Disclaimer: No Jarveys were harmed or any profits made during the writing of this story.
Chapter 11 - A Day of Change
Here they were, a Friday night and what were they doing? Practicing Quidditch? No! Playing a rousing game of Exploding Snap or Wizard's Chess? No! They were doing homework, of all things. Hermione had made a rather convincing argument, at the end of a wand, that since it was a Hogsmeade weekend they should get their studies done, so they could have the rest of the weekend free. Knowing she was right it though didn't make it any more palatable to Harry and Ron.
"While alternately stirring thrice clockwise then twice counterclockwise, drop the bat wings, from a height of 4 ¾ inches above the simmering cauldron, such that they are allowed to flutter before becoming immersed… how the bloody hell did anyone ever come up with this in the first place?" Harry grumbled with furrowed brow as he struggled to finish his potion assignment.
Hermione simply looked up from her Arithmancy text and shrugged. The last few weeks of potions class had progressed with glacial slowness for both of them. It seemed as though Snape, having Harry squarely under his thumb, was achieving an almost euphoric delight in providing his daily taunts, but Harry was determined to stay focused and do his best. Since he was still relegated to the back corner of the room, Hermione, in a show of support, had positioned herself to face him rather than the front of the room. This, of course, had not gone unnoticed by Snape and had cost Gryffindor 10 points, much to Hermione's dismay. However, he had yet to force her to turn back around. Each day, Hermione would drill into him that the best revenge would be to hold his temper and do well, no matter what Snape threw at him. Besides, learning to tune out Snape was good practice for blocking out the distractions that Voldemort certainly had in store for him. Judging by the prune-like look of disgust on Snape's face when Harry handed in his samples, he believed he must have been doing something right.
Maybe Hermione had been right after all…okay, she was right. 'Bloody disgusting habit she has there', he thought.
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Not wanting to wander the streets of Hogsmeade on an empty stomach, the group had met for an early breakfast. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville gathered with Ginny, Dean, Seamus, and the rest of the school in anticipation of the arrival of the carriages that would carry them to the village. Upon seeing Professor McGonagall making her way through the crowd, Harry was grateful that he had remembered to have Vernon sign the permission slip early upon his arrival at Privet Drive, while the promise of retribution from Mad Eye was still fresh in his uncle's mind.
As the professor collected the slips from each of the student's, she was quick to admonish them all, "Remember, traveling to Hogsmeade is a privilege, not a right. I expect each and every one of you to conduct yourself with the utmost restraint. Any reports of misconduct will be dealt with severely. Am I clear on this?" Noting the simple acknowledgements and smattering of 'yes, professor' through the group, she motioned her head towards the gate where the carriages were now filing through, "Enjoy your day then."
Ron and Neville quickly intercepted a coach and were in the process of settling in when Hermione noticed that Harry was no longer behind her. Suspicious as to his whereabouts, Hermione retraced her steps back to the front of the carriage, only to find him quietly whispering and stroking what appeared to be thin air. It tugged at her heart to know what she couldn't see with her own eyes, she could see by the anguish reflected on the face of her best friend. To Harry, the Thestrals were no longer simply a mode of locomotion for the Hogwarts carriages, but a personal reminder of their fateful journey to the Ministry and the loss of Sirius. Probing with her hand to find and scratch the ear of the invisible beast, she looked towards the sad green eyes of her friend that were unfocused and staring off at inner demons from the past, "It wasn't your fault, Harry. Please, remember that."
The sadness she had seen now flared into a burning anger, "How can you say that, Hermione! You know bloody well that it was my fault! If I had listened to you, Sirius would still be alive and none of you would have gotten hurt and…"
"I know no such thing, Harry James Potter!" she responded heatedly. "I…Harry, please," Hermione's voice softened at the look in his eyes as she reached down and took his hand in hers, "let's not argue. It's a beautiful day and we're on our way to Hogsmeade. Please, just relax and let's just have fun today, alright?" she added with a gentle squeeze of his hand.
