JKR OWNS everything, except this poor little plot.
(A/N this is a reasonably long chapter, I hope you like it.)
Chapter 18, The Marauders Return
**********************Hogwarts The Room of Requirement********************
January 9, 2005
10:30 pm
"Ok Ron, what do you want?" Ginny groused as she and Hermione came into the room. Today the room wasn't setup for DA or anything like that, it just had a couple of comfy couches, a muggle radio in a corner on a small table and a roaring fire in the fireplace that came and went as needed. Ron just grinned at her and motioned her over to a couch. With a slight huff she dropped down on the couch, an annoyed look for her brother evident on her face, "Ron, Herm and I are supposed to be on patrol, and you two are not supposed to wandering the halls after hours unless you are working."
"When did that ever stop us?" Ron pointed out simply and Ginny just had to shut up, the point was taken.
Meanwhile Hermione had flicked her gaze about and had seen Harry on the couch across from Ginny, wearing a slightly bemused expression on his face and as his eyes met hers, Oh crap, he's got that we are going to get in SOO much trouble look, Hermione realized with sudden insight, and wondered what strange dark force was roaming the halls of Hogwarts this time. She plopped down next to him, and whispered to him as the siblings squabbled good-naturedly, "Harry?"
"Hermione" He whispered back, he motioned towards Ron who, with a flick of his wand, conjured a chalkboard and chalk.
Ron smiled broadly and started to speak. "While on the train ride back yesterday, I had a chance to think..."
"More like snore..." Harry put in under his breath to the accompaniment of Hermione's hushed giggles.
Ron continued as if Harry hadn't spoken, except for the rude gesture he flashed for a millisecond. "And as I was thinking..."
"Always a bad idea" Hermione muttered.
"I realized that we have been entirely too somber this year, and that we must use our powers for the good...of the prank," Ron said as he started writing on the board. "However to accomplish this imitable goal."
"Damn, big word," Harry said into Hermione's ear, she giggled afresh, and had to bury her face in the shoulder of Harry's robes to keep from laughing outright. Across the way Ginny rolled her eyes at their behavior, especially considering her conversion with Hermione last week at the Burrow.
Ron just kept rolling though. "We must reclaim our birthright as the true heirs of the Marauders..."
"Ahem" Harry said with a grin.
"Ok, one of our member's true birthright as the Marauders' heir. So as the preeminent strategist that I am, I have decided on a series of targets that will require our special skills. After all, we can't let Fred and George have all the fun." Ron said turning to the board, only to be interrupted.
'Excuse me, O master strategist," Hermione began sarcastically, "but what makes you think that we will help with your dastardly schemes."
But before Ron could answer that quandary, Harry stepped in, his hand unconsciously on her arm, he looked at her with a soft look, "Let's hear him out, Mione"
Oh damn, he's using those eyes, Hermione thought hopelessly, "Ok"
Ron smiled to himself, knowing that his argument had already won; he turned and started writing on the blackboard. "Now I know that some of these targets are easy, that's fine we are just warming up." With quick, sure strokes he wrote his list of targets on the board, by the end even Harry, who was the son of a Marauder, godson of another, and the best thing to a nephew to the third, was open mouthed in shock.
The Return of the Marauders
1. Snape
2. The Slytherins yes all of them.
3. Draco
4. Inquisitorial Squad
5. Lupin/Tonks
6. Fred and George
7. Dumbledore
"Dumbledore, no one's ever been able to get Dumbledore" Harry muttered, astonished, then like the sun coming, up he started to grin, a sight that made Ron happy. He might very well have the emotional range of a teaspoon, but he had noticed that Harry had still not even come close to being himself after the continuous shocks of the last two and a half years, and he had finally thought he should go on the offensive.
Ron grinned back, and looked at Ginny, "Gin"
"Fred and George huh? And Dumbledore? I'm in" Ginny replied heartily, after all she was a Weasley.
Ron turned at last to the one that he knew would be the difficult one. "Hermione."
"Ron...we could get expelled." Hermione replied, a little exasperated, though she really didn't believe the expulsion part, detention probably, but expulsion, probably not, unless they REALLY went overboard, like put a dragon in the Slytherin dungeon, Though that's not a bad idea per say...Damn they have corrupted me, Hermione realized internally.
"Please Hermione, it's not as much fun without you" Harry asked pleadingly, his green eyes twinkling like the night stars.
