Chapter 15
Beasts and Burdens
The sunlight sparkled on the wet leaves and grass as the trio walked out of the main building into the grounds. It had been a few days since they last ventured outside, as the heavens had opened up, soaking the land. Ron had been more than a little irritated by the weather, as it had meant him cancelling his much needed practice, and with the game being that afternoon, he was feeling more than a little on edge. In fact, it had taken a lot of persuading from his friends to spare the little time that he had to come with them to visit someone they had neglected for a while. It had only been Hermione's constant insistence that they visit, that the three found themselves wandering in the direction of Hagrid's hut.
"Ron, you really are going to have to cheer up if you are going to be any help to Hagrid." Hermione repeated for what felt like the hundredth time since they had left the Gryffindor common room. They were supposed to meet at the suite she shared with Harry, but when the red haired wizard had failed to turn up, she and Harry had gone to collect him. "Perhaps it would have been better if you had stayed behind."
Ron looked at her, his expression one of shock and disgust. "That is exactly what I said I would do, if I remember correctly."
Hermione shrugged and let out a loud huff. "What is it with you lately? It's all, you, you, you." She looked forward, her eyes never leaving the path they were on.
"All me?" Ron sounded exasperated. "Have I been like that, Harry?"
Harry, who had been quiet during most of the trip, looked at Ron for a moment and said nothing. It was only when Hermione turned to face him that he felt the need to reply. "Well, I can't say I've really noticed," he confessed trying not to take sides.
Stopping suddenly, Hermione glared at her companions. "If this is what it's going to be like between us, maybe we shouldn't bother visiting Hagrid." Her eyes flicked between her two companions. "We're not going to be able to cheer him up if we continue like this."
"As I seem to be the cause of the problem, I'll leave you to it." Ron exclaimed, before turning and heading back the way they had come.
"Ron!" Hermione called after his retreating back. "Ron!"
Harry placed his hand on her shoulder. "Let him go." He shook his head and sighed. "He has a lot on his mind at the moment. He'll be better after the match." He pointed off towards the direction of Hagrid's hut. "Let's go, otherwise we'll miss him when he goes to his next class."
Nodding her head slightly, Hermione let out a low sigh, and watched as Ron disappeared from sight, before turning and following after Harry, having to jog a little to catch up with him.
The rest of the walk was completed in silence, neither saying anything to the other, both lost in their thoughts. Hermione took a casual look at Harry as he walked beside her. There had been something different between them since the night they had accidentally kissed. It had become hard to talk to him, hard to focus on anything other than the way it had made her feel, and it was not an entirely good feeling. She was sure that the guilt she felt was what caused her to be so hard on Ron.
Within minutes, they could see their first sighting of the hut, the smoke rising from the chimney suddenly brought to their minds how chilly it had become following the rain. Careful not to slip, the two made their way to the door, which Harry knocked hard once they had arrived. His hand connected with the wood three times, before he took a step back and waited silently for the door to be answered.
"I don't think he's in," Harry declared after they had stood waiting for a couple of minutes.
Hermione frowned. "There's smoke, so he should be in."
Harry looked at her for a moment in thought. "Perhaps we should come back another time."
"There sounds like there is someone inside." Hermione announced, as she stepped forward and bashed her hand against the door. "Hagrid! Hagrid, are you there?"
"Hagrid!" Harry chorused.
"Hold yer Hippogriffs" came a voice from inside the hut. "I'm comin'" The door swung open to reveal the giant frame of Hagrid. "'Harry. Hermione. Come in." He took a step back and waved them inside. "I wasn't expectin' yer; otherwise I'd have let yer in sooner." He gave his two visitors a smile.
"Hello, Hagrid." Hermione returned his smile as she stepped into the hut.
Harry followed closely behind. "Hi, Hagrid." He smiled as he looked around the interior, trying to discover what had kept their host so long. "How are you?"
Hagrid moved beside them, covering the distance in a couple of steps. "I can't complain." He lifted a couple of filled sacks from one of his chairs, freeing it for Hermione to sit on. "Can I get yer a tea or somethin'?" He pointed to the kettle bubbling over the fire.
Hermione shook her head. "No, thank you." To which Harry added a very quick shake of his head.
"We're sorry we've not been to see you sooner, Hagrid." Harry looked at his old friend, a genuine look of regret buried in his gaze. "We've been really busy."
Hermione nodded and smiled sadly. "We had been meaning to come earlier, but we have had so much to do, what with being made Head Boy and Girl," she explained, feeling that it really was no excuse for their lack of attention.