Taking a deep breath, the fires within Harry's eyes began to burn out. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I'm sorry for a lot of things. If…"
"No, Harry, just fun today, ok? No sorry's," she replied as he helped her into the coach.
"Sorry about what? What did you do now, Harry?" asked Ron in a teasing voice as they squeezed into the seat.
"Nothing Ron, every thing's fine," Hermione replied with a look of 'let it go' on her face.
Soon the carriages arrived at the village and the students began their migration through the cobblestone streets according to who was going where first and with whom. Agreeing to meet at the Three Broomsticks for lunch, Ginny, Dean, and Seamus had headed for the Quality Quidditch Supply Store, while Hermione had convinced Harry, Ron, and Neville to begin their day at The Magical Menagerie to acquire needed supplies for Hagrid.
As they stepped from the relative quiet of the outdoors and through the door, they were met by the din of sound coming from the multitude of animals flitting, floating, bouncing, or scurrying around the room. Harry and Ron went to restock their supply of owl treats for Hedwig and Pig while Hermione and Neville sought out the shopkeeper.
"Excuse me, sir. But could you help me fill this list for Hagrid?" Hermione asked the ancient and slightly mummified owner.
Taking the list from her, he started "Yes, yes, Hagrid. Hmm, yes… I thought he might be needing more of that… what in Merlin's name does he want that for… yes, yes I have all of this." He looked up from the paper and peered at them from over his spectacles, "Are there just the two of you? This is quite a bit I'm afraid, perhaps I should have it delivered to Hagrid?"
"Yes, if you could, that would be splendid." Hermione said gratefully. "Thank you sir. I'll let Hagrid know to be expecting it."
Leaving the shopkeeper, they started browsing through the store in search of Harry and Ron. Hermione gathered some treats for Crookshanks while Neville stared, mesmerized, at the Devil Piranha, a blood red Amazon Piranha with horns. Eventually, they found Ron trying to convince Harry of something. "Why not, Harry? I mean, the bloody little prat is just a smart mouthed fur ball. It's not like I'm really going to put it on him, just frighten him a bit, though it would serve the little bludger right..."
"It's on your head Ron," replied a smirking Harry, "although, he does seem to have taken quite a liking to you. He's a bit more cheeky when you're around."
"Who are you talking about?" Hermione inquired as she leaned up against Harry's arm.
"Ron wants to get that muzzle there for our friend THRIBT. Says it might tone him down a bit," Harry answered with a grin.
"Ronald Weasley! You will do no such thing," Hermione said indignantly. "THRIBT is a bright and articulate creature and you are NOT going to place such a horrid device on him. Now put that…that thing back on the shelf and let's go. Everyone is probably at the Three Broomsticks already waiting for us."
Ron looked down at the muzzle and back to Hermione. With a slightly evil grin he attempted to take a few steps towards the sales counter.
"Ronald!" Hermione growled warningly at him.
"Ok, ok, I was just joking. Keep your knickers on, Hermione!"
Paying for their own personal items, they confirmed the date for Hagrid's delivery and headed for the Three Broomsticks.
Judging by the level of noise that hit them when they opened the door, it seemed as though all of Hogwarts was already there. Fortunately, Ginny and the others had snagged the largest booth in the corner and had a round of butterbeers waiting for them. Weaving their way through the crowd, the three waved to Madam Rosmerta as they passed the bar.
"Hey, about time you three showed up," Ginny admonished teasingly. "You took so long we had to put a chilling charm on your drinks. By the way, we already ordered for you and Madam Rosmerta will bring our food over when she can. Did you get Hagrid's list taken care of?"
"Thanks, Ginny. Yes, we did get Hagrid's list and we would have been here sooner if it wasn't for your git of a brother," Hermione answered with a roll of her eyes towards Ron.
Ginny chuckled. "So what magnificently dumb thing did my dear brother do now?"
"Can you believe he actually wanted to buy a muzzle for THRIBT? As if the two don't argue constantly as it is, can you imagine what it would be like after he tried such a thing?"
