The Weak Fall First by elizabella Rating: PG13 Ship: Harry & Hermione Canon: Books 1 - 5 Genre: Action/Adventure, Mystery Status: In progress Length: 11,003 words in 8 chapters Published: 29 Oct 2004 Last updated: 2 Nov 2004 Introducing a new character into the Harry Potter world: A smart, cunning, powerful, beautiful witch of extrodinary powers and talent. But is she with Voldemort? Or is this the beginning of a new evil, a darkness more deadly and ruthless than anything before, and can anyone stop her from getting what she wants?... Total power and control over the magical community of Britain, and she'll do anything to reach her goal.... From the Unofficial Portkey Archive: https://portkey-archive.org/story/3186/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Prologue The shrouded figure crossed the courtyard silently, invisibly, and came to a stop in front of the manor. A sinister smile played her lips, and she quickly ascended the worn stone steps leading to the great oak door. As her feet reached the top steps, the hair on the back of her neck stirred and she felt the air around her crackle with tension. She immediately knew she was not alone. Instinctively, she turned, dropping into her duelling stance as she spun. She scanned the ground ahead of her. Empty. She had expected as much, he always did like to sneak around under that cloak of his. Predictably, she heard the shout: ‘accio invisibility cloak!’ and resisted the urge to laugh as no cloak flew into his outstretched hand. The young man pulled off his own cloak, and stared around in confusion. She grinned. The now visible male swiftly approached the manor and hurried up the steps to where she was standing un-seen. She gracefully side-stepped and waited patiently as he magically opened the door to his house than no-one else could enter uninvited. As soon as he entered, she nimbly stepped in after him and the door creaked shut behind. Excellent. She hissed his name into the silence. He spun around, stunning spells flying from his mouth. She dropped to the floor and grinned evilly as he continued to look confused. A hint of fear in the depths of his eyes. He barked out ‘accio cloak!’ but again, no cloak came at his call. She smiled. She had different means of becoming invisible without the use of a pitiful cloak! She easily dodged the shower of clumsy spells aimed at the sound of her laughter, and came to a stop behind him. She placed her midnight black wand at the side of his head, and whispered two words in his ear ‘petrificus totalus!’ His wand clattered to the floor. She twirled to face him, grinning evilly. As she allowed herself to be seen, she raised her wand to point right between his eyes. She laughed at the look of shock on his face. Soon, very soon, she would hiss the words that would kill him, but first she wanted him to pay for his mistakes. Her perfect lips curved into a cruel smile. His screams as she tortured him would continue well into the night, but soon she would grow bored. A flash of green light. A thud of a body falling to the floor. Silence. …the last thing Hector Rookwood saw before he died was cunning, haunting, beautiful blue eyes…the eyes he knew so well…the eyes of his sister… ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. Preparations ‘“Ministry Raid at Death Eater Mansion uncovers dead body” ‘In the early hours of this morning, the Ministry of Magic conducted a raid at the home of a suspected death eater in Wiltshire. Upon entering the manor, the ministry Aurors came across a body hanging by a silver chain from a chandelier in the entrance hall of the 18th century residence. The body is thought to be that of the manor’s owner, Mr Hector Rookwood, but at the present time this cannot be confirmed due to the body’s current condition. Efforts are being made by St.Mungo’s top healers to identify the body. A spokeswoman from St.Mungo’s said this morning: “we believe that the body is Hector Rookwood, but don’t actually know yet, go away please, we‘re busy”. ‘The supposed body of Rookwood was hung from the chandelier after being burned with some kind of acid until no skin was left, and his features deformed by knife wounds. “This torture was methodical and expertly performed, must of hurt loads. It was not the cause of death though, we reckon he was finished off by Avada Kedavera”. this little speech by a Ministry ‘official’ was given to the Daily Prophet this morning. ‘The Ministry are quite sure the mutilated body is Hector Rookwood. He is the son of the infamous Algernon Rookwood, who has recently escaped from Azkaban prison with a group of death eaters. It is yet unknown whether Rookwood junior was a supporter of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, although a neighbour commented this morning: “dunno bout ‘im bein’ a death eater type, but ‘im and ‘is twin sister are well into the dark arts, whole family is! Up to their eyeballs in it, the lot of ‘em!” ‘The Ministry decline to comment on the reason for the raid on Rookwood’s manor, but it is suspected that Rookwood had in his possession a powerful dark artefact. The ministry was this morning in uproar as it seems the murderer of Hector Rookwood stole this object from a secret room, as the walls of the east wing of the manor were blasted apart, most likely by the dark spells Rookwood had allegedly placed around this room to stop anyone gaining entry. This apparently failed as the powerful object was stolen, and more besides. ‘The Aurors Department have failed to shed light on the situation, commenting “we can neither confirm or deny that Rookwood has this particular object, or that it was stolen from…” “Hold on a minute ’Mione, so they don’t actually know if he had this whatever-it-was then? They’re just guessing?” Ron looked at her bemusedly, clearly not understanding why there were so many gaps in the report. That makes two of us Hermione thought. She scanned the article again, with Harry looking over her shoulder at it. “hmmm” His eyes quickly moved down the page, “No mention of what this ‘powerful dark artefact’ is then?” Hermione stared down at the paper doubtfully. “But you’d think they’d know though, wouldn’t you?” “Well, maybe they do!” Came Ron’s voice from by the window. He looked at them in a superior knowing kind of way. such a bloody drama queen Hermione thought, rolling her eyes. Finally, after two minutes of knowing looks and his irritating pacing, she snapped “Well are you going to tell us your theory then or just continue being a prat?!” It was the beginning of August and once again they were at Grimmauld Place, which now belonged to Harry. Currently they were all sitting in Buckbeak’s room, occasionally tossing him dead rats. The reason for being stuck in that smelly, dirty room was to escape the frenzied scrubbing of the rest of the house, led by Mrs Weasley. Since the middle of July Harry, Ron and Hermione had been in Grimmauld Place, caught up in the desperately needed cleaning of Harry’s newly acquired, and now permanent, home. Never again would he have to go back to the Dursleys’. “weeellll” said Ron in that annoyingly superior voice, “Maybe the prophet know exactly what this ‘dark artefact’ is. Maybe they know what it does, and maybe they’ve been told be keep quiet. Maybe Fudge is leaning on them again, it’s happened before” he said with a nod in Harry’s direction. Hermione’s sceptical expression slowly faded. yes, she thought, it has happened before. All last year when the Ministry was denying Voldemort’s return. She frowned. This ‘powerful dark artefact’ would have to be extremely dangerous if Fudge didn’t let the prophet print its name and use. She glanced at Harry, he seemed to be thinking along the same lines, with that look of concentration on his face that she had come to know so