Harry Potter and the Isle of Mists
Disclaimer: I can only hope to attain the creative brilliance of J. K Rowling.
AN: Please review. This is my first Harry Potter fanfic, so be kind.
AN2: This story is AU after OOTP.
You Cannot Judge a Book by its Cover
After their encounter on the Quidditch pitch, Malfoy seemed to completely vanish. Harry knew he had hit a nerve with the blond Slytherin, and the thought made him smile to himself, even as Madame Pomfrey muttered under her breath while she repaired his broken nose.
"Honestly, Mr. Potter," she said gruffly, "if two visits to the infirmary before term even begins are any indication as to your health during the school year…I'll turn in my resignation to the headmaster right now." Harry had tried to look properly repentant, but then he thought of Draco again, trying to recover his lost loftiness. I don't know what you're talking about, Scarhead, even while his eyes held a flicker of discomfiture.
So they knew that Lucius Malfoy was out of Azkaban. And Draco knew that Harry knew. What else to do with this information? He wondered to himself.
We should tell Professor Dumbledore, came Hermione's voice suddenly.
"Mr. Potter!" Madame Pomfrey exclaimed, quite at the end of her patience. Harry had jumped, when Hermione spoke in his head, and jostled the mediwitch, causing her to spill the Bone Fusing Serum.
Hermione! Harry growled, annoyed. You scared me. And now Madame Pomfrey thinks I have a tic or something!
Oh, right, Hermione said, adding belatedly, sorry about your nose.
Anyway, don't you think Dumbledore already knows? If Snape knows, then surely Dumbledore knows.
I thought you didn't trust Professor Snape, Hermione teased.
Just because he's probably sharing information with the Order now, does not mean I trust him, Harry harrumphed. Hey, he continued, suddenly as a thought occurred to him. Ron up there?
No, not yet. Why?
Well, how'd you know I broke my nose?
Because you've been sitting in the infirmary thinking about it, Hermione said, a little impatiently. Besides, it hurt.
It hurt you?
Yes, it just kind of throbbed a little, but some pain reliever potion took care of it.
"You're free to go, Mr. Potter," Madame Pomfrey said, corking her bottles, and gathering them up. "Please don't let me see you again, for at least a little while."
"Yes ma'am," Harry mumbled. He left the hospital wing, and began to head back toward Gryffindor tower.
Is this going to put you in danger? Harry asked, a note of panic beginning to thread into his tone. If I get hurt again…if Voldemort..?
Harry, this isn't going to change anything, came Hermione's voice, calmly.
Why not? If it's no fun feeling your own pain, it certainly won't be fun to feel someone else's. We should ask Dumbledore about breaking the link…this is too dangerous, Harry said hurriedly.
Harry, don't be ridiculous, Hermione said, in her most authoritative tone.
How exactly is that ridiculous? Harry said, huffily. If we're more powerful because of this link, then we're also more vulnerable. This is dangerous. I could fall off my broom playing Quidditch. I don't want you hurt.
There was silence in his head for a moment. Harry could feel Hermione's astonishment at his vehemence.
Wait! She said suddenly, and it was in her I-have-an-idea voice. There's a Muggle saying…something about joy shared being joy doubled, and pain shared being pain halved.
What?
Maybe if we can feel each other's pain, there's a way to draw it off…make it more manageable.
That would mean that the person drawing off the pain would be taking some of it on themselves… I don't like it. Harry was resolute.
Harry, think about what that would mean for something like the Cruciatus curse! Or even…
Avada Kedavra? Harry finished for her dully. She could feel his mind working furiously, as he mulled this over. Maybe you have something there.
We could mention it at our Occlumency lesson tonight.
And have Snape cast Crucio on me to test it? I don't think so, Harry replied quickly.
He could tell she was rolling her eyes.
Maybe we could practice with Ron. He could stun one of us, and we could see if the other could fight it off.
"I'm sure Ron'll be thrilled," Harry said out loud, as he climbed through the portrait hole. Now he actually had the pleasure of seeing Hermione roll her eyes at him.
sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
"Again," came the implacable voice of Professor Severus Snape. He was forcing the two of them to wall up their minds, blocking them from sensing the other, while trying to perform Occlumency.