OHHHH Damn, Harry...I am so not going to get to be Head Girl...Hermione thought wistfully, "Ok"
"Good" Ron replied, and let out an evil chuckle.
***********************Hogwarts Dungeon****************************
January 10, 2005
6:00 am
A tiny, gray cat padded quietly down the dank corridors, looking every so often from to side to side as if on the watch for someone. As the cat came to an odd statue of a cruel looking wizard, the cat slipped out of direct sight. On the wall, a dim shadow of the cat, seemingly changed, into what almost looked to be a small, crouched girl, but it must have been a trick of the torchlight. An odd word was whispered, seemingly out of the very air and the statue stepped aside, revealing an old oak door, emblazoned with the Slytherin House crest. "Alohomora" The door clicked open and the cat calmly stepped through, its head held high.
As the cat strode into the quarters beyond, the sound of a shower running came from a room further in, and steam escaped the bathroom. On a small table beside a slightly moldy green couch, a steaming cup of coffee awaited the person in the shower. As quick as thought, the cat vanished, only to be replaced with a small, black-cloaked figure. The figure pulled a small phial from its cloak and upended the contents into the cup.
"Have fun in class this morning Serverus." A very soft alto whispered, and the cat reappeared. It left as it came, it's tail held high and striding as if without a care in the world, an illusion that was soon shattered as the cat reached the hall. As soon as the statue stepped back into place, the cat broke out into a sprint, all four legs pumping as fast as they could. The cat ran up one flight, two flights of stairs and streaked into an empty classroom, as the door shut silently behind it. "Allright Gin?" A bushy haired witch asked with a grin, as Ginny transformed back to herself except for her hair, which was an odd gray color.
Ginny soon fixed this problem with a tap of her wand to her head, "finite coloro," She smiled as she held a lock of her hair and it returned to her normal fire-red, "Yeah you are going to have fun his morning in about two hours at Potions. Did the other part of today's exercise go as planned?"
"Yeah, the charms are on all of the Slytherins' uniforms for the day, maybe they'll think twice about making poor house elves put out all of their clothes for the next day, next time." Hermione replied with a little smile.
"Come then, Sis, let us retire to the Gryffindor tower." Ginny said with a smile, and looking both ways as they left the classroom, the two strode off down the hall, wide grins on their faces.
************************Guest Quarters, Hogwarts**********************
"You coming back tonight, Nymph?" Lupin said leaning in for a kiss, which, the for today, blond-haired witch granted with a tremendous smirk.
"Of course luv," Tonks replied as she took his hand, "I'll be back about ten or so I expect." She walked away slowly, their hands finally breaking apart, when they had both stretched to their limits. Tonks turned and blew a kiss to him, which he caught, then walked slowly away, only turning to walk forward when she reached a turn.
Remus shook his head gently after her, privately amazed that she had been able to walk backwards that far without falling down. He turned, closed his door, and headed off in the opposite direction, towards the Great Hall and breakfast.
A hand appeared holding a wand; it touched the door and the door unlocked with a faint click. The wand vanished again as the door opened and shut, all the while no one walking through it. A slight breeze passed though the quarters, until it stopped in the bedroom. Once in the room, a hand reappeared, and swept up and back, revealing as it passed a shock of messy black hair. The head bobbed in mid-air over to the bed in one corner, and with a happy little grin, the tip of the wand was inserted under the covers, "Mutiato Aqua." The bed flashed red, then blue, then green and settled back to its original appearance. The hand passed back over the shock of black hair, and where it passed the head vanished. Quiet steps were heard, the door opened and closed, seemingly of its own volition, and the steps were heard to retreat down the hall.
*****************************Great Hall, Hogwarts*************************
7:15 am
"Morning, Hermione, Ginny" Harry muttered as he sat down next to Hermione, "Ron." He nodded to his other best friend who just acknowledged with a wave of his fork, he was busy eating after all.
"Morning" Hermione replied, then as she caught sight of a mass of silvery fabric sticking out of Harry's bag, "Your cloak!" Hermione hissed and stuffed it all the way into the bag for him.
"Thanks, Mione" Harry replied with a brief grin, that she shared equally briefly. Harry glanced over at the Slytherins across the breath of the hall, "how long?"