well. Studying him a little closer, she took in his whole appearance. The same messy hair fell onto his face, half hiding the scar that had made him famous. The same vivid green eyes looked out at the world behind those round glasses of his. She frowned slightly. He looked different somehow, sadder maybe. He was still the same Harry he always was, but more defined, more real. She couldn’t help but wonder what was going through him mind, what he was feeling. Her eyes travelled down his body, taking in his hardened muscles, the contours of his arms, his chest. He had been working out almost none-stop since Sirius died. it must take his mind off the pain she mused. She couldn’t help but think he was preparing himself for something. Battles were inevitable this year though, and he was preparing himself in everyway possible. Hermione knew that none of them could afford to be lazy now, they had to be on their guard at all times, and Harry was right to be prepared. They had already had many sleepless nights studying new spells, potions and defences. Even Ron was happy to learn even the hardest and most complex spells. “What?” Harry was frowning quizzically at her. She realised she had been staring at him, lost in thought, for well over a minute now. She looked away quickly and, to her horror, blushed slightly. Harry just shrugged and shared a confused look with Ron, who muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “girls!”. Hermione opened her mouth to snap at him, but before she could, Harry cut in “You know what? I think Ron might actually be right.” Hermione continued to look extremely offended as Harry realised his mistake. He quickly amended it “ooops! Sorry ’Mione, I didn’t mean about the ‘girls’ comment! I was talking about what he said about the prophet, about it being stingy with information” Ron started looking extremely impressed with himself, and Hermione rolled her eyes at him, not that it had any effect. “And,” Harry continued, “I think its about time we got some proper answers. About everything.” Ok, now you’ve lost me Hermione thought. By hers and Ron’s quizzical expressions Harry realised he wasn’t being clear enough. He grinned at Ron. “your brothers haven’t left any of those new experiments of theirs lying around have they? You know, the spy flies?” Hermione instantly narrowed her eyes. “Harry Potter! What exactly are you going to do?” but she thought she already knew what was coming. The Order still would not let them attend meetings, and nobody would tell them much, which totally annoyed Harry and Ron, and, if she was honest, her too. She saw the look on his face and sighed. She wasn’t going to win, her protests would be useless, and Ron would side with Harry on this. She gave in. “Ok, what’s the plan?” Two days later a meeting of the Order was arranged. Harry and Ron spent the best part of the day before planning. They decided they would hide the spy fly in the meeting room, but soon found there was a problem. The fly might actually fly out of a door or window before the meeting had even started, so in the end Ron suggested that they tie the spy fly to a bit of string, then tie the end of it to a chair, so the fly couldn’t fly off. Harry provided a distraction (“Oops! Sorry, I didn’t mean to drop all those dung bombs, honest!”) while Ron slipped into the room where the meeting would take place, and tied the fly to a chair at the back of the room, where it would be least noticeable. Hermione would have no part in any of it, she thoroughly disapproved with the whole thing. The boys wouldn’t listen to her protests and warnings about what would happen if they were caught, so she occupied herself glowering at them and glancing darkly at the listening device that they had placed in Ron’s room. “Ah, come on ’Mione! It isn’t like we’re doing anything wrong!” Ron’s pleading only earned him a deadly glare and more arguments. “Nothing wrong! You are spying on good, respectable people!” “Oh and Snape too” Ron added smirking. She opened her mouth to correct him, but closed it again and marched off. Oh when will they learn?! she thought there’s no point in me trying to stop them though, although I thought Harry would at least listen! “What’s she flouncing off for anyway? Honestly mate, I don’t know about you, but I really don’t understand that girl!” Ron threw himself down on his bed and sighed. “I mean, really! You’d think she’d stop bossing us around by now, wouldn’t you? She’s not so bloody innocent herself!” Harry agreed, after all, hadn’t she actually asked what the plan was? He pushed himself off the chair and walked to the door. “I reckon she should talk to her about this though, or she wont speak to us for days. I’m going to find her.” A few minutes later Harry walked into Buckbeak’s room, and found her sitting by the wall, throwing rats to the hippogriff. He sat down on the floor next to her, and decided that it was best to wait until she calmed down. What does he want now? As if just coming in here and sitting next to me is going to make me less angry! She decided to stay silent, if he’s not going to talk first, I’m certainly not! After a minute of irritating silence, she finally snapped. “If you carry on with this ridiculous plan of yours Harry, I’ll…I’ll…I’ll tell Mrs. Weasley!” Harry gaped at her in amusement. “Naw, you wouldn’t do that ’Mione!” seeing the look on her face he continued “Ah come on! It’s not like you’ve never broken any rules!” Oh why does he have to do that? Grinning like that, so I don’t stay mad, its not fair! “Broken rules? Me?” she said indignantly, “I never break rules! And stop grinning at me Harry James Potter, it wont make any difference you know! I’m still mad!” she protested weakly. That just made him laugh. “Hmm… let me see… sneaking around after dark in my cloak? The time turner in our third year? The pollyjuice potion? Breaking Ministry decrees? Oh and lets not forget blackmailing Rita Skeeta! No, you’ve never broken any rules! And anyway, if you hadn’t read that article in the prophet to us, I wouldn’t have thought to spy on the Order would I? And, really, this is my house, isn’t it?! So I think I have a right to know what’s going on in my own living room, don’t you?” She frowned. Although she didn’t agree with the part about her breaking all those rules (so I bent a few, that’s not the same!), she had to admit he had a point. “Actually, I agree with you. You’d think after everything that’s happened, they’d let you go to those meetings, your right, it is your house now, and out of respect for Sirius you’d think they’d let you know what is going on, and let you have your say.” She was surprised to find she actually believed what she just said, the Order really weren’t being at all fair about all this. She glanced at Harry, and saw him lost in thought. A rush of sympathy flowed through her. “you really miss him don’t you?” he sighed and continued to watch un-seeing as Buckbeak tore up another rat. Hermione didn’t know what to do for him, she knew how angry he was about Sirius’ death, he blamed himself. Every time Sirius’ name was mentioned, his face would darken and he would promptly exit the room, leaving everyone staring after him with guilt and pity. She knew Harry hated their pity, she knew she would too. She slipped her arm round him, not knowing what else to do. She rested her head on his shoulder, whispering “I’m so sorry Harry”. she didn’t know what she was saying sorry for exactly, but it seemed the right thing to say. She didn’t know how long they sat there like that, each taking comfort in the other’s presence, but too soon Ron banged on the door, making them both jump, and Buckbeak snorted and toss his head in irritation. “Hey, Harry, you in there mate? Come on! The meeting’s about to start!” Harry stood up, reaching down to help Hermione up. He grinned at her “Oh come on, you’re not going to sit in here are you? When you could be finding out what’s going on?” She hesitated for a few seconds, then grabbed his hand. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. Information gained Dumbledore strode into the room and the babble of voices fell silent immediately. He looked around the room at them all, smiling politely. The room was slightly fuller than usual, when Fudge announced that Voldemort was indeed back, a steady stream of people had gone to Dumbledore looking to apologise for not believing him, and to help. Many of them were not at the meeting though, as only the most trusted members of the Order were permitted to be there. “Thank you all for coming at such short notice. There are a number of matters we need to discuss. The first, and possibly the most important, is Harry Potter. “As you all know, Sirius Black was murdered two months ago. I’m sure most of you are aware that Sirius was Harry’s godfather. In his will, he clearly stated that this house, and most of his possessions, including a considerable sum of money, are to be left to Harry. But also, before he died he requested that Harry be looked after by Remus Lupin. We have yet to tell Harry this, but, with his permission, Remus will become Harry’s legal guardian, a task that he is delighted to undertake. Now, the reason I am telling you this is because you will need to know the current state of things regarding Mr. Potter.” At this, Snape spoke up from the back of the room. “As much as we all love to hear about the latest drama in Potter’s tragic life, Professor, may I enquire as to the point in all this?” A few people scowled at the greasy haired potions master, there was no need to be disrespectful. “I’m sorry if I have not yet made my point clear Severus,” Dumbledore replied politely, “So now I will proceed to it. “You all know how much Harry Potter is hated by Voldemort, and his followers. Harry’s life is constantly at risk, and to reduce this risk to Harry, I would like to have four volunteers to be Harry Potter’s guards when he is outside the relative safety of Grimmauld Place and Hogwarts. At the end of this meeting, if any of you wish to volunteer yourselves, I will be most happy to take your names.” Once again Snape started to speak. “Professor, may I ask -” but he got no further than that before McGonagall cut in, irritated by his lack of respect. “Ah I see you can’t wait until the end of the meeting to offer your services?” A few people chuckled at the look on Snape’s face at the thought of being Harry’s guard. “Actually Minerva, I was going to ask why it is necessary for Potter to have escorts? He seems to manage to get into, and out of trouble perfectly well by himself. Why do we have to waste key members of the Order to protect him? And anyway, he wouldn’t like the idea. He would most likely think in that over-large head of his that it is an insult to his supreme power to suggest he needs babysitting!” A fierce argument broke out at this comment, until finally Dumbledore was able to restore order. It was decided that Harry was to have two guards at all times when out of school. “Now that that’s decided, we shall move on to other matters. Kingsley, please continue.” Kingsley Shacklebolt stood up and moved to the front of the room. “The first thing we must discuss is the murder that happened in Wiltshire two days a go, on the 3rd. St. Mungo’s have confirmed that the body was Hector Rookwood. Luckily for us, the prophet haven’t discovered that Rookwood was working for us, although they’ve been digging around. At the minute we have no leads on the person who tortured and killed him ,but both the Ministry and the Order have Aurors looking into it. Now, Rookwood’s killer must have known him well enough to know about his secret room, and he must have known what was in it. Fortunately, the daily prophet is keeping quiet about the object that was stolen. Rookwood had in his possession the Staff of Amaror. As some of you may know, this is an extremely powerful object that we need to recover as soon as possible. That was the reason for the ‘raid’ on Rookwood’s manor that night. It was all staged, so as not to alert the death eaters that Hector Rookwood was working for us. Unfortunately, someone else got there first. We don’t know whether this person was working for You-Know-Who or not, although we do know that their powers are considerable, no ordinary wizard could have got into Rookwood’s secret room without being torn apart.” After this a discussion took place, with people offering suggestions and theories as to what happened, while others asked questions. Snape sat at the back, silently fuming about Potter getting special treatment once again. He was also getting annoyed at the fly buzzing round his head, it had been there all meeting. He snatched it out the air in irritation and crushed it in his hand. Up in Ron’s bedroom the three spies grumbled in frustration as their fly was squashed, leaving them with a buzz of static to replace the interesting conversations going on in the meeting room downstairs. The following evening, Mrs. Weasley called Harry into the kitchen. Walking in, he found Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, Tonks and Bill Weasley waiting for him. He looked at them curiously, they all looked so serious, apart from Dumbledore who’s attention was currently fixed on the bag of mint humbugs in his hand. He looked up as Harry closed the door. “Have a seat Harry, we have some important business to discuss.” He gestured to the table on which a number of official looking papers were scattered. Harry sat down next to Mrs. Weasley who smiled brightly at him and looked to Dumbledore to continue. Dumbledore basically repeated what was said at the meeting the previous evening about Harry’s safety, editing out Snape’s comments. “On the table, Harry, are the documents you and Remus will have to sign, that is, if you agree to him becoming your legal guardian” Lupin looked slightly apprehensive, as if worried Harry might refuse. Harry couldn’t do that though, he knew it was Sirius’ wish that Remus became his guardian, and anyway, he could think of no-one he’d rather have, other than Sirius of course, he thought. He made up his mind. “Where do I sign?” After all the legal stuff was cleared up and the documents sent away with an owl, Dumbledore asked Tonks and Bill to step forward. He went on to explain the that they had volunteered to be Harry’s guards. Harry grinned. He thought he would be stuck with some strict wizards that wouldn’t let him do anything and whom he did not know. Instead he got two people who he knew and trusted, and were his friends. He frowned “but professor, how will they know if I leave the school?” Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled. “may I also introduce to you Hogwarts new Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers” he said, gesturing again to Tonks and Bill. Harry was stunned. “Two teachers sir?” Mrs. Weasley looked ready to burst with pride. “Oh isn’t is super! Bill, a teacher at Hogwarts! I can’t believe it!” She sniffed and rummaged around for a tissue. Bill rolled his eyes at her and became serious again. “But you can’t tell anyone thought Harry, not even Ron and Hermione.” Harry looked like he was about to protest, so Lupin cut in “I know its hard Harry, but we don’t want anyone knowing until school starts. Its for Bill and Tonks safety. You see, there is a lot of speculation as to who the new Defence Against the Dark professor will be this year, and it is critical that you have competent teachers this year. By telling people that Bill and Tonks are going to teach you, we are risking another situation like the one in your fourth year, having an impostor in place of the real teachers. We just can’t risk that.” Remus said sternly. Harry nodded slowly, then asked the question that had been bothering him. “But I thought you were a curse breaker?” He said to Bill, then turned to Tonks. “and you’re an Auror! How can you do both?” “Well, I quit my job at Gringotts when I was asked to teach at Hogwarts.” Bill supplied. Harry looked at Tonks., who shrugged and simply said “I guess I’ve always wanted to teach.” she stood up to leave “Oh, almost forgot! Next week would you, Ron and Hermione like to go to Diagon Ally? To get your school stuff and do some shopping?” Harry grinned. Excellent, we could find out some information on the staff of Amaror while we’re there! “Love to” he said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. A new evil The furious tinkle of violently broken glass echoed through the empty rooms, muffled slightly by the considerable amount of dust that had built up through years of neglect. She was angry. Very angry. No, more than that. She was livid. She stalked out of her study and strode into the main hall of the neglected mansion. Kicking the door closed behind her, staff in hand, she shouted at the nervous men in front of her “Bring me the wand-maker now!” Two of the terrified men scurried to get the prisoner, while the others got out of her way. Fast. One wasn’t fast enough. “Rictusempra!” she screamed, pointing her wand at him. The jet of silver light hit him square in the back and sent him smashing through the window. She paused, listening to his screams as he continued to fall down the side of the rocky cliff, finally ceasing as he hit the rocks forty feet below. Presently, the two men came back into the hall, dragging the wand-maker between them. They dumped him on a chair in the middle of the room and quickly exited. Slowly, she approached him, her measured footsteps echoing on the tiled floor. She mastered her temper, took control of her anger. She looked down at the broken man in front of her and smiled sweetly at him. “Now, Mr Ollivander, I’m sure you remember me, don’t you? Eleven years isn’t that long is it now?” He nodded warily at her and managed to whisper “Twelve and a quarter inches…ebony…dragon heartstring…yes, I remember.” She clapped her hands together. “Oooh very good wand-maker! I’m almost impressed! Now, what would really impress me is if you told me how to use this.” she waved the staff in front of his nose. “I know you know how, after all, your great-great-great-grandmother made it, didn’t she Mr. Ollivander? So I presume you know how to work it hmm?” He glanced at the staff in her hand before looking back up at her. “I…I don’t know…what it is…” he croaked. “do not lie to me wand-maker!” she hissed. “This, as you are well aware, is the Staff of Amaror! Now, Amaror would have told her son how to use it wouldn’t she? Who would have then told his son…and so on until we get to you Mr. Ollivander. Now, how does it work?” He glanced at the staff again and chuckled hoarsely. “…so beautiful…rosewood, her favourite…” then he frowned, seeming to remember where he was “I’d never….no…not ever!…I wont say…I wont…” She lost her patience and started to walk away. Then she snapped. Spinning round to face him, she brought the staff up through the air and it connected with the side of his face with a dull thud. He was knocked off the chair and lay sprawled on the ground. “now, Mr. Ollivander, I’m not a very patient lady” at this he snorted and earned a kick in the ribs for his troubles. “I don’t care how much that hurt” she continued softly “because it is insignificant compared to what I am going to do to you next. I may not be able to command the power of Amaror, I can’t understand how to get the damn staff to work, yet, but I can still hit you with it though, can’t I?” she brought down into his stomach. “you will speak to me wand-maker, or you’ll suffer! I’m very skilled at the art of torture you know.” he continued to say nothing so she squatted down next to him and whispered softly in his ear. “Tell me, Mr. Ollivander, how are you going to continue making your precious wands if you don’t have any fingers?” ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. 'Legendary Artefacts And Their Uses’ The next week, Harry, Ron and Hermione took the Knight Bus to the Leaky Cauldron, accompanied by Tonks and Bill Weasley. Hermione was carrying a bag on her back, in which Harry’s invisibility cloak was concealed. Tonks and Bill knew nothing about this, as Hermione had told them she needed the bag to put all her extra books in. Getting information about the Staff of Amaror was going to be a problem. They had discussed what they were going to do the night before. In the end, Hermione offered to slip away under the cloak to Knockturn Alley , and look around to see if she could find any books that might help. Harry didn’t like the idea of Hermione going into Knockturn Alley, but there was no other way. Harry couldn’t go himself, because Tonks and Bill would surely notice if Harry disappeared, as they were meant to stay with him all the time. And Mrs. Weasley made Bill promise to not let Ron out of his sight. Due to the disappearance of Mr. Ollivander the previous week, everyone in the Order had been jumpy and hardly anyone got any sleep as the search for the man continued. Hermione reasoned that Tonks would let her go off alone if she said she was just going to pick up a book she ordered and do some girly shopping with a friend, and would be back within half an hour. Tonks had agreed to this, so the task fell upon Hermione to find out whatever she could bout the Staff of Amaror in the time she was given, and she was considerably nervous about even entering Knockturn Alley, let alone buying anything from there. They arrived in Diagon Alley at mid-morning, and proceeded to get all the things on their school lists. As they passed Ollivander’s wand shop they got caught up in a crowd of people that seemed to all want to enter the shop. Harry frowned and asked Bill what was going on. “They’ll have a big problem this year” said Bill quietly “You see, they reckon Mr. Ollivander was kidnapped, as they found signs of a struggle inside his flat about the shop. Also, when the Aurors went into the shop, they found all the wands piled up in the middle of the floor, all snapped and burned. Thousands of them.” “but that doesn’t explain why all these people are here though” Ron said. Bill just sighed. “Use your head Ron! Over one hundred witches and wizards are starting Hogwarts this September. And what’s the first thing on their list of school supplies? A wand!” Hermione looked at him, her eyes wide “So the first years won’t have wands?” “Not quite right Hermione, there are other wand shops, but not in England. So the new students are going to have to travel a long way to get their wands! And Ollivander’s is meant to be the best in the world” Tonks supplied. “So, of course, it’s essential to find Mr. Ollivander as soon as possible. At the minute, we have no idea where he is.” What she didn’t add was that the Order had their suspicions that Mr. Ollivander’s disappearance was connected to Rookwood’s murder, and the Staff of Amaror going missing. Soon after this, Hermione left them, saying she was going to pick up some stuff. She walked through the crowds to the side of Gringotts bank, and quickly pulled out the invisibility cloak, and after checking that no-one was looking, she disappeared under it, and strode off into Knockturn Alley. She forced herself to make her heart beat slower, and to take time to look into each shop window carefully to look for anything that might be useful. She stopped outside Borgin and Burkes, which looked promising, and, hesitating only a second or two, pushed open