Hermione's hand was trembling slightly as she held her wand, but she had effectively ousted Snape from her mind three times, and each time, was doing it more rapidly.
Harry sat, glad for a break from his ordeal with Snape, which had been even more relentless. What was occupying his mind more now was keeping the mental barrier up between him and Hermione. It took a surprising amount of concentration. He had also noticed how bereft he felt without her presence in his mind…he kind of missed it.
He saw Snape stagger backward, almost imperceptibly, as Hermione forced him out again. She was breathing heavily, and was leaning with one hand on a desk. The Potions master recovered quickly, and moved into Hermione's mind again, as soon as she looked up at him, before she'd straightened her posture or lifted her wand. Harry watched her visibly struggle.
His mind poked itself over the wall he'd built, as he stealthily tried to reach out for Hermione's mind. He felt his mind stretch slowly, pulling taut like an elastic band.
Then - WHAM! He was forced backwards, and found himself on the floor blinking around the Potions lab in a bewildered fashion.
"Mr. Potter," Snape enunciated, clearly annoyed, his black eyes snapping. "I believe you were given your instructions."
"But sir - !" Harry protested, eying Hermione's tired features with some concern.
"I'm afraid we have no time for your misbegotten…romantic overtures, Mr. Potter," Snape said, curling his lip in disdain. "You will keep your mind out of Miss Granger's training, do you understand?"
Harry glared at him, sullenly, "Yes sir," he said, in as disrespectful a manner as possible.
His mental wall was in place once again, as he slumped in a desk, and watched Snape stab his wand at Hermione. "Legilimens!" the professor intoned. Hermione took a half-step backwards, but rallied, and Harry could see rather than feel her trying to repel their teacher.
The seeds of an idea began to form in Harry's mind, and he tried to smother the small smile that formed. Picturing the mental wall that made up the barrier he had erected between his mind and Hermione's, he visualized himself tunneling under it.
There was a drifting foggy nothingness, similar to what had happened that day in the library when he entered Malfoy's mind. Then suddenly he was there.
Hermione was crouched in a stall in an abandoned bathroom. The echoing sound of dripping water reverberated around the chamber. There was a loud bang as the door crashed open, and a looming shadow hovered in the doorway. A rumbling growl issued forth.
Harry reached out with all his strength to help Hermione force Snape from her mind. Snape and Hermione looked up, their mental link broken, and Harry hurriedly wiped away the trickle of blood dripping from his nose. His head ached faintly, and thankfully, Snape decided that that was enough for today.
Harry dropped the mental block, and felt the comforting warmth of Hermione's presence surge back into his mind.
Harry, was that you just then? Harry couldn't keep a self-satisfied grin from his face. Apparently Snape had not noticed a thing. Hermione glowered at him.
I was doing just fine on my own, thank you! She said haughtily. Harry hastened to extract himself from the danger zone.
Oh, c'mon, Hermione. He was wearing you out…anybody would be from repeated attempts to block Legilimency! I was just helping out a bit. Besides, we learned something new…we can sneak around our own blocks, and even Legilimensi can't tell!
Hermione's look moderated somewhat at the new bit of knowledge. Well, I knew you were there, she gave as her parting shot.
He gave her a look that was part annoyance, part smirk, as they gathered their wands and parchment and scrolls, and departed from the dungeons.
sssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
"So, er…Ron?" Harry asked, awkwardly, as the three of them sat in the common room. Harry and Ron were playing a game of Wizard's chess, at which Harry was doing spectacularly badly. Hermione was reading the latest edition of Hogwarts: A History. Ginny had nipped down to the kitchen for a snack, and Harry figured that now was as good a time as any to broach the subject of practicing with Ron.
Ron looked up at him, arching his brows in question, as he moved his queenside rook to take Harry's remaining bishop. "What?" he asked. Harry stared despairingly at the board. How did Ron always manage to beat him at this game?
"We .. er, that is - Hermione and I…found a new thing that we can do… it's - " Hermione had put her book down, and was watching him fumble around along with Ron.
Finally she took pity on him, and said, "When Harry broke his fingers…and then his nose…I felt it too, although it was reduced in magnitude. We were hoping you could help us test it…find out if this can be used to reduce the effects of hexes or …"
"…Unforgivables," Harry finished. Ron was staring at them, his eyes bugging nearly out of his head.
