Author's Note: Due to a mistake in posting the last chapter, I accidentally placed in two copies of Chapter 10. One went in as 10 and the second was made Chapter 11. I quickly removed the duplicate. However, when I posted the actual Chapter 11, the site would not recognize it as a new chapter and so my fic was never bumped up. The moral of the story is that, in case you missed it, be sure to go back and read Chapter 11 before going on to Chapter 12 below. Thanks and sorry for the confusion. Btw - this chapter is short. I meant it to be. A lot of things happen in very little time. I didn't want to cram too much down your throat at once, so no complaining. ;-)
The Great Experiment
Hermione looked over at Harry and could not help but feel like her life was out of place. She was sure that the confession of love should have somehow changed everything. Instead, it was surprisingly the same. The furtive looks, the knowing smiles, and the feeling that the two of them were sharing an inside joke that the rest of the world could only guess at. These had been a part of who they were for so long that what should have been highlights of a blossoming relationship were merely commonplace.
After giving it some thought the only thing that made sense was in reality they had been sharing a relationship of love all these years, but only now found the courage and the time to delve into what was already there. Perhaps she had always loved him… with a quick knowing smile it made sense. Of course, things were not different. The only thing that had truly changed was they had finally admitted what had always been there. Love had been a constant companion she carried in her heart, but was too close to it to realize what it was.
Love is so funny she thought to herself. It's not at all what she imagined it to be, and yet it was so very much more. He had asked her to stay and made her promise to use words like 'love' and 'forever'. These words meant nothing in the world of academia, save for being afterthoughts in literature and poetry. Now, they meant something very personal to her. They were two words that described a deep part of who she was and they made her life seem so very much more whole than before.
"We ready?" Harry shouted.
"Everything looks good!" she shouted back.
With a funny grin he reached out and pulled firmly on the lever standing just a few feet from The Great Machine. Unlike all the creations by mad scientists in film, this marvel of science was extraordinarily quiet. The only real noise came at the release of hot water vapor from the steam engine that drove the machines hydraulics. With a powerful wooshing noise the outer brass shell lifted straight up into a large opening in the ceiling. Underneath it lay the heart of the whole thing. Brass and iron gears of various shapes and sizes were perfectly aligned and encircled what appeared to be a cushioned throne with long leather straps to hold a person inside. Claw like arms were holding everything in place, but were on an elaborate pulley system that would allow them to perform adjustments and perform feats that were impossible since when operated the outer covering would be in place.
Even stranger still were the magical runes etched with mathematical precision in various places. The hydraulic system was filled with a number of viscous enchanted potions carefully prepared. Even the central chair had a protective enchantment placed on it, to protect the person who was sitting inside the behemoth. Harry let out a low whistle of appreciation.
"Great, great grandfather Heaglevert was quite a man," he said reverently.
"Oh my yes," Hermione quickly agreed. "A mental giant for a man of his time. There are powerful magics here and at the same time he was using levels of science that few people could even begin to understand back then."
Hearing Hermione say that made Harry puff up with pride. The question still remained what exactly went wrong with the whole thing. Why was he not able to save Amelia?
"Amelia," Harry called out. "Are you there?"
"Of course I am silly. Did you think I would miss this moment?" she said in exasperation.
"She's here," Harry filled Hermione in. Since she was not near her grave or inside of Harry, Hermione had no way of knowing what she was saying.
"Did your father ever actually use this on you?"
"Yes. But it was before the machine was finished and he told me that it would not help me yet. He just needed to make sure that I would fit inside and be comfortable and safe. It didn't hurt at all. It was a little scary, but I trust my papa."
"Did he say what was missing when he did the trial run?"
"Papa said he left out the most important part on purpose. He said he would not do that until he made sure everything else was working."
"Was it? Working I mean?"