Hermione glanced at her watch, and then with a carefully neutral face, "about now..." she replied in a whisper, her brown eyes glowing. In a wave of color, from the front of the room where the first years sat to the rear where the seventh years were clustered, at the Slytherin table, every uniform transformed from the green and silver of Slytherin House to the crimson and gold of Gryffindor.
A chorus of curses erupted from the Slytherins, while every other house, especially the Gryffindors erupted into laughter. For their part, the new Marauders were careful to only laugh as loudly as the rest of their house, but since more than one, like Seamus or Dean, had almost fallen off their bench as they held their sides in joyous pain, it wasn't too hard.
From the staff table, Snape looked down on his house table in horror, however the reactions of the rest of the staff varied wildly from his. Hagrid developed a sudden racking cough, and excused himself, it was odd that his cough got worse every time he turned back to look at the Slytherins. McGonagall's gaze rapidly searched her table looking for obvious miscreants, her mouth quivering slightly, but her eyes gave away her intense desire to join Hagrid. Professor Sprout leaned over to Snape and in a voice calculated to carry, "Severus, it looks as if your entire house is out of uniform." Snape just glared at her, as the laughter increased, and several of the other Professor's and guests, such as Lupin and Flitwick also developed sudden racking coughs and had to leave.
"This is Potter's doing..." Snape snarled as he turned and glared at the back of Harry's head.
McGonagall turned and glared at him in turn, while she might have her private suspicions, "Severus, you will not accuse one of my students without proof."
"Fine," He growled, he then stood and yelled across the hall, "POTTER COME HERE."
McGonagall turned to Dumbledore; he carefully hid a grin, and gave McGonagall a small calming motion. She turned back to look at the Gryffindor table, as Harry got up warily.
At the Gryffindor table Harry slowly rose; Hermione whispered, "Luck, Harry." and Harry gave her a quick grin, before he carefully blanked his face, and started concentrating on his Occlumency, never so glad that he had suddenly mastered the skill months ago. Every eye in the hall watched him as he walked up to the staff table and stood in front of it, "Yes sir?" Harry asked in a calm neutral voice, making a point to stare Snape directly in his black, beady eyes.
"Potter," Snape hissed in a voice worthy of one of his house's mascots, "I know that you caused this." Snape gestured with a hand towards the Slytherin table. "How did you do this, did you sneak into the Slytherin dorm?" Snape snapped, as he fingered his wand.
"Sir" Harry replied, his voice bereft of emotion, "I have not gone anywhere near the dungeons since last semester."
"We'll find out won't we, LEGILMENS" Snape roared, and all at once, several things happened. At the Gryffindor, several students started to rise suddenly, Dumbledore shouted, "NO", and at the table, Snape's probe backfired...drastically...he caught sight of a brief image of Ron and Hermione talking about something. And with a SNAP heard in the back of the hall, Snape was thrown backwards, his chair collapsing under him.
"Sorry Professor, I wasn't ready for that." Harry murmured, his manner apologetic, even though he could almost feel his friends dieing with laughter at the Gryffindor table.
Snape staggered to his feet, and pulled his wand, but before he could do or say anything, Dumbledore interfered, "No, Severus, I think that you have done quite enough, Harry return to your table." Dumbledore and Snape both watched Harry return quietly to his table, but their expressions as they did it varied wildly. Dumbledore looked...bemused, while Snape glared daggers at his back. As Harry returned to his seat, and the students started talking to themselves, Dumbledore turned back to Snape in a harsh whisper, "Severus, you will get over this hatred of Harry, and you will do it now."
"Sir" Snape hissed in return.
"Even if he did do this thing, it was a harmless prank, worthy of detention at most, not an attempt to assault his mind." Dumbledore paused and with a slight glint in his eyes, "you have now declared war on that house, Severus, they all will be after you, you just attacked their leader."
"Not if Minerva keeps her children in line"
"Ohh, no" a soft burr replied from the other side of Dumbledore, "I may be a Gryffindor, Severus, but you just picked a fight that Godric himself couldn't stop now, I would prepare myself for a week or two of pain, I am afraid." McGonagall turned from him and glared at her table, more for show than anything. She saw with inner satisfaction, that any possible miscreants were carefully looking away from the staff table, even as she started running though her class roles in her head at who could have pulled off that transfiguration. Potter...he could have done it, but then he couldn't have stood there and said, "I have not gone near the dungeons..." Nice parsing of words there, Harry. Ron Weasley? No, not that many. Fred and George? No they would have turned them all into chickens or something...Her eyes flashed to the back of the head of the top student in Hogwarts, Hermione...It has to be, she's the only one left who could have pulled that off so exquisitely. McGonagall sat back in her chair as she held her napkin to her mouth, concealing the grin she wore.