Looking over at Ron, Ginny grinned, "From what I've heard, the arguments tend to be rather one sided. THRIBT doesn't have much to work with now, does he?"
"Thanks, Ginny," Ron piped in, "that little pipsqueak has a brain the size of a newt and…"
Ginny cut him off, "I was talking about you, Ron."
"Ha, ha. Bloody comedians now, aren't we." Turning to Dean and Seamus, as if to ignore the two girls, "Anything new over at Quality Quidditch supplies?"
"No, nothing really…" Seamus had started, but across the table Harry had dropped his butterbeer and clasped his hand over his scar.
"Harry! What's wrong? Is it your scar?" a concerned Hermione asked as she grabbed his arm.
Pulling his wand from within his robe, Harry slowly stood and moved away from the table, "Stay here!" he told the worried faces around the table.
"Oh no you don't, Harry. You're not going anywhere without us." Hermione retorted as she attempted to follow him out of the booth.
"Stay here, I said!" he almost shouted, shaking his arm from her grasp.
With that outburst, the other students seated around them began to notice something was going on and like a wave washing through the room, the conversations started to die out.
Harry carefully opened the front door a bit and slowly peered out into the street. Seeing nothing immediately amiss, bit by bit he made his way past the door until he was standing fully in the open doorway. Concentrating his view on the dark recesses and obvious spots of cover lining the street, he searched for any signs of trouble. But everywhere he looked there were people going about their everyday tasks, oblivious to any problems that he might have perceived.
Across the street he saw Tonks, with her bubble gum colored hair stepping from the Hogsmeade bakery. Noticing Harry standing in front of the pub, she waved to him and headed his way.
As she neared the center of the street, a bolt of red light streaked down the street and hit her squarely in the back.
"TONKS!" screamed Harry. Crouching down low near the doorway, he pointed his wand at the prone Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor and shouted "Ennervate!"
It had been fortuitous for Harry that he had chosen that moment to duck down, as the Death Eater who had fired on Tonks now sent a bolt of red light at him, shattering the sign posted behind where his head had just been.
The street was now a melee of people running for cover, small explosions, and bolts of different colored spells flashing about. Harry motioned to the now conscious Tonks to make for cover across the street.
Jumping back inside and slamming the door closed, Harry was greeted by the utter pandemonium of a room full of screaming, cowering students. He tried to shout over the panic for silence and calm but it only seemed to charge them even more.
In the corner, Hermione jumped upon the table bench, pointed her wand at her throat, and with a quick "Sonorus", bellowed in a commanding voice, "Silence!" Seeing that she now had their attention, she added "Calm down and listen to Harry!" then "Quietus".
Harry gazed around the room and assessed the situation in a heartbeat. "Everyone, stay calm. Panic will only work in their favor. All younger students move over here behind the counter. All older students gather what you can to shield yourselves." Seeing that there were a number of the DA present amongst the crowd, he made his decision. "All the members of the DA, gather here in the front as the first line of defense. Neville, you're in charge!"
Neville looked as though he has swallowed a spoonful of botuber pus, "Wh…Wh…WHAT!? You can't mean me, Harry. I… I… I'm not good enough to… what about you?" the terrified teenager sputtered.
"You're wrong, Neville. You've proved over and over that you're more than capable. Just have faith in yourself and it will be fine. Tonks is fighting from across the street so try and give her some cover fire."
As the building shuddered from a nearby explosion, Harry turned to Ron and Hermione, "You two, head back to Hogwarts through the tunnel and get Dumbledore."
"And where do you think you're going, Harry?" asked Hermione.
"I'm going to duck out the back and see if I can circle around to help Tonks. You two get a move on for the castle!"
"Like Hell I will," bellowed an obviously upset Ron. "If you think for one second I'm going to let you go out there by yourself you're daft! I'm going with you, Hermione can run back though the tunnels."
"Harry, don't argue. Ron's right, but since it's obvious you're going to do this no matter what, then we're both going with you." Giving them both a look that could scald water, "I'm sure Tonks has already alerted Dumbledore, and the Aurors should be here soon. Let's go then!"