the door and went inside. She found herself alone in a shop that had all sorts of disgusting but interesting things in it. Hermione had to stop herself reaching out to touch some of the more abstract looking items, and made her way to the back of the shop, where a number of dusty books were stacked onto a rickety shelf. She looked at the titles of the books, and finally selected a dusty volume with the title ‘Legendary Artefacts And Their Uses’. She ran a finger down the contents page, and found what she was looking for. Aware that her half-hour was nearly up, she pulled off the cloak and rang a bell that was on the grimy counter by the till. Two minutes later, a stooping, greasy haired man came into the shop behind the till and looked at her inquiringly. “Err, I err, I want to buy this book” Hermione said nervously, putting the book onto the counter. The shop’s owner looked at her with distaste, as if he knew exactly who she was, and didn’t like her at all. Finally, he asked her for five galleons, which was far to much, but Hermione was too scared to argue, and handed over the money wordlessly. She put the book in her bag, and quickly exited the shop, pulling on Harry’s cloak as she went. Five minutes later, she appeared next to Ron and nodded at Harry’s questioning glance. “Oh Hermione! Your back. Just in time for lunch, come on.” Tonks spotted her and led the way over to a small café opposite Flourish and Blotts. After a quick lunch, the five of them headed back to the Leaky Cauldron, having bought everything they needed, and took the Knight Bus back to Grimmauld Place. Once back, Harry, Ron and Hermione went up to Ron’s room and got out ‘Legendary Artefacts And Their Uses’ and opened it to the page titled ‘The Staff of Amaror’ and read the passage. ‘The Staff of Amaror’s existence is disputed frequently by the wizarding community, with the majority believing in the Staff’s existence, but it’s powers to be greatly exaggerated. It is said that the Staff has the power to block all spells/hexes/jinxes/curses aimed at the Staff’s holder, even the killing curse, and also gives the holder the power to use all spells/hexes/jinxes/curses without needing a wand, or needing to speak any incantations out loud, just thinking the words is sufficient. This makes the Staff one of the most powerful objects known to the wizarding world, as it is said to be impossible to damage. It was created in 1738 by Amaror Ollivander, a witch of considerable powers, devoted to her family’s tradition of making magical objects, mainly wands. She is said to have accidentally made the Staff of Amaror when experimenting with rosewood and the effects various spells have on the wood. In took her ten years after completing the Staff to realise its powers, although the true extent of the Staff’s abilities is not known. The Staff is said to be six foot tall, made of rosewood, with runes and sigils engraved on it. It is topped with a large sapphire that constantly glows while the staff is activated. The Staff disappeared shortly after Amaror died, but reappeared again in 1784 in the possession of Camilla Brown, who was, at the time, working for the Ministry of Magic. Unfortunately, the Staff was not activated, and no-one knows how to make it work, as Amaror Ollivander never told anyone other than her son how to use the Staff. Its current whereabouts is not known. Although it has had various owners in the past, it has apparently disappeared in the last 100 years, which adds to the frequent speculation about its existence and its powers. “Well, now we know why the Order wants it, and Voldemort too” said Harry. He closed the book and put it back in Hermione’s bag. She got it back out again though, and read through it again. “So you think it was Voldemort - oh stop being stupid Ron! - who killed Hector Rookwood and stole the Staff?” she asked, frowning. “Well yeah, who else could it have been? Maybe he didn’t steal it himself, but I think he defiantly got someone to do it for him.” “So, do you think You-Know-Who has got Mr. Ollivander then? Reckon he knows how to use it yet?” Ron said , then added “Actually, if he knew how to use it, we’d probably know by now, wouldn’t we? He’d have attacked someone with it or something.” “Do you think I could borrow that book of yours Miss Granger?” came a voice from by the door, and all three of them jumped and turned quickly to find Dumbledore standing in the doorway “I don’t mean to seem strict, but that book you’ve got contains a lot of information that people of your age would find disturbing. Also, certain pages are cursed with dark magic to harm the reader unless they de-activate the spells first. I trust you have only read that one page?” he said, moving across the room and picked up the book. Hermione blushed, looking extremely ashamed at being caught with an object that they clearly should not have even touched. Dumbledore went on “Well, never mind, we were actually going to get this book ourselves you know, so really you’ve saved us the trouble.” he stopped by the door, book in hand, then turned back to them “Oh I almost forgot! Your O.W.L.s results have arrived. They’re on the kitchen table.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6. News News Harry and Ron looked at each other, mild panic in their eyes. Hermione squealed excitedly and clapped her hands. “Oooh I wondered when they’d come! Katey Bell told me she got hers in July, but I suppose ours are late because of the Voldemort thing, I was actually rather worried, weren’t you? Oh this is great! Come on you two, lets - what?” Hermione stopped babbling as she notices the looks of amazement on their faces. Harry spoke first “This ‘whole Voldemort thing’?” he said with amusement. She just rolled her eyes “Well, you know what I mean. OWLs are so important! The most important thing in our whole lives so far! Oh come on!” and she hurried out of the room, leaving two slightly confused boys behind her. “Mental that one. Totally mental!” Ron got up slowly and looked around at Harry “Well mate, I guess we should get this over with. I mean, I can’t have done worse than the twins right? They only got six each. I might get eight, or nine, I mean, its not the end of the world right? If I fail them all I mean.” They walked down to the kitchen very slowly, both looking as if they’d rather be anywhere else other than there. As they reached the kitchen door, a shriek came from within the room, and Hermione burst through the door, running right into a very shocked Harry. She thrust a sheet of parchment under his nose, and he grabbed it and, with Ron looking over his shoulder, read: Miss Granger, Included is your results from your fifth year OWL testing, and a list of options for your sixth year studies. The lowest OWL score this year was four OWLs (“Oh that’s got to be mine” Ron moaned), the highest is seventeen OWLs, and the average score is ten OWLs. We are delighted to inform you that you have received a total of seventeen OWLs, which is the highest amount in the last fifty years. Yours, M.S. Marshbanks Hermione Granger Results of the written tests of the OWL examinations: E, Ancient Runes O, Arithmancy E, Astronomy O, Charms O, Defence against Dark Arts O, Herbology E, History of Magic O, Muggle Studies O, Potions O, Transfiguration Results of the practical tests of the OWL examinations: A, Astronomy O, Charms O, Defence against Dark Arts E, Herbology O, Potions O, Transfiguration E, Care of Magical Creatures These results give a total of 17 OWLs. Harry picked up his own letter shortly after he finished congratulating Hermione and found out that, despite the nagging voice in his head that said that he had failed them all, he had done surprisingly well. Nothing like Hermione’s record number, but a respectable amount. Harry