*********************Hogwarts Dungeon****************************
8:00 am
"Today, we will begin with a potion that I am sure that will cause the majority of you difficulty, The Polyjuice Potion." Snape began with a sneer. "As I am sure that most of you..." He glared directly a Harry, who just returned his gaze peacefully, 'know this is a restricted potion, and several of the ingredients such as boomslang skin will be held under my control until you need them. This potion... WILL" Suddenly his last word came out sounding just like Umbridge, high and squeaky, like a little girl. He cleared his throat, "TAKE 21..." He stopped and summoned a glass of water. He drank, cleared his throat and "SQEEK." Snape glared around, but didn't dare open his mouth again. With a furious set to his shoulders, he walked to the board and scribbled down the required ingredients on the board and sat down heavily behind his desk.
At his table, Harry was never so glad that Hermione was his lab partner; she was tightly digging her nails into his arm under the table, which was about the only thing that could keep him from bursting out in laughter. Out of the corner of his right eye, Harry could see that Ron's entire head was the color of his hair and that he was obviously biting his lip as he very slowly started to put ingredients into his caldron. After Harry forced a few unhappy thoughts though his consciousness, he settled down and started putting the ingredients he needed in his caldron without looking at the board, he knew the ingredients very well, thank you.
After an hour of stirring, the potion was ready to simmer for several days. Harry raised his hand. Snape glared at him, which Harry took as a sign of recognition, "Sir, our potion is at the simmering stage, may we be excused?" Harry said, his voice carefully full of respect, as he motioned slightly to his lab partner. Snape frowned, but after a moment just nodded and motioned towards the door, with his head. Harry and Hermione didn't waste a second; they picked up their books and scrambled from the room. As soon as the door softly closed behind them, they shared a glance, and sprinted for the main doors and the outside.
Reaching the freedom of the outside, Harry and Hermione's eyes met again, and without a word, they both erupted, each having to hold onto each other for support as they were laughing so hard. "Harry," Hermione gasped out between laughs, "do you think we can shut him up every class?" Harry shrugged, not trusting his voice and she laughed harder.
****************************Headmaster's Office**************************
10:00 am
Minerva McGonagall turned from the window, where she could see her sixth year Gryffindors heading to Hagrid's for class, to Dumbledore. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, calmly doing some of the never-ending paperwork that he was behind on. "Albus" Minerva began quietly, "you heard what they did to Snape this morning right?"
"Indeed, though I dare say that he brought it on himself," Dumbledore replied, not looking up from his paperwork.
"Well, what are you going to do about it?"
"Nothing"
"Nothing? It took, me...me two hours to transform one of the Slytherin Uniforms back." McGonagall replied with an odd tone.
"Indeed, remind me to congratulate Miss Granger...after they graduate of course." Dumbledore said as he raised his gaze to meet hers, his eyes sparking.
McGonagall cracked a slight grin, "Humph, how did you know it was her?"
"Simple, Harry obviously spoke the exact truth this morning, no more no less, Ronald couldn't have made the charm that resistant. The twins prefer mass animal transfigurations, and Lupin is on the payroll. That pretty well covers the Marauders past and future doesn't? You know that they are just warming up right?" Dumbledore replied grinning. He summoned a carafe of Hot Chocolate and poured himself a mug.
"Not entirely, Albus, you forgot Ginny, and I daresay Longbottom and Lovegood may get inducted into that fraternity soon." McGonagall replied as she sat back with her mug. "Yes, I know...I wonder who else is on their list...and you never really answered my first question, Albus" McGonagall accused.
"Oh I would suspect, Draco, Delores' inquisitorial squad from last year, Lupin and Tonks, me" Dumbledore sighed as he took a sip, "good chocolate, I need to thank the house elves."
"You?" McGonagall replied a little startled.