"Well… he was never very clear about that. Something had to channel all the magic through the person. The only way to channel the magic through a muggle was science he told me. That's all I know. I'm sorry. Then the ministry came and tried to make Papa stop. He pretended to destroy everything, but he really didn't. When it was all over he said we were going to do it for real the next day, after he finished the last few things. But, I… I died in my sleep that night…"
Her voice trailed off into a whisper. Harry turned to Hermione and repeated everything that she had said. Hermione mutely nodded her head in understanding. If the ministry had not meddled then he would not have lost any time and would have been able to use the machine to try and save her. Instead, that lost time translated to failure and the death of his youngest daughter. He was never the same after that. He simply closed the cellar up and walked away from it all. He then wrote six more pages into his journal, but what he wrote was now gone. Torn from the binding and forever lost to the world.
Hermione bit her lip in thought.
"Harry, ask Amelia what her father was going to use to channel the magic."
Though Hermione could not hear Amelia, she could hear her quite well.
"Papa had a very special lens. He said it was the same kind of lens used by a man named Galileo. I remembered the name 'cause it was kind of funny. I can't really remember what exactly it was though." Amelia said seriously.
Harry turned to Hermione and once again repeated what he had been told word for word.
"Interesting… Galileo she said? Then he was definitely using a telescope lens. How funny… but how incredibly simple. He treated magic as if it were light. Which of course is one of the least understood things in science. It acts like a wave, but at the same time it acts like particles. It still baffles many scientists even now. Who would have thought that a machine could be built that would somehow refine magic down to its simplest form and then treat it as if it were nothing more than common sunlight? Focus it down to a tight point and allow it to pass through a person's body. I can honestly say I have no earthly idea of how that would be done. Oh Harry, he is a genius. He is so far beyond my understanding I can't even being to tell you. So, that must be what he realized… that magic in its most basic and primitive state has the most amazing ability; to cure any illness known to mankind."
She slowly walked over to Harry and put her arms around him and began to weep. Harry was caught off guard and he was immediately concerned over her outburst. Something told him to say nothing at all, to just hold her. She cried and she cried.
After some time had passed he finally asked, "What… what's wrong? Why are you sad?"
She looked up at him with tears on her cheeks, "Harry, I'm not crying because I'm sad. I've just learned something that no other witch or wizard alive today knows. The real power of magic is not in our unwieldy spells, potions and hexes. It is much deeper and more important than that. Harnessing magic and pairing it with the knowledge of science has the power to change the whole world. To make it a better and safer place. The repercussions of what we've learned here will alter the course of every man, woman and child. I'm crying because I am overwhelmed with how important what we are doing really is. I'm crying because I'm happy."
Harry had no words to respond with and so he simply held her. In the room a ghostly girl was doing the same... crying tears of joy.
--- ---
Teebel was merrily cleaning up the breakfast nook when he realized that Harry and Hermione had not eaten here since they returned. Bili's letter was still sitting neatly on the table. He felt a bit of a panic realizing he had made a terrible mistake. He grabbed it and quickly made his way down to find Harry and try to make amends. He hoped that whatever the letter said would not come to Harry's attention too late.
Then he began to think of the possibility of Harry being very angry at him for forgetting to give him the important letter. What if he was so mad that he made Teebel leave? What if Teebel were to get replaced by a good house-elf who never forgets to give their master very important letters from their neighbor? There was nowhere else for him to go. This was his home. Harry was his family now and he had to serve his family. It was his life… it was everything…
He started to feel a terrible pain in his little heart. He began to hiccup as he worried more and more. Hard as he tried to stop, the hiccupping got worse. He covered his mouth and for the first time in a long time felt very afraid. He loved Harry.
As quick as the wind he apparated to his small cubby hole of a room and quickly stashed the parchment under the small cot that he slept on each night. He decided if he just pretended it never happened everything would be alright. It was not really 'betraying' Harry Potter, he kept telling himself. Harry needed him here to take care of him and pretty Herm-i-nee. Harry would be lost without him if he made him go away. Yes, that was it… he was doing this for Harry's own good. With that he went about his daily routine trying very hard not to think about it.
--- ---
"The tide seems to be going down," Neville announced.
Ginny looked over and agreed with him.
"If we don't mind getting a little wet, we could wade through the water and get back to the beach," he continued.
"Okay," Ginny nodded, "let's do it then."
The two of them scrambled down the tunnel and worked their way through the push and pull of the waist high waves. After about ten minutes of struggling they both came out of the cave entrance into the daylight. The fog had lifted and everything was clear and smelled like fresh, salty ocean air.