Realizing that he wasn't about to change either of their minds, Harry jerked his head towards the back of the room and headed off with his two stubborn friends in tow.
Pausing at the back door, Harry stopped them, "Just remember what you've been practicing and drop anything wearing black. We'll sort them out later. Now when I open the door, spread out and head for cover. Ron, you head left along the wall of the pub. Hermione and I will work our way to the right. Let's go," and with a yank of the handle, he threw the door open. A myriad of colored bolts shot out across the alleyway and tore the door from its frame as Ron dove out the door and rolled between two empty butterbeer casks and Harry and Hermione ran for the safety of a trash bin.
"Stupefy! Stupefy!" Harry hurled at the dark cloaks he spotted hiding within the trash. Turning back and seeing the wrecked door lying on the ground, he shouted "Ron, are you ok?"
"Yeah, mate. No worries!" was the distant reply.
Hermione had spotted the Death Eater that had fired at Ron and was attempting to keep him occupied with a series of 'Reducto' and 'Impedimenta' curses. The Death Eater wasn't taking the hint and instead was working his way through the mountains of boxes, shipping pallets, and all other manners of storage that line the back alleys of all cities in the world.
Then Harry saw his opportunity. While Hermione had the miscreant busy dodging her flurry of spells, Harry dove around the end of the trash bin to another long row of neatly stacked butterbeer casks on the far side of the alley. Crawling along the moss-covered ground he was finally able to place the Death Eater within his sight and silence him with a well placed 'Stupefy!'
Realizing that the number of spells fired by his friends had dwindled before he got to the Death Eater, Harry shouted over his shoulder, "Hermione! Ron! Are you ok?"
"I'm fine Harry, but Ron's been hit and he's out cold! He's breathing and has a strong pulse but I'm not sure what spell it was!" was Hermione's tearful answer back.
"Hold on, I'll come back and help you."
"No, Harry. You go ahead, I'll watch after Ron."
"You're sure?"
"Yes, Harry. We'll be fine, now go and help Tonks! I can still hear explosions coming from the street, so I think she needs all of the help she can get right now. Go!"
"Alright, Hermione. Keep your head down and I'll be back soon."
"You had better Harry James Potter! I will never forgive you if you go and get yourself killed!"
As Harry rounded the corner of the "L" shaped alley, he saw the rampant destruction that was taking place in the front of the shops. A score of bodies lay strewn about the street. Within their numbers lay a few students and a couple villagers, but the largest portion, he was proud to see, was made up of Death Eaters.
Harry was halfway to the street when he heard an explosion followed by a gut wrenching scream from behind him. Racing back into the smoke filled alley, he heard Hermione's panicked yell, "Harry!"
Frustrated that he couldn't see and fearful of firing any curse that could possibly hit her, Harry faltered as unwanted thoughts thrust their way into his conscious mind, 'No, not like the Ministry of Magic. I won't let it happen again! Not to Hermione.' Clearing his mind of everything, he forced those thoughts out as though forcing out a belligerent Snape and continued his way through the noxious smoke.
Then, there she was. Through the wisp of smoke clearing in front of him he saw a brown haired lioness, bound by ropes but still fighting with everything she had in her against the two Death Eaters who were holding her firmly between them.
Jumping out to face them, the raised his wand and roared, "LET HER GO!"
"No!" an all too familiar voice cackled. Harry's rage flamed as he saw Bellatrix Lestrange smirk at him. Even as he lunged towards her, she yanked Hermione to her feet and the Death Eaters apparated away.
Harry stood, staring at the empty space where Hermione had just been. A pulsating knot of blinding anger started to form in the pit of his stomach and began to spread throughout his body. His wand started to vibrate with the force of his rage as he clenched it in his hand to the point of pain. The hair on his head stood on end, loose bits of debris and paper strewn about the alley began to swirl and dance around, and Harry began to glow. Then, as the white-hot anger reached its zenith, a shimmering bubble of opaline blue exploded from within him. As it enveloped the length of the alley, the wave of destruction swept everything from its path.
"Hermione!"