"Yes, after all, I'm the only one that no one has ever gotten, not even James, Sirius and Lupin as a team even with Lily's help. Never to worry Minerva, they'll leave you alone, you know that they aren't really afraid of you, whether you know it or not, it is more of a sense of respect for you...I think will consider this further training...consider, Minerva, do you not think that they planned that little demonstration this morning. Harry knew that Snape, would blame him, and would overreact. Thereby immediately removing the actual perpetrators from the line of fire, and providing cover for any activities they do from now on against the Slytherins. Now I have a thousand suspects instead of only six or so. And now the twins will take this as a challenge...this may be a most interesting semester, Minerva, and you get to set back and watch."
McGonagall glanced around the office, noticing the annoyed expressions on some of the older headmasters, "I will have to take points or give detentions if they get caught..."
"Of course, as would I, however, no matter what Severus will say at the next staff meeting, this does not merit expulsion. And since you know my other concern vs. Harry...Its good to see him having fun, there will be entirely too little of that before this trial is complete.
***********************Hogwarts Guest Quarters***************************
10:05pm
"Humm," Tonks said with a mischievous grin as she slowly pulled Lupin backwards toward the large bed in his, or rather their quarters. She flung her arms around his neck and leaning upward, lightly bit at the side of his neck. "How should I look tonight, luv?"
"Like Nymphadora Tonks" Lupin replied lightly as he pulled her to him. Tonks grinned and with a crunching of her nose, her blond hair became jet-black, the color of Sirius or Harry's hair, and her nose became a little smaller, like a tiny button. "Thanks, I fell in love with you, not whatever woman you happen to look like at any given time." Soon enough the back of her legs hit the edge of the bed, and with a blinding smile she crushed her lips to his and pulled them backwards into the bed. But instead of the bouncy mattress they both expected, a tremendous splash erupted, and a moment later, a sputtering, coughing pair, pulled themselves up. Lupin glanced to either side of the small swimming pool that he now had as replacement for his bed, after a moment, he started laughing infectiously, and after another moment Tonks joined him, "Harry did warn me, didn't he...anyway I kind of like pools," Remus said as he leered at Tonks who smiled wider.
***************************Gryffindor Common Room***********************
January 15, 2004
1:00 am
The unofficial declaration of a prank war had spread beyond any of the Marauders imaginations, though at the moment it mostly consisted of a Slytherin vs. Gryffindor affair. As Dumbledore had predicted, the twins got involved early, and had taken it as a point of honor not to take the easy way and use any of their current products, but had made up whole new inventions just for the occasion. Which had so far sealed the Slytherin Dungeon for a whole day, causing them all to miss classes last Wednesday, and had turned all of their hair Red and Gold to match their transfigured uniforms. Snape had seethed at that one, which was performed the very next day after Hermione's mass, delayed transfiguration of their uniforms.
Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny had focused their targets more, going after Umbridge's old Inquisitorial squad almost exclusively. Warrington had found that any time he tried to use any toilet in the castle it would suddenly overflow, only with him of course. Millicent Bulstrode had learned the hard lesson that it was never a good idea to annoy the smartest witch in the last hundred years, especially when she held onto a grudge, like a goblin hording gold. She had discovered that when you eat after hour's snacks, you might want to make sure that they were not flies, as she had been transfigured into a toad, after eating a snack she demanded from a house elf. It had taken two days for Poppy to return her to herself. Draco, of course, had joined her as a ferret; he actually had spent enough time as a ferret this week that Madame Pomfrey had wondered if he really was an unregistered animagus like the rumors had said in fourth year.
The Gryffindors so far however, had remained mostly untouched. In addition to taking up the challenge dropped by the "unknown perpetrators" Monday, with the trifecta of Slytherin, Snape and Lupin all being pranked in the same day, the twins had taken it on themselves to spoil every major prank that any of the Slytherins had so far attempted.
But tonight or rather this morning now, Harry had other things on his mind. Once again the dreams had come, and as there hadn't been since this summer, except for a brief welcome interlude at Christmas, no one was there to force them back into the shadows. Harry eased down the stairs to the common room, lugging along the DADA book that Hermione had gotten him for Christmas, secretly Harry wondered if his improved grades this year hadn't come about from his lack of sleep, which time he often filled with reading his assignments or other books. I'm turning into Hermione. Harry thought with a grin, which soon evaporated, as he saw her once again studying, crouched over a table scribbling madly on a piece of parchment. As he watched, she bit out a curse, swept her papers from the table, and dropped her head to the cradle of her arms with a sob. Harry almost ran to her, "Hermione, what's wrong..." Hermione popped her head up and wiped a tear of frustration from her eye. Harry could see that the books on the table were a mix of DADA, Charms and Arithmancy texts, a good portion of which were restricted. She just shook her head and refused to talk to him. A plan that of course was doomed to fail, as he wasn't going anywhere. "Mione," Harry said slowly and distinctly, as he gently turned her head to look at him, "what is wrong?"