"I've been a little tied up meself, ter be honest." Hagrid turned away from his guests and began to poke the fire. "Ever since Dumbledore…" He paused, unable to go on, or not wanting too. "I've bin workin' hard ter make sure his trust in me was not wasted." He pointed to the sack he had moved from the chair. "I've even managed ter get a surprise for me next class."
Harry looked at the sack, his eyes holding a look of fear that was matched by Hermione's gaze. "What is it?" He asked, wondering if doing so was the right thing to do.
"Oh, it's a surprise, Harry," Hagrid grinned, and turned his attention back to the fire. "But it's nothin' ter worry yerself about." He fell silent for a moment, as both of his companions continued to stare at the sack that had decided to start moving, as if on cue.
The three remained silent for a moment, as Harry turned to Hermione, his face a picture of concern. Hermione in turn, looked over at Hagrid's back, as if she was willing him to speak. When no more conversation came from him, she looked back at Harry.
Slowly, as the minutes dragged on, the silence began to become unbearable. The crackle of the fire and the rustle of the sack filled the cabin, as time began to drag on. Hermione started to wonder if this was such a good idea after all, being as they had so many other things that they could be doing. The thought of finding the next Horcrux would not leave her mind.
"What have you been up to lately, Hagrid?" Harry finally broke the monotony.
"Professor McGonagall has asked me ter check out the Giant Squid; the one that lives in the lake." Hagrid turned and looked at his companions. "Seems the thin' has disappeared since the beginnin' of the year." He shook his head. "I just hopes it has nothin' ter do with what happened here last year." A frown cast over his face. "Place ain't been the same."
Harry nodded his head sadly. "It hasn't, that's for sure." His eyes found Hagrid's. "Have you managed to get out to Hogsmeade lately, Hagrid?"
Shaking his head, Hagrid's frown grew deeper. "I've been meanin' ter visit, but I haven't had the time." He moved his gaze between the two students. "I'm not goin' ter ask yeh two, as I'm sure yeh've been stickin' ter the Headmistress' rules an' not leavin' the grounds."
Both Harry and Hermione looked more than a little guilty, but they smiled at the giant man before them, and merely nodded, unable to open their mouths and outwardly lie to Hagrid. His smile indicating that he was happy with their answer, as he turned back to his stove, upon which was brewing a strange concoction.
"What are you making, Hagrid?" Hermione asked, wanting to get away from the topic of conversation that they had just been discussing. "It looks…" She could not bring herself to say disgusting as she rose from her chair and walked over to Hagrid, her eyes fixed to the pot.
"That's ter feed my new pets," Hagrid sounded overly pleased with himself. "They take a little lookin' after, but I'm pleased with the way they're developin'." He gave her a satisfied grin.
From the corner of her eye, she could see that Harry had moved his position, and was fiddling about with the opening of the sake, trying to get a peek inside. Both of they were concerned about what Hagrid had gotten himself into this time, especially following some of the acquisitions he had come by in the past. The dragon and Buckbeak being two that came instantly to Hermione.
"What the…?" Harry shouted as he shot back into his seat.
"Harry?" Hagrid turned to look at his young friend.
Harry's eyes found Hagrid's. "You've got…" He stammered. "You've got giant spiders in there. What are you doing with them?"
"No, no, not giant spiders." Hagrid moved across the room in one step and snatched the bag away, holding it too him, careful not to crush the contents. "Yer two had better leave now." His face had fallen into a frown, as he looked sadly between the two. "Go on with yer." He turned his back on the two, shielding his prize in his arms.
Hermione looked at Harry, then turned towards the door, pulling it open. Briefly, she shot a look at Hagrid. "Goodbye, Hagrid." She stepped outside the door, and paused on the threshold, waiting for Harry to follow her.
"Hagrid, you've got to take them back," she heard Harry telling Hagrid, before he two appeared at the door.
Before the two had taken a step away from the entrance to the hut, the door was closed behind them with a resounding bang. Looking back over their shoulders, Harry and Hermione stood looking for a moment, as if they expected something else to happen, before turning and walking back towards the school.
"I can't believe he did it," Harry began, shaking his head. "He must have sneaked into the forest and stole some of Aragog's spiders.
Hermione frowned and looked at Harry, her expression one of puzzlement. "Why would he do that? He would have had to risk his life to get them. You know what he was told when Aragog died. He would not do something that foolish, would he?"