Potter Results of his written OWLs: A, Astronomy E, Charms O, Defence against Dark Arts A, Herbology D, History of Magic O, Potions E, Transfiguration A, Divination Results of the practical OWLs: P, Astronomy E, Charms O, Defence against Dark Arts A, Herbology O, Potions E, Transfiguration E, Care of Magical Creatures P, Divination These results give a total of 13 OWLs. “Ooh well done Harry! that’s really really good! Wow! You did rally well in potions didn’t you? Bet Snape’s going to be thrilled.” Hermione said after reading Harry’s results. Harry looked at Ron, who was staring at his own sheet with his mouth open. Harry was relieved that he looked slightly less green than before. “Err, what did you get Ron?” he asked. “I.. I…wow…I got ten! that’s really good right? Well, its better than the twins anyway, and it’s the average. So I did ok didn’t I?” Hermione and Harry looked at each other, defiantly not expecting this reaction. Hermione thought Ron would be really upset and mad when he got less that Harry. Not that I thought he would get less than Harry of course! She amended. “That’s great Ron! Your mum will be really pleased!” ~*~*~*~ The next day, an Order meeting was held. To their surprise, Harry, Ron and Hermione were asked to attend. Hermione wondered what was going on, they hadn’t been allowed to go to any previous meetings, and nothing had changed, so why were they allowed now? She told Harry this, but he just shrugged and said that its better than sitting upstairs, not knowing what’s going on. She had to agree. They all went into the meeting room, and sat at by the wall, near the front. They attracted a few curious glances as seats filled up around them, but no-one said anything, until Snape walked in. He froze when he saw them, his lips curled into his usual sneer, eyes looked on Harry’s. Hermione got the feeling they were having some sort of private battle, their hate for each other had not lessened, as she hoped, as Harry had continued with the Occlumency lessons all through the summer, but if anything, their hatred seems only to increase, if it were possible. Finally, Snape stalked to his usual seat at the back, and sat there sulking, glaring at anyone who looked his way. Dumbledore strode into the room, and silence fell. Hermione noticed that the twinkle had gone from his eyes, and he was looking very grave. Everyone’s attention was fixed on him. He looked around at them all, his eyes resting on the three teenagers for the longest time. Finally he spoke. “I have called you all here today because there is a very serious matter I wish to discuss with you all. ‘Some of you may be wondering why Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger are present. This is because what I have to say concerns them more than most of you..” There were some surprised murmurings following this, and Hermione glanced at Ron and Harry. Dumbledore continued “Mr Ollivander has been found, and is recovering at St. Mungo’s from his ordeal. This may come as a surprise to you, as it has not been reported in the daily prophet. they have been asked not to report the events of last night as it would create a panic across the wizarding community if known. ‘Aurors from the Ministry tracked down Mr Ollivander to an old mansion in the north of England, not far from Hogwarts. They entered the mansion after undoing a number of particularly nasty spells to keep unwanted visitors out, loosing two Aurors in the process. When they entered the mansion they found it empty, other than the complex trapping spells placed around the main hall on the second floor. When they managed to gain access to the hall, their number was down from the original twenty to only three. These three Aurors went into the hall, and found it empty, with only two people inside. One was Mr Ollivander, near dead, and the other was his captor, a woman. The Aurors have told us nothing other than her name, as they are currently in no state to be telling anyone anything. St Mungo’s healers are currently trying to break into the vicious spells placed upon them, if they try to speak about what happened within the hall they suffer severe pain. Mr Ollivander is the same, but he did manage to tell us something. His captor’s name is Azalea Rookwood, I’m sure a few of you may remember her from Hogwarts. She has got the Staff of Amaror, and, it seems, she knows how to use it.” ~*~*~*~ The previous night…. She looked down on the Aurors as they struggled with her spells outside the mansion. A cruel smile was on her lips and her blue eyes sparkled with malicious amusement as she watched the second Auror go down under the pressure of those simple spells. She has placed them there even before she knew how the Staff worked. They were weak, she was weak. But now she would grow strong. Now the sapphire atop the Staff, her Staff, glowed a brilliant blue. But she still couldn’t do a lot with it though, there was a lot more to find out. She turned back to the man on the floor. She sighed. Her patience was fast running out. It had taken her the best part of a week to find out how to activate the Staff. She needed to know how to use it, and fast. Those Aurors wouldn’t dawdle to long outside, soon they would find a way inside. She needed to be prepared. She walked over to him, and aimed a kick at his already broken ribs. He groaned in pain. She hauled him to his feet by his hair and held him up by her wand. She slowly circled him, frowning. How to get what she wanted? She had already broken all his fingers, cracked his ribs and broken his legs. All very slowly and carefully, making sure he felt every second of it. And still he would not tell her anything. In the end she resorted to, in her opinion, the dullest form of torture, the cruciatus curse. For a whole week that continued until he told her the words to speak to activate the Staff. But that was hours a go. She had left him alone for the past few hours, but now she wanted answers. She continued to pace, frowning. She could hear them now, running through the mansion’s empty rooms. They were probably wondering where everyone was. She had made all her men dissaperate over an hour a go, when the Aurors first appeared. She didn’t want any of her men to die just yet. She hit the wand-maker once again, and whispered in his ear “You’ve told me how to activate it, what is there to lose in telling me how to use it? I’ll find out anyway. But if you tell me, maybe I wont kill you. I might even let you go. So c’mon, how does this thing work?” he was still grimacing in pain, and she realised that with four broken ribs he probably couldn’t speak. She flicked her wand and healed him. Well, just the ribs. A broken leg wouldn’t stop him from talking. “Ok, ok. I’ll tell you” he whimpered, breathing in deeply, and, for the first time in days, without too much pain. “You’ve activated it, but to use it for the first time you need to use a great deal of power. You need to sacrifice someone pure of heart and drain his blood into the sapphire.” Silence followed this, interrupted only by the various screams of the Aurors outside the room. She frowned. “Why did you tell me this wand-maker?” she said quietly, dangerously. He chuckled softly “Because you’re never going to find anyone that good and pure. Someone like you would never even be able to recognise how good hearted he really is. And he‘s too well protected, you‘d never get near him!” she waved her wand and pain came crashing down on him again. “Oops, I think that’s all of your ribs broken now.” she smirked. He had unintentionally told her who it was she needed to find. Suddenly the doors were blasted open, and the remaining Aurors came in, their wands trained on her. She smiled at them. Luckily for them, she was in a very good mood. She would spare them, send them back as a message to Dumbledore that she was not to be messed with. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7. Attack on the Hogwarts Express Hermione was up at dawn and tingling with excitement. Today they were going back to Hogwarts, and she couldn’t wait. She could see how some people, like Ron and probably Harry, thought that it was quite odd that she loved school so much, but if they bothered to ask her why, she would have answered that school is the most exciting thing in her life. After all, she came from a muggle background, without magic, without wizards and without friends. That’s what she would have told them, if anybody asked. She stood in front of the mirror, brush in hand, scowling at her reflection. “Oh why couldn’t you be born with normal hair?” she asked her reflection. “Because then you wouldn’t be you” came a reply from by the door. Hermione jumped and dropped the brush. She turned to find Harry leaning against the door, arms folded, grinning at her. “Just how long have you been stood there Harry Potter?” she said indignantly. She had just realised that she was still wearing only her night shirt, which was not something she wanted to be seen in first thing in the morning, especially by Harry! She quickly pulled on her dressing gown and did it up tightly. He just stood there, grinning even more at how flustered she was. “Well, I just came to see if you were awake. You want breakfast? I don’t think there is anyone else up yet, its only six o’clock you know.” he said, and moved out the room, gesturing for her to follow. She frowned. There was something odd about this. Why was Harry up, and dressed, so early in the morning? He shouldn’t be up for another three hours on the first day of school, this wasn’t normal, she was sure of that. She went down the stairs and found him already in the kitchen, getting out the cornflakes. When they were sitting down, Hermione finally had to ask. “Um, Harry, is err is everything ok?” She thought she noticed his cheeks colour slightly. Harry Potter? Blushing? What’s going on? “Um…Harry?” He continued to look down into his cereal before taking a deep breath and glancing up at her. The intensity of his gaze held her eyes, she couldn’t look away from those brilliant green eyes. Finally he looked back down. “You see…the thing is…well…I…I just” He trailed off, then seemed to pull himself together. “Well, what I want to tell you is that…is that I can’t stop thinking about you ok?” He babbled in a rush and turned bright red. Hermione just sat there, mouth open. Did he just say what I think he just said? Harry Potter… saying this? To me? “What…what do you mean?” she asked nervously, not daring to look up at him. She felt his eyes on her as she concentrated on un-picking a loose thread on her dressing gown. “Hermione, I think you’re great. I mean, I really like you, I have for awhile, but just didn’t admit it to myself. You see, I, well, I wouldn’t be here without you would I? And I’ve finally realised just what you mean to me.” She looked up at him, still not believing it. Did he just say what she thought he just said? She had liked him for ages, of course, but didn’t say anything, didn’t even notice it herself until now. She realised she’d been staring at him now for awhile, and quickly looked away. She instantly regretted it when she realised Harry thought it meant she didn’t feel the same way. He had got up. “Oh, um, well you don’t have to say anything, I wasn’t really expecting you too. I guess I’ll, um, see you later. Err just…just forget I said anything…it was stupid, I’m sorry” He practically ran out the room, leaving Hermione feeling extremely confused and upset. The journey to Kings Cross was painful. The silence in the taxi was so loud Hermione just wanted to scream, anything to break the tension in the air. Both Harry and Ron were silent and fidgety, Hermione assumed Harry would have told Ron what had happened, in fact Ron had probably known about Harry’s feelings for ages. Hermione herself had too much to think about to consider starting a conversation, and anyway, what was there to say? She had ruined her chances of ever being with Harry, and now he probably hated her, she wouldn’t blame him. When they reached the station they found themselves enclosed by Order members. Eight witches and wizards escorted Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny to platform 9 ¾ , all with their right hands in the pockets of their muggle disguises, gripping their wands, ready for any trouble. Hermione thought that the Order wizards were only drawing more attention to them, they attracted a lot of curious glances when they got on the platform. In fact, with the eight stern looking wizards surrounding them, none of their fellow students dared approach them, instead they parted to let them onto the train. Hermione followed Harry and Ron into a compartment they managed to get all to themselves, which was probably due to Tonks and Bill still accompanying them. The rest of their escort waited on the platform, ready to dissaperate as soon as the train left the station. Suddenly, the whole train started to shake as a deafening bang echoed across the platform. Hermione looked out the window to see that masked wizards had appeared, spread among the various parents and children still on the platform. Hermione gasped as she saw numerous flashes of green light and people crumple and fall to the floor. People started to scream and dissaperate, although those with young children were stuck, and could do nothing other than run. Tonks and Bill stood up and went to the door, then Tonks turned back, apparently unsure of what to do. Hermione could see her problem, she was stuck between wanting to help all those people on the platform, and her duty of guarding Harry. In the end she was saved the decision by the train beginning to move, as the clock had just struck eleven. A woman came forward from the crowd, blasting people out the way as her strode towards the train. She waved her wand and all the doors of the train sprang open, and her and the masked wizards jumped on, just as the train pulled away from the platform. Harry sprang to his feet, wand in hand, followed by Ron and Hermione. Bill appeared in the doorway “They’re going in all the compartments, fighting with the students! We’ve got to do something!” Tonks looked back at the three of them before saying “We’ve got to get you off the train, come on, we’ll need to reach the driver before they do!” But just then, the lights went out, and they were plunged into semi-darkness, as only the compartments had windows, the corridor was dark. Shouting and screams came from in front and behind, and a jet of red light brushed Bill’s cheek as a stunning spell shot past him. Soon a full scale fight broke out, as the masked men didn’t expect the students to fight back, but the sixth and seventh years did so, and with more skill and determination than the intruders expected. Although they put up a brave fight, they were still just children, against at least twenty skilled dark wizards. Bill and Tonks ran into the corridor straight away to join in, leaving Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny alone in the compartment. “Why haven’t Aurors got here yet?” Ginny said, on the verge of panic. Hermione thought about this, and the answer suddenly came to her. “Oh my god! We need to stop the train!” the others looked at her so she hurriedly continued, the sounds of duelling getting closer every second. “You can’t apperate to a moving object! That’s why they’re not here! We need to get to the driver! See if we can somehow stop the train” The others looked at her, then Harry took charge. “Ok, Hermione’s right. Me and Ron will go, you girls stay here.” At this Hermione and Ginny broke