"You want - you want me to use - Unforgivables on you?" The last part of his statement was only a squeak.
Hermione's eyes soared to the ceiling. "Oh, honestly, Ron! Do you really think we would ask you to do that?"
"Of course I don't!" Ron replied hotly. "And even if you did ask, I wouldn't do it!" Harry bit back a smile, as his two best friends pursued their favorite pastime.
"Stun me," Harry said, cutting cleanly into their bickering. Ron looked at him doubtfully. "You heard me," Harry repeated.
Ron looked askance at Hermione, but raised his wand. "Stupefy!"
The spell hit Harry square in the midsection, and Harry staggered sideways, looking as if he were sure to topple over.
But he didn't fall. Ron watched with wide eyes, as Harry regained his balance and remained standing. Two sets of eyes went anxiously over to Hermione.
She was still standing as well, though looking a little pale and strained. "You okay, Hermione?" Harry asked solicitously. She nodded.
"I'm fine."
"I don't think this will work," Ron observed. "Instead of a spell affecting one person, it affects two. Why do you want two people to be unable to cast?" Harry and Hermione exchanged glances.
"He's right," Hermione observed. "We're going to have to be able to cast again almost immediately, or it won't be worth it."
"But even if there is a second of delay, that's better than one of us on the floor completely out of commission," Harry argued.
"We're going to have to work on it," Hermione said stalwartly. Ron's shoulders slumped at the thought of more work. "We'll need to know exactly how fast we can get at casting afterwards…and how many times we can draw off of each other before it gets to be too much." Harry nodded in agreement.
"If we stayed in a group of three, if we had to fight," he said thoughtfully, "Maybe Ron could fill in the gap, if there was too much of a delay."
"If the delay is more than a couple of seconds, I don't think we should try it," Hermione countered.
Harry opened his mouth to contest, and Ron wondered if there was going to be a row.
"What about shielding charms?" he asked suddenly. Harry and Hermione's heads turned to stare at him.
"What?" Harry asked, mystified.
"If your…er…that thing you have can… you know, reduce the effect of a curse, maybe it can make a shield stronger," Ron colored as he said this, a little abashed. He was not usually the one making strategy.
Hermione looked impressed. "That just might work." She looked at Harry a little shyly. "You want to give it a go?"
Harry looked at Ron, with a shrug. "Stun me," he said again.
"Stupefy!"
"Protego!" They shouted in unison, over the top of Ron's incantation. The curse bounced off of a shimmery shield, with a gong so resounding that the Trio had to cover their ears.
"Wow," Ron uttered. "That is definitely a stronger shield."
"What are the chances of us being able to shout in unison?" Harry asked. "Try it again, and I'll use the shield charm, and Hermione see if just linking up with my mind will work."
They tried, and the gong that echoed when the spell collided with the shield rattled the pictures on the walls. Hermione looked beside herself with glee.
"There are going to be so many ways that this could be useful!" Harry looked less convinced.
"Don't forget about the nightmares…and the pain," he said darkly. "We cannot let Voldemort find out about this."
sssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
The days rolled by swiftly. Harry and Hermione continued to have Occlumency lessons with Snape, and each became at least moderately efficient at closing his or her mind against the Potions master. Their ability when working together, however, was like nothing Snape had ever encountered. He didn't tell them that, of course.
Harry and Hermione also practiced with Ron, and sometimes Ginny, working together to strengthen spells or decrease the effects of curses. They were really growing quite adept at it.
Because of Harry's worry that Voldemort would discover their link, and exploit it, he and Hermione had also gotten into the habit of raising their mental walls before they went to sleep at night. Harry hoped that that would block the worst of his nightmares from Hermione. It seemed to work, although the walls seemed to falter somewhat, once the mind was relaxed in sleep. Hermione could always tell if he had had a nightmare, but usually did not actually experience it herself.
It also had the added benefit of blocking some of Harry's more embarrassing dreams about her.
She had never mentioned to Harry that she had also shared in other dreams he had, knowing that it would mortify him beyond measure, seeing as how they usually involved her, with not very many clothes on.
She felt her face flush, as she remembered the wobbly feeling in the pit of her stomach that she often awakened with, after a dream about him…or his dream about her. Their attraction often seemed magnified, especially when they kissed or touched, and neither had broached the subject of … other things.