"You said yourself that he had not been himself lately." Harry shrugged, his expression not changing.
"Are you sure it was a spider?" Hermione asked, hoping that Harry had made a mistake. He had barely looking into the bag as far as she could tell.
Harry looked at her, his eyes questioning. "You think I don't know a spider when I see one? It shot its leg out at me when I pulled open the top slightly."
Hermione signed, resignedly. "We'll have to keep an eye on him, Harry. All what has happened has affected him more than we thought." She looked sadly back at the hut. "We must keep this to ourselves, we don't want Hagrid being sacked from Hogwarts. He would not be able to survive outside the protection of the wards, and he is sure to be a target for You-Know-Who."
Harry nodded, as the two continued to make their way back into the castle.
* * * * *
Once they had returned to the castle, Harry and Hermione lost themselves in a muddle of work, chores and other things that kept them occupied until thirty minutes before the beginning of the first Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Ron had not been seen by either of them since he left them on the way to Hagrid's, and had spent the time in between working with his team and building up their spirits.
Hermione walked into the Head's Suite common room, and glanced over at Harry who was looking more than a little cross at a sheet of parchment that was half filled with his scribble. She moved over to where he was seated, and looked down at him, her eyes scanning the last line he had written.
"What's the matter, Harry?"
Harry looked up from his work, surprised to see her standing there. "I can't get my head around this."
Hermione frowned and lowered herself into the chair beside him. "Do you want me to help?"
"No, it's not that I don't understand it." He looked at her, his brow furrowing. "I can't stop thinking about things. The Horcruxes, Hagrid, Ron, you…"
"Me?" Hermione sounded a little surprised by the mention of herself.
Harry nodded. "Yes."
If it was possible, her frown deepened. "Why do you think of me? I'm perfectly fine, you know that." She smiled, trying to reassure him. "I can look after myself. You really should be focusing on you, and what you have to do. Ron and I really do not need you to worry about us." She blushed slightly. "It is very nice that you do care though, Harry."
Harry nodded, his eyes holding a strange look in them, as if he was thinking something that he did not wish to share. "We should be heading to the Quidditch pitch if we want to wish Ron and the team luck before they start." He got up from his chair and looked down at Hermione.
Hermione's mind was still in a whirl, the conversation had changed rapidly, almost leaving her behind. She rose from her seat and smiled at Harry. "Yeah, I think he is going to need as much luck as possible, if what he's been saying is true." Her eyes continued to stare into Harry's face, as if searching for a clue. His eyes had been trying to talk to her, but he had pulled back before she had grasped his meaning.
Before another word was spoken, he was on his way towards the door, and through it before she had taken a couple of steps. The journey to the stadium was completed in silence, making Hermione wonder once more what had happened to cause this atmosphere between them. They seemed to be on a seesaw of emotion, one moment up and the next moment down. Hermione knew that Harry had a lot on his mind, but it was getting difficult to pinpoint when it was a good time to talk and when he would hide away in his thought.
As they approached the entrance to the Gryffindor teams changing room, Hermione stopped suddenly, her eyes focused on two figures that were standing near the door, laughing and joking with each other. The red head of one making him instantly recognisable to her, the other did not take too much effort, even though she could only see the back of the girl's head. Ron was laughing, something he had not done around Hermione lately, and she felt a twinge of regret that they had lost the fun that they used to share.
Harry, having noticed that Hermione was not walking, stopped and turned towards her. "Are you alright?"
Hermione nodded slowly. "I'm fine." She smiled awkwardly, her eyes never leaving the two people before her. "I…ah…I think I'll speak to Ron after the match."
"Don't be silly." Harry turned towards where Ron and Luna were standing, his eyes instantly taking in the scene before him. He looked back at Hermione. "Come on, he'll be glad to see us."
Pausing for a moment, Hermione nodded, and the two covered the remaining space to the entrance. Before they had reached their destination, Hermione watched in horror as Luna wrapped her arms around Ron and kissed his cheek. Hermione could faintly hear the words she spoke, as Luna pulled away.
"That's for luck, Ronald. I'm sure you don't need it."
"Thanks, Luna. I'm sure it will make all the diff…" Ron's eyes feel upon Harry and Hermione, lingering on the latter, his eyes widening. "Hermione. Harry."