Holding each other's hands they silently began to follow their original path, backtracking to where they decided Leakwood Manor actually was located.
Off in the distance, in the opposite direction stood a long, sinewy figure. Holding itself up with a crooked cane he watched as the two of them began to make their way. His hoarse voice was heard by no one.
"Hurry now little children. I have bought all the time I needed. You can run to your little friends now. Everything is set in motion and I can smell my victory on the summer wind."
--- ---
"THERE IS NO WAY HERMIONE!"
"Stop shouting, I'm right next to you," she replied calmly.
The two of them were standing at the top of the stairs just down the hall from the cellar.
"You are most definitely NOT going to be a guinea pig. I absolutely refuse to do this," he exclaimed angrily.
She knew his anger came from his fear. She could read him like a first year spell book.
"I'll be perfectly safe. What better test can you run then on a live subject? Especially one who can accurately describe everything that happens to them. It makes complete sense for me to be the one," she said calmly.
"If anyone should be risking their life it should be me," he implored.
"No one's life is being risked Harry. Amelia told you that nothing happened to her when she experienced it. Plus, no one should be pulling the on-switch for this thing except for you. The switch is in your family crypt for goodness sake. I absolutely promise you that nothing will happen to me."
"You promise? I can't lose you… I just can't."
"You won't," she replied soothingly. "I want to do this. Let me do this for you Harry."
Harry dropped his head and let out a long sigh.
"Alright, but… just be careful."
"I'm in your hands Harry and I trust you implicitly."
"Yeah, well… that might be a mistake," came the grumpy reply.
Hermione laughed. Despite the passing years, some things about Harry never changed.
"Before we do this, I just thought of something," Harry told her.
"What's that?"
"What does knee cartilage have to do with the machine anyways?"
"Um, you lost me Harry."
"When I first found the journal I read something about the 'Faultless Meniscus'. Isn't meniscus the cartilage in your knee?"
Hermione smiled, "Yes, there is cartilage in your knee called the meniscus. However, the word has multiple meanings. I'm confidant that is not the meaning Heaglevert was using. Faultless of course being a synonym for perfect is the easy part. Meniscus, in this case, is an old term used for a lens. So, to put it plainly, the book was referring to a perfect lens. I take that to mean, that we are going to need to get our hands on one reeeeally well made and polished telescope lens for it to work right."
"Oh… that makes a lot more sense. Where are we going to get one?"
Hermione thought for a second and said, "Well, there is an excellent astronomy shop in Diagon Alley. We can definitely get one there. They use magic to ensure that their lenses are one hundred percent aberration free."
"Oh good, that's a relief. I was worried it might be hard to get one," Harry replied.
"Well, in your great, great grandfather's time it certainly would have been. Which is why he most likely stressed it in his journal."
Harry shook his head, "To be honest, I do hate having to take the extra time to go all the way out there to get one."
A tiny clearing of the throat came from a few feet away.
"Perhaps Harry would ask his two friends to be getting one for him," Teebel said with a happy expression.
"Two friends?" Hermione asked.
"There is being a shy young man and a nice young lady with very much red hair waiting in the entrance to be seeing you."
Harry and Hermione looked at each other with surprise. It slowly turned to broad grins. They grabbed each other's hands and bounced up the stairs, down the hall and into the foyer. There waiting for them were two tired looking, but a happy Ginny and Neville.
Hermione looked down and pointed at Neville and Ginny holding hands. Ginny then immediately pointed at her and Harry holding hands. Neville smile at Harry and Harry smiled right back. Then the inevitable happened. Ginny and Hermione completely lost their collective minds. They both squealed at a pitch reserved for soprano opera singers and five year old little girls. Then with sheer abandon they threw their arms around each other and began to giggle hysterically.
Ginny spoke first, "So, you're with…"
Hermione bounced in, "And, you're with…"
They both squealed again and grabbed each others hands and jumped up and down both telling each other how happy they were for one another. Looking appropriately embarrassed Harry and Neville just gave each other goofy grins and waited for the two girls to come back down to the land of slightly more normal. They had to wait awhile.