Hermione smiled to herself, as she gathered her belongings together, in preparation for the day's trip. They were going to Diagon Alley today, to get their supplies for the school year.
Hermione, are you ready? Harry's solicitous voice rang comfortingly in her mind. She wondered if he had been listening to what she'd been thinking, but decided that surely she would have felt his embarrassment. Then again, their blocks had gotten much better lately.
"OY, Hermione!" called Ron from the stairs. Hermione blew air out through her mouth in exasperation.
Tell that prat that I'm coming!
"Hey, prat!" she heard Harry call, before the rest of his voice faded unintelligibly. She smiled, before heading down to the common room.
They met Ron's parents in Dumbledore's office, and took the floo to Diagon Alley. Much to Harry's discomfiture, Dumbledore had informed them that Aurors would be stationed throughout Diagon Alley, just in case.
What's wrong? Hermione asked, as Harry's irritation seeped through.
Here we go again! Now the Boy Who Lived has to have an Auror escort. Hermione noticed that Harry's face had turned a dark red.
Oh, honestly Harry! Hermione replied. Dumbledore said they were stationed in Diagon Alley, not that they would be following you around.
Harry stiffened slightly, as their turn came to take the floo. Ever since his unfortunate first trip by floo powder, when he'd ended up in Knockturn Alley, the floo had made him more than a little nervous. Dumbledore tossed the powder in, and the flames glowed green.
"The destination has already been set, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said, encouragingly. "Just step through and you're in Diagon Alley." Harry felt Hermione's fingers slide between his own, and together, they stepped into the fire.
Harry stumbled out into the Leaky Cauldron, but did not fall, dragging Hermione clumsily behind him.
Tom was behind the counter, polishing glassware. He raised a beer stein in salute to Harry. "Good to see you again, Harry," the barman said, cordially. "Shopping for school?"
Harry nodded, and still clasping Hermione's hand tightly, pulled her out into the bustle of Diagon Alley.
After over two hours of shopping, Harry and Hermione found themselves at Flourish and Blott's. The four students had split up, but agreed to meet back at the bookstore last, saving the heaviest items for the end of the trip. The Weasleys and the Grangers were there as well.
"Mum! Dad!" Hermione cried, hugging them gratefully. She looked anxiously up at them. "You haven't had any other trouble, have you?" She asked, obviously referring to the Dark Mark.
"Not a bit of it, dear," her mother replied. "We're just glad you've been doing well. Hello, Harry, how are you?" She asked, spotting Harry lingering nearby, pretending to look at a display of travel books.
"Fine, Mrs. Granger, thanks," he mumbled. "Are you doing well?"
"Yes, Harry, quite well. Don't worry about us," she replied. Harry drifted off, while Hermione caught up with her parents, looking for what seemed an enormous amount of books on the sixth-year list.
"Oy, Harry," Ron called out, his arms filled with books. Flourish and Blott's had gotten more crowded, though Harry thought that they had beaten most of the Hogwart's students here.
"What?" Harry called irritably. "Are you done? I'm still looking for this stupid book," he gesture toward the title at the bottom of the list.
"Accessing the Inacessible?" Ron asked. "I can't find it either."
"Why would they already be out? Aren't we a little early this - oh bloody hell!" Harry said suddenly, as the little bell over the door rang.
"Wha - oh, for the love of - " Ron said incoherently, as he turned.
"Don't everybody look so happy to see me. I'll be overwhelmed!" Draco Malfoy muttered, as he entered the bookshop.
"Like there would be a chance for you to be overwhelmed by affection of any kind," Ron said scornfully.
"I don't know," Draco said in a thoughtful voice. "Now, Pansy, she can - "
"Oh, sod off, Malfoy," Ron said, disgustedly, before Malfoy could go into detail. "Why are you even here?" Draco arched a brow at him.
"To get my books for school, of course," he said, his tone too-innocent. He strolled casually back among the displays, looking at the shelves. Ron and Harry's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"If he's here for his books, who brought him?" Ron muttered. A hulking figure of black caught Harry's eye, as it entered a chemist's shop across the street.
"I guess Snape did," Harry said, pointing at the shop.
"How bloody lovely," Ron said sarcastically.