into furious protests. Harry is always trying to be the bloody hero! Protecting those less able than him! Or so he thinks! She suddenly had an idea. She didn’t want to lie to them, but it was the only way Harry would let her go. She sighed “Ok, ok! We’ll stay here, but if the train doesn’t stop in ten minutes, we’re coming after you” Harry opened his mouth to argue, but then just shrugged and left, Ron following behind. Hermione waited a minute, then turned to Ginny. “Ok, u ready Gin?” Ginny nodded, looking determined. They ran out into the corridor and dodged spells aimed their way. Soon, Hermione lost Ginny in the chaos and found herself fighting alone, sending random spells at anything that moved her way. She was about half way down the long corridor when she felt the train slow down. Suddenly something knocked into her and she half fell, leaning against the wall for support. The object that hit her got up from the floor, and she recognised the witch who stood before her. Young, tall, beautiful. It was Azalea Rookwood. Hermione swallowed and backed away slowly, wand gripped tightly in her hand. Azalea looked straight at her and smiled cruelly. “Hermione Granger, isn’t it?” she said, walking slowly towards the frightened girl. “How…how did you know?” Hermione asked, terrified. Azalea’s smile grew wider. “You may not remember, but I was in my final year at Hogwarts when you were in your first” she surprised Hermione by saying. “What? You don’t remember? Oh I’m only twenty two you know! Surprising isn’t it? That I have so much power, while being still young.” she looked closely at Hermione. “Your Harry Potter’s girlfriend aren’t you? The one mentioned in the prophet last year?” she chuckled softly, an idea forming in her mind. “Well Miss Granger, I think you and I should have a talk sometime, don’t you? You have power you know, yes, a lot of power. I can sense it, you are just like I was at your age. And so good and kind… I bet you’ve never hurt anyone have you? We really need to talk… I’ll be in touch” and with that she disappeared in a flash of white light, just as Aurors appeared on the train. Hermione swayed on her feet, and the world went black. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8. Aftermath Hermione woke up feeling dazed and groggy. It took her a full five minutes to collect her thoughts and realise where she was. She groaned as she recognised the clean white walls and polished floor that belonged to the Hospital Wing. Great she thought, first day back and I’m already here! She sat up and looked around. The room was full of students, all of the beds were occupied. She gasped as she looked to her left to see Harry laying unconscious on the bed next to hers, a nasty gash on his right cheek, and sweat pouring down his face. Hermione rose and went to him, frantically looking around for Madame Pomfrey. Finally the healer came hurrying over and took Harry’s temperature before sighing and muttering “Still no chance” to herself, and poured a vast quantity of bubbling green potion down his throat. “What happened?” Hermione asked, anxiously peering at the heeler for reassurance. Madame Pomfrey sighed as she looked around the room at all the students, all suffering from various magical problems. She looked back at Hermione. “Well, you got hit in the back by a stunning spell my dear, you were quite lucky really. Mr Potter, on the other hand, jumped in front of a particularly nasty Feverous Curse, aimed at young Mr Weasley.” She bustled off to deal with other patients, muttering away to herself “…always getting into trouble, that boy…” The next few days were spent trying to get Hogwarts back to normal. Lessons had been cancelled for now, in light of the hundreds of students unable to attend due to injuries. Those who were out of the Hospital Wing were grave and silent. Over fifty students had died in the attack on the train. No-one felt like talking much. Hermione and Ron spent much of their time with Madame Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing, helping whenever they could. Ginny and Harry were among those who had not yet regained consciousness, and many hours were spent sitting by their sides, and in the library, looking up various spells and potions that might help them recover. Bill had left the Hospital Wing a few days after the attack, but Tonks was yet to recover. She was awake, but had been hit with a mixture of hexes, and no-one quite knew what was wrong with her, or how to cure her. The attack had, of course, appeared in the Daily Prophet, who claimed that Voldemort was not directly behind the event. The article said that Azalea Rookwood was the ring leader, and it was still not known whether she had links with Voldemort or not, as the masked men with her did not have the Dark Mark on their left arm, it was found out when questioning those who had been caught. Only four out of the twenty-something masked wizards had been caught during the attack, and two of them had already managed to escape Ministry captivity, adding to the panicked rumours that they and their leader, Azalea, possessed dark powers of frightening intensity, and causing the name of Azalea Rookwood to be spoken with almost as much fear as that of Voldemort himself. Hermione herself was even more terrified than the rest of the wizarding world. She kept thinking back to what Azalea said to her on the Hogwarts Express. She said she would be in touch. What did she mean by that? Would she come to Hogwarts? Write a letter? Hermione couldn’t help but replay the conversation over and over again in her head. hadn’t Azalea said something about Hermione never hurting anyone? And being ‘so good and kind’…what did that mean? and why did she care? And hadn’t she said that Hermione was as powerful as Azalea herself was at that age? Could it be true? Was it possible that Hermione was that strong? The power Azalea commanded was enormous, it seemed that if she wanted to change the shape of the earth, the very mountains would move at her command. And then there was the question of the Staff. She didn’t have it with her on the train, so did that mean she didn’t know how to use it? Or just couldn’t? And what would happen when she did? And, Hermione thought, what did Azalea Rookwood want with her? Her musings were interrupted by Ron bursting through the portrait hole and, once he spotted her, rushed over and collapsed into the chair next to hers, saying in a rush “Its Harry! He’s woken up Hermione!” Hermione ran out the room, leaving Ron behind to catch his breath. She rushed down to the Hospital Wing, wanting so much to see Harry awake again. She had already decided to tell him how she felt about him, as soon as the opportunity arose. When she entered the room she noticed that it was now nearly empty, it being two whole weeks since the journey to school. Only a few beds were occupied. Tonks had left the day before, and was now back to her normal self. Ginny too, had woken up a few days a go, and was back in her own dormitory, fully recovered. Hermione stepped round the curtain that separated Harry’s bed from the rest of the room, and smiled as she saw that he was sitting up, reading a get well letter from one of his many well-wishers that had bombarded him with letters since they heard about his prolonged stay in the Hospital Wing. He looked up as she sat down by his bed, and smiled. “How are you feeling?” she asked softly. “From one of your many fans?” she asked, gesturing to the letter. “Yeah” Harry grinned “I’ve got loads of these things, and cards and stuff. I’m fine thanks. What’s been happening in school? Have I missed much?” She smiled and began to tell him all about the last two weeks, glad that they no longer felt so uncomfortable around each other, and things were back to normal.