"It doesn't make sense, Harry." She sighed and wretched her chin from him, though she didn't drop her gaze from his.
"What doesn't?" He replied, concern coloring his tone.
"You never took the class..." Harry raised an eyebrow, and a tiny grin twitched at the corner of her lip,
"Ok, here, it's easier if I show you." Hermione reached for the small of her back, where Harry knew she
often concealed her wand when in muggle clothes, and then stopped with a sudden reddening of her cheeks. "Umm,
Harry can I borrow yours?"
"You mean this?" Harry replied grinning, drawing his wand from alongside his thigh and waggling it in front
her. To her nod, "constant vigilance, Hermione...summon yours."
"Wandlessly from two floors down...sure Harry." Hermione replied, annoyed at herself far more than Harry, but still...
"I can"
"But you're a great wizard" Hermione replied without thinking.
"And you are a great witch. Its your wand, Hermione, It wants to be in your hand, call it." Harry replied seriously, though his eyes were full of mirth.
"Fine," she replied dubiously, taking a deep breath and holding out a hand, "ACCIO WAND" Nothing happened for a minute, then like an arrow, a shaft of light-colored, intricately carved wood shot down the stairs into her waiting hand. Hermione looked at it for a second, then a smile grew on her face, brightly she exclaimed, "I did it."
Harry just nodded, his gaze on her wand, "Hermione, what is the core of your wand made of?" having felt something as it flashed past.
"Dragon heartstring, why?" Hermione said in reply.
That explains why I could use it so well against Snape; its like... "Oh no reason, just curious I didn't remember. What were you going to show me?" Harry glanced over at the fire as he answered.
"I was reading the new book you got me for my birthday...one of the Arthimathic puzzles is just why the Avada Kedavra can't be blocked or otherwise defeated. Look," Hermione, using the tip of her wand, rapidly drew a series of fiery numbers and symbols in the air, where they floated as if on an invisible blackboard. She pointed to one side of the glowing equation then the other. "On this side, is the Kedavra curse, while on the other is the strongest shield that I can find in the restricted section. I put in an estimate of how powerful it could be if Dumbledore summoned it. The stupid thing is the power is actually greater than the curse, it should deflect it or at least disperse it, but it always gets though. It's like the constants change, instead of the variables. Uggh" Hermione growled and sat down heavily on the couch.
Harry looked at the equation, with a lost expression on his face, "Hermione, I might have picked up a bit of arithmency by association with you over the years...can I see a picture?" He asked with a sheepish grin.
On the couch, Hermione rolled her eyes, but pointed her wand at the floating numbers anyway, "Schematicus." In the air over the table, the numbers shifted into a little flowing cartoon, an endless circle of a green bolt of light heading for a stick figure outlined in gold, with a silver line representing a shield.
After a minute of watching, the repeating loop, Harry said quietly, "can you slow this down a second..."as the repeating image slowed down, Harry watched intently as the bolt neared the shield, but suddenly he realized that it never actually hit the shield. "Hermione come here." Hermione jumped up from the couch, and looked at his pointing finger. "It never hits the shield, it goes directly for the aura, the soul. That's why you can't block it it's not in the same plane of existence as the shield."
Hermione glanced at him amazed, "ummm yeah...so you can't block it, it has to be channeled, away some how."
"No" Hermione raised an eyebrow at his interruption, but motioned for him to go on, "It has to be resisted somehow, thrown off, just like the other unforgivables. I just don't know how."