"Hey, you haven't had to have extra classes with him," Harry said, rolling his eyes.
"Well, you were the one going and making a mental link with Hermione. Bloody well serves you right. Like she wasn't mental enough already!" Ron said, but he was smiling, and Harry grinned back. Maybe things were almost back to normal between them.
The little bell jangled again, as a wisp of a blond girl sauntered into the shop, looking around as if she didn't exactly know how she had gotten there. Harry and Ron exchanged pleased glances.
"Luna!" They chorused. She looked up at them, blinking at them for so long with her big blue eyes, that they began to think maybe they had confused this girl with someone else.
Finally she smiled. "Sorry," she said mistily. "I was checking your auras, making sure you weren't Oscillating Ranglerants, in disguise. You can't be too careful, you know."
"No, that's true," Harry said, so seriously, that Ron looked at him in amazement.
"Are you getting your books?" Luna asked politely.
"We've gotten everything but the last one," Ron said, showing her the book-llist.
"Make sure and get the new ones. Secondhand books are often infested with Fibrous Burrowworms," Luna said serenely, drifting off to one of the bookcases. Ron watched her go with a kind of bewildered fascination.
"She is completely mad!" he said, somehow making it sound like a compliment.
Harry was not listening, having begun to dig around in a bin of discount books.
"What are you doing?" Ron asked.
"Looking for that stupid book," Harry replied in irritation.
"It's not going to be in a discount bin," Ron pointed out dubiously. Harry turned away from the bin, and rounded on Ron.
"It's not anywhere else in this store, Ron! What else do you suggest I do?"
"You could always whistle," came a voice at his elbow, and Harry jumped. Luna had somehow made her way soundlessly to his side. "Some rare Austrian mindwipers have been known to come when whistled for." Harry wasn't even sure how to respond to this.
"Look, get Hermione and look in the discount bins," Ron said. "I'll go ask the manager if he's got any in the back. We have to hurry. The automatic floo back to Hogwart's leaves starts in 10 minutes."
Hey, Hermione, where are you? He called.
Looking at the rare books in the back shelf, her voice sounded dreamily content, and Harry laughed.
Have you found Accessing the Inaccessible yet?
No, actually I haven't, Hermione said, sounding puzzled.
The floo starts up again shortly. Ron went to ask the manager. Come help me look through these bins.
Okay…
A moment later, Hermione and Ginny joined Harry at the large barrels that sat waist high, full of books in no particular order. Luna had begun sifting through the books as well.
"We're never going to find that book, especially not before the floo," Ginny said grumpily, burrowing down with her arm, in the same barrel as Harry, on the opposite side. "A new schoolbook's not going to be in here anyway."
And then several things happened at once.
Luna picked up an odd looking book, black-covered, with no words on it at all. "Here it is," she said calmly.
"Let me see," Hermione said, and tapped her wand to it. "Accessing the Inaccessible wavered across the front cover of the book, in shiny gold letters, and then disappeared, leaving the book once again featureless.
Harry saw another black cover, down at the very bottom of the bin, and pulled it free, only to discover that Ginny was holding the other side.
"We've got another one," she said.
"Oy," Ron called, holding a plain black book aloft, "He found one in the back…it was under a crate of those awful snarling books Hagrid made us use third year. There's only one though."
"Let's buy your books and go," Mrs. Weasley called out. "We're going to be late. It's nearly twelve now."
Draco had turned at her announcement of the time, and bolted across the room, where the others stood, holding their odd, dark books.
"Give me that!" he said, trying to snatch the book from Hermione and Luna, who were each holding a side, and looking at it curiously. The pages appeared to be blank.
"Get your own, Malfoy!" Hermione shouted back angrily, holding onto the book more tightly.
"I said, give it to me…now!" Harry stood, he and Ginny still dumbly holding onto their copy of the book, looking bewildered at Malfoy's vehemence. But then…
The book glowed and shuddered briefly in his hands. He looked down at it, and awareness flooded his mind.
"Drop the books now!" he called frantically, even as he felt the familiar tug behind his navel.
Flourish and Blott's disappeared from around him, and he fell heavily to the ground.
TBC
Next: Where is Harry? And who managed to make it there with him?
This got a little longer than I usually run, but Luna showed up unexpectedly, and I had to accommodate her.
Enjoy, and review.
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