not treating her with anything less than perfect dignity? He had given up everything that he once had for her. She could see that now, and worst of all she had betrayed two perfect strangers. She did not do it out of any sense of reason. She did it simply because she was hurt and her thoughts had become all muddled when the strange old wizard had talked to her. Now her head was clear and she was horrified by what she had done. Out of selfishness she had betrayed her dearest Bili and her new friend Hermione. She would have given anything to take it all back. But now, it was far too late.

--- ---

Neville and Ginny were holding hands as they stepped onto the muggle train. The nice folks at the local tavern had given directions on how to find Harry's place. They both sat down and Neville noticed that Ginny had not bothered to let go.

"Is this okay?" Neville asked pointing to their hands with his free one.

Ginny looked down and then said, "How funny, I didn't even realize we were still holding hands. Yeah, it's alright. Actually, it feels kind of nice."

Ginny, after kissing Neville like he had never dreamed of being kissed, sat him down and had a long talk with him. She was very honest about what she was thinking and about her feelings. She knew that things were very lopsided between them. Neville had already come to the conclusion that he loved her, but she was just starting to see the possibilities of having any feelings for him. She said she knew that it wasn't fair that he would have to wait for her to sort through her own emotions. However, she also pointed out that it wouldn't be fair for him to expect her to be at the same level that he was overnight.

Neville agreed with all of the things she said to him. It was the most serious and intimate conversation he had ever had with another human being. Even though it was not everything he hoped it would be, it still was the beginning of what might end up being something special between them. He knew the possibility for love was there, but also the possibility of just being good friends was there as well. He was honest and told Ginny that what he was really hoping for was both at the same time. She smiled at him and told him that no matter what she would treat him with the kindness and respect that he deserved.

In the end he decided that he had waited this long for her, he could wait even longer. She was worth it. Plus, this was going to be a lot more fun, because instead of wondering if there could ever be anything between them from far away, they were figuring it out together. Together was a very nice word in Neville's book.

In a rare display of romantic courage Neville asked, "So, how long before we can kiss again?"

Ginny laughed warmly and laid her head to rest on his shoulder.

In a gentle voice she replied, "I'll tell you what. We've got some time to kill before we get to our stop. So, why don't we play a little game? I want to get to know you better. Here's how it will work. I get to ask you any question I want and you have to answer it honestly. Then as a reward, for your turn you can either ask me a question that I have to answer, ooor… you can kiss me. Then I get to ask another question and we'll keep going like that. What do you think?"

Neville blinked, "That has got to be the best game I have ever heard of in my whole life. Let's play this game a lot."

Ginny laughed and they started. They played it the whole way there.