Hermione shook her head causing her hair to flare out just like on the Chocolate Frog card of her he had upstairs, "Harry, I think that we are both right and wrong at the same time. Think about it, the spell rips the soul from its target, but even as powerful as it is, it only can rip one soul away at a time. The sacrificial protection that your mum performed must have bound a part of her soul to you, which acted as a shield on the spirit plane." Hermione looked pensive at that thought. "But that would only work in that particular situation, in a way, by killing her first after she had cast her protection, Voldemort defeated himself. Otherwise, I guess, if you could somehow spread the effect over multiple people, you could defeat the spell. If they were powerful enough and close enough, they might be able to buttress each other..." Hermione broke off, and as Harry watched, she changed the schematic back to the equation and changed several constants and variables. Suddenly the sign flipped itself and Hermione stepped back with an expression of satisfaction and annoyance at the same time. "Yes that would work, but I don't see how that would help us against Voldemort, Harry."
"Why not?" Harry asked, with understandable curiosity.
Hermione snorted, "Because, you would need at least two Wizards, both of whom are at least as powerful as Dumbledore, physically touching, with their souls bound to each other. Then they might be able to resist the soul being ripped away, almost like you can resist the Imperious Curse when it tells you to do something stupid." Hermione shrugged helplessly.
"Too bad we don't have any of those laying around." Harry replied with a flick heavenward of his jade orbs. "What got you started on this topic, other than you were bored?" Harry ginned at her and dodged the pillow she shot over at him with a wand flick.
"If you must know, I was reading that book you got me, and no not the Lockheart one," Hermione stuck out her
tongue at him, "and I was working on my NEWT thesis."
Harry gave an exaggerated groan, "Hermione, it's January of your sixth year, you don't have to turn that in until May of next year...what's it on?" Harry asked anyway.
"Well, while saving you is important, I consider that a hobby," Hermione teased with a smirk, "I am researching just why some muggle items work at highly magical places and some don't. I mean, for instance, at home I have a cell phone, and I can carry it and use it, but if I were to have it here, it would stop working instantly. I believe that it has to do with what Muggles call quantum mechanics. Which I am going to study this summer, what is your topic, you had to tell McGonagall even if you hadn't started it. Be grateful that it isn't a doctoral thesis, I saw one of Dumbledore's in the library it was like two thousand pages."
"How to defeat Dark Lords in four easy steps, by the Boy-Who-Lived." Harry joked as he looked down at his watch, "I should really get some sleep, I have that Hufflepuff game tomorrow, are you coming...I mean are you going to your bed, that is?"
Hermione slugged him lightly on the arm, "Of course."
"Ok I'm going to bed then, and you go too Miss Granger," Harry replied flippantly and started to walk back up the stairs. He glanced back to see her packing her books, and disappeared out of sight.
At the table, Hermione packed all of her books except one that had flopped open to the dedication page, her heart skipped a beat when she saw that it was the one that she had given Harry for Christmas. As she read her dedication, her eyes flicked upwards towards the boy's stairs, maybe someday, Love.
************************Hogwarts Quiddich Stadium************************
January 15, 2004
2:00 pm
"WELCOME TO TODAY'S MATCH PITTING THE GRYFFINDOR LIONS VS. THE HUFFLEPUFF BADGERS" Leslie's voice boomed out over the packed stadium. Harry and Ron had already taken the coin flip and had flown up into the air awaiting the start of the match. Harry tuned out Leslie as his gaze roamed about the stands and stadium pausing over each of the opposing players in turn. As his eyes roamed he spotted Hermione in the Gryffindor stands, as usual right up front, she caught his eye and waved. Harry waved back and hovered there more or less looking at her, his thoughts flashing back to early this morning, and to a day in the snow outside of the Burrow not so long ago.
He was so focused on the past that the present was unknown, even to the effect of not hearing Hooch's whistle. Only one thing could snap him out of it..."HARRY!" In an instant, Hermione's voice returned him from his review of the past. Without conscious thought, his right hand snapped out, at the flash of gold, almost a Pavlovian response by now. All at once he could feel wings fluttering in his hand, he could see Hermione bouncing up and down in the stands, and as control of his ears returned to him he could hear both Leslie Jordan announcing, and Thomas Payne, the Hufflepuff seeker.
Payne's eyes almost popped out of his head, "NO FREAKING WAY!" He exclaimed as he landed his broom and tossed it down in disgust.
Meanwhile Leslie's voice was booming out over the stadium. "HARRY POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH, WITH ONLY FIFTEEN SECONDS INTO THE MATCH, IT'S A NEW SCHOOL RECORD." Harry just looked down at his hand, stunned, and then raised his gaze to the Gryffindor stands; to see Hermione laughing so hard she was holding onto the rail for support.