As he spoke, Luna turned and faced the two newcomers, a smile spreading over her lips. "Hello, Harry. Hello, Hermione." She flicked her eyes between the two. "Isn't it exciting? Gryffindor is going to win, aren't they, Ron?" Her eyes briefly took in the red haired Weasley before focusing on Harry. "It's a shame you aren't in the team. Ginny's good, but you were always the best seeker, Harry." She smiled. "I'd best get ready, before the game starts without an announcer. I'll see you later."
Before anyone could speak, Luna had turned and disappeared through the flap, as the three friends stood staring at the now vacant stop where she had been standing. Hermione's eyes found Ron's, the look inside them was questioning, but she did not speak.
"We've come to wish you luck," Harry explained to Ron, breaking the silence that had formed. Ron did not turn to look at his friend, as his gaze was fixed to Hermione's face. "We'll be cheering you on, won't we, Hermione?" He looked in her direction, only to see her staring back at Ron, neither replying to him.
Silence hung in the air for a minute, before Harry tried again. "Hey, look, a giant pink Hippogriff is running away with Professor McGonagall, who has half turned into a frog."
"What?" Hermione and Ron chorused together, as they came out of their reverie.
"Finally." Harry sighed. "Hermione, we'd better get to our seats, and Ron, good luck."
Ron smiled. "Thanks, Harry." He turned to Hermione.
"Good luck, Ron." Hermione took a step forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek, careful not to pick the same one that Luna had kissed earlier, then turned and walked away, not hearing if Ron and Harry continued to talk. Her mind was full of Ron's face as he laughed and joked with Luna. She tried to remember the last time they had had the time to do the same thing, and she struggled to even bring up an image of a time since they had been back at Hogwarts.
Hermione was so lost in her thoughts, that she did not hear Harry running to catch up with her, and she jumped with surprise as he placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked, as he walked beside her, eyeing her oddly.
"I'm fine." Hermione practically spat the words, unable to hide her growing annoyance. She stopped suddenly and looked at him. "And don't start playing the pitying friend, Harry."
Harry looked taken aback. "Why would I pity you?"
Hermione let out a huge sigh and relaxed visibly, the tenseness leaving her body. She smiled, as a blush grew on her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Harry." She paused, looking for the right words. "I…I was just a little surprised. It's been a while since I saw him laugh like that."
"It's been a while since we all laughed like that." He smiled and took her in his arms, holding her against him, his fingers lightly stroking her back. "We'll all laugh like that again, I promise."
Hermione smiled, her arms wrapping around him, losing herself in his embrace. She felt comfortable and safe, as if everything that was bad could not harm her while she remained where she was. Nothing but goodness could penetrate the circle that the two of them made. Moving her head slightly, she gazed up into Harry's eyes. "Thank you, Harry."
"The pleasure is all mine." He smiled down at her, his eyes fixed to hers. "I'm always here for you, Hermione."
They remained standing there, holding each other, giving each other strength and comfort. As they broke apart, Hermione happened to look over Harry's shoulder, and was surprised to see Ron still standing at the entrance, his face like thunder as he stared at his two friends. Hermione's heart sunk into her stomach, and flipped over several times making her feel sick. She looked back at Harry, blushing heavily.
"We should get to our seats." She announced, wanting to get away from Ron's gaze.
Walking away in silence, Hermione took a moment to look behind her, to see whether Ron was still watching, but the spot that he had been occupying was empty. She let out a deep sigh as her mind focused on what had happened over the last few minutes, and as she sat watching the game if it could have been called watching, being as she did not have the smallest idea of what was taking place. Even Luna's voice was not detailing the game as she listened; it just told her over and over again what a fool she had been.
* * * * *
Harry, Ron and Hermione sat around the table, a pile of parchment, both new and used, were laid spread out before them. They each read through the ones in front of them. Once finished they moved it over to the person next to them, so that by the time they were finished, each of them had read all the notes that they had concerning the life of Tom Riddle.
Harry lowered his last parchment, and looked between his two friends. "Well, that's his life, as far as we know it. Now all we have to do is work out whereabouts in it he would have hidden the last Horcruxes." He paused as he pulled a blank piece of parchment towards him. "Now, we know he hid the ring at the family home, and we know that he hid the locket, originally, in the cave that he practiced his magic on those children."
Hermione and Ron nodded, neither speaking. There was still some tension between them from earlier in the day. And Ron was not in the best of moods, as Gryffindor had lost their match to Hufflepuff, and the look he kept giving Hermione indicated that he held her more than a little to blame. None of the three had spoken of the events of earlier, holding back as they tried to get to the bottom of the quest that they still had to complete.
"We know he has Hufflepuff's cup, but we don't know where it is." Harry continued, ignoring the atmosphere in the room. "We can also surmise that as he has used two items from founder members of Hogwarts, it is likely that he had at least one other from the other two, which we have no idea about. Dumbledore also believed that Horcruxes could be made of living creatures, which means that Nagini could be one."
"If those are our possible Horcruxes, then that would give us at least the six we need." Hermione looked at Harry, frowning. "Of course, if we could discover the location, it should not be too hard to find out what the object is when we get there." She pondered for a moment. "Delving into his mind is going to be the most unpleasant part."
Ron had been listening while he gazed down at one of the parchments and lifted his head and frowned, his brow creasing heavily. "There could be many parts of Tom Riddle's life that we know nothing about. We are basing all of this on what Dumbledore knew or managed to find out. And no matter how great a wizard he was, he still could not find enough people to give us Riddle's entire life."
Hermione looked at Ron. "He found the location of the ring and the locket, which has to count for something. And he knew Tom Riddle better than most people. We have to assume that Dumbledore knew what he was doing, otherwise we have nothing to go upon."
"I'm just saying we should not jump to conclusions." Ron looked at Harry, rolling his eyes as if Hermione was spouting rubbish. "We have to see if we can find out more about Tom Riddle."
Hermione shook her head, and sighed. "Ron, we know several places of importance to him already, I suggest we look into those before randomly catching rainbows." She turned from Ron, looking at Harry. "We know that the Orphanage and Hogwarts were important parts of his life, and we could keep the Riddle house as an option too."
"Chasing rainbows?" Ron got to his feet, looking at Hermione. "So my suggestions mean nothing now?"
Hermione glared at Ron. "I merely pointed out that we have several avenues to follow already, we don't need to burden ourselves with others just yet."
Harry looked between his two friends. "Sit down, Ron." He paused as Ron retook his seat. "Look, if you two are going to argue all evening, we'll never get anywhere." His eyes lingered on Ron. "Hermione has made a good point. We really need to cover what we know before we go adding to our list."
"I should have known you would have sided with her." Ron mumbled under his breath, as he lowered his gaze back to a piece of parchment that suddenly became very interesting to him.
Harry let out a sigh. "I suggest we start with the orphanage, as it seems like a good place. It was the place where Tom first met Dumbledore and learned the truth about himself." He scrambled around, looking for the parchment that contained the information he required. "We've just got to locate it, and then on the first available evening we have, we'll go and search it."
"We'll have to make sure we are prepared, Harry." Hermione's voice held an element of fear. "It's not going to be a simple case of walking in and picking up whatever is there. The place will be protected, like the cave was."
Harry nodded. "We'll be careful."
"We need to be more than careful, Harry." Hermione replied, looking at him as if he has suddenly gone mad.
"Afraid, Hermione?" Ron asked, his eyes blazing with sarcasm.
Hermione turned to face Ron, her expression one of disbelief. "Yes, I am. You know what happened to Dumbledore. And he was a much stronger wizard than even Harry."
Ron blushed and nodded his head. "Yeah," he mumbled.
Harry shook his head and got up from his chair. "I say we call it a night. It's been a long day." He began to gather together the parchments. "We'll discuss this again, and make plans as to leaving Hogwarts and getting to the Orphanage."
"Night, Harry." Ron got to his feet and moved towards the door.
Hermione looked at Harry, who was busy picking up the items they had been using, then followed after Ron, stopping him at the door. "We need to talk," she said, keeping her voice low so Harry could not hear them.
"Some other time, Hermione." Ron gave her an awkward smile. "I'm feeling a little tired right now."
Hermione watched as Ron turned away from her and disappeared through the door, pulling it shut behind him. She placed her hand on the door, and stood there for a moment, wondering how things had seemed to degenerate so quickly. She hoped that somehow things would right themselves in the morning.
She walked back into the room, moving quickly over to the table, as Harry tried to balance the last scroll in his arms. He gave her a smile that did not quite wipe away the questions in his eyes. She shook her head slowly, indicating that she did not want to talk about it right now, and with a brief goodnight, she disappeared into her room. As she left, she could feel Harry's gaze boring into her back, but she continue onwards without turning back.
That night, Hermione tossed and turned, as the events of the day haunted her dreams. The images of Harry, Ron and giant spiders swam about in her vision, making her grateful when morning finally came around.