Chapter 4
Outward Bound
The three settled down to their homework, wanting to get a start before they made their attempt at leaving the castle. None of them did an overly good job at keeping focused, although Hermione seemed to be turning her pages a lot quicker than the other two. Ron appeared to be reading the same part over and over, his finger every so often being brought into play to keep his mind on the words, but Harry just seemed to stare at the page, making no effort to even look like he was interested in the book in front of him. Hermione frowned, knowing that if he did not attempt to complete the homework he was going to have trouble in the Dark Arts class. Professor Stygian had already singled him for attention, and he really did not need a second Snape on his back.
Hours slipped passed, to Hermione quickly, but to Ron and especially Harry, Old Father Time seemed to be dragging his heels. The constant checking of the clock indicating as much. As if it was getting to her - and it was - Hermione slammed shut her book, the action making her two friends look up at her with very puzzled expressions.
"What's the matter, Hermione?" Ron asked, breaking the silence. His brow was creased in confusion, as he placed his finger on the page to keep his place.
Hermione shook her head in despair. "How can you two read and take anything in like that?" She cuddled her book against her chest, as she stood up from the chair. "You are being so quiet, it's driving me mad. Where is your usual banter? Where are the discussions about things not making sense?" She flicked her head, sending her hair over her shoulder, only for it to tussle back into its original place moments later. "I'm going to read in the dorm. You can't cut the silence with a knife there."
Harry looked at Ron and then back at Hermione. "We want to do well in class." He gave her a pitiful grin.
"I'll meet you out here later." Hermione looked at the two and sighed, before walking away, feeling their gaze on her back but she did not turn to look at them. She knew that they were thinking about that evening, she was too. They were really going to need a lot of luck if they were going to get out of Hogwarts, and more importantly, back in before they were caught.
Climbing the stairs, Hermione quickly found herself in her dorm, which she shared with four other girls, all of whom were not present. She was not in the mood for talking, not if she wanted to get ahead of herself. Over the summer, she had not found the opportunity to read through her school books, in fact, she had not picked one up, which was so unlike her. The time had been spent trying to persuade Harry to return to Hogwarts, as well as trying to find as much information on Horcruxes as they could, which did not seem to go as well as any of them had expected.
Sitting down on her bed, she pulled the book into her lap, and began to read through the required chapter, but as happened in the common room, her mind was too wrapped up in other thoughts to remain focused.
* * * * *
A flash in the darkened fire place heralded the arrival into the house of Black of Harry Potter, followed closely by Hermione and Ron. Stepping into the room, each brushing off the soot that seemed to have clung to them. The room was in darkness, the curtains pulled against the early afternoon sun. Dust danced in the fingers of light that squeezed through the gaps.
Hermione coughed, as a particle of dust hit the back of the throat, her eyes to beginning water before she was able to bring it under control. Rubbing her hand lightly over her eyes, she took her first opportunity to look around the room, her expression one of surprise.
"It looks like no one has been here for years." She turned to Harry, who had wandered over to one of the chairs and ran his finger over the material, and was now inspecting the dust.
Harry raised his eyes meeting hers. "No one has been here, other than Kreacher, and he's hardly going to do anything around the place with no one to tell him to." Hermione's eyes revealed her disappointment in his statement, but he was no fan of the little house elf and was not going to pretend to be just to make her happy. "He'll do it now we're here."
Ron, who had been silently walking about the room, suddenly threw some light into the room as he yanked open the curtains, sending a cloud of dust up into the air. "Oh, crikey! It's worse than I thought." He covered his mouth with his hand to stop the dust from getting into it.
"Ron!" Hermione's voice rang out through the room, before she once again started coughing.
The red haired boy looked at her apologetically. "Sorry, Hermione." He turned his gaze to Harry and grimaced. "I really didn't think that would happen." His attention fell back on to his surroundings. "At least we can see now."
The room was exactly as it had been the last time they were there, other than the increase of dust following the lack of people staying at the house. Lupin had been away living with the Werewolves, keeping an eye on them and feeding information back as much as he could, and Tonks had been in Hogsmeade most of the year. And since the ruckus that had happened at the end of the year, Hermione imagined that the two of them were working out their differences, following their less than private conversation over Bill's hospital bed.
Almost as if on cue, the front door of the house opened, and the voices of a man and a woman could be heard coming from the hallway. Harry moved over to the door, listening for a moment until he recognised the owners. He pulled it open, revealing Lupin and Tonks, who seemed to be carrying a bundle of bags.
"Harry! Ron! Hermione!" Tonks' voice rang out around the room, as she approached each and gave them a huge smile. "You are here earlier than we expected. We were just out getting some things." Her eyes wondered over each, taking in their questioning gazes. "Come through to the kitchen, it's a little less dusty in there."
Harry walked through the door, following Lupin, who had already gone ahead, and Tonks. Hermione looked at Ron and smiled, before they too left the room. Behind them, the dust cloud slowly settled, leaving the air looking bright and clear, the sun now smiling upon the room, bringing it back to life.
Entering the kitchen, Hermione managed to catch the end of Harry's question. "…Order is still using the house?"
Lupin spoke for the first time, as he placed the last of the bags on the table. "Everyone's been out and about, but it's still the central point. Since Dumbledore's death, the search for Lord Voldemort and Snape has become the highest priority." He frowned. "The Ministry is doing everything it can to find them, but they are not having much luck. But then, they didn't know where he was before, so it's not really much of a surprise."
Harry scowled, unable to hide his anger. "I'm going to kill Snape for what he did." His eyes burned, his face taking on a look of utter determination.
"Drinks anyone?" Tonks interjected, looking at the trio of friends, almost as if she wanted to change the subject. When she thought that Harry was not looking, her eyes filled with pity but were quickly replaced with a sparkle, as she broke into another smile. Hermione was happy to see the Auror back to her old self, even her hair had taken on the bright pinkness that she seemed to favour.
Harry shook his head. "I'm going to see if our stuff has arrived yet." He walked out of the door, the eyes of the others in the room following him out.
Letting out a sigh, Hermione walked out after him. She turned as she heard footsteps following. "I'll go speak to him." She smiled sadly to Ron, knowing that it would be him. Ron nodded and turned back towards the kitchen. Hermione heard Tonks ask again if she could get him something.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she just managed to catch sight of Harry's foot before it disappeared out of sight. Taking a few steps cautiously, she then quickened her pace and made it up to the first floor landing, but not before Harry had managed to disappear into one of the rooms. She was worried about him. He had not been the same boy that he had been. He had lost his laughter, had lost the fun part of himself. Gone was the smile and in its place was a constant look of hatred. It was hard for Harry, she knew that. So many people he cared about and who cared about him had been lost. It was not wonder he did not want to risk losing any more.
And he had given up Ginny, even though they had seemed so happy together. They had spent a lot of time together, and then suddenly he had called an end to their relationship. Hermione could tell that it had hurt them both, but she also knew that he did not make the sacrifice lightly. She had felt for him then and she felt for him now. He needed someone, but he would not open himself up to anyone. Her heart went out to her friend. It was then that she made her vow, whatever he said, whatever he did, she would be here for him, whether he tried to push her away or not.
"Harry?" Hermione walked along the landing, her hand running along the banister, rubbing away the film of dust that had gathered, her voice revealing her concern. "Harry? Where are you?"
"Leave me alone, Herm-"
* * * * *
"-Mione?"
Hermione looked up from her book, the page of words swimming in front of her eyes, before they finally cleared and focused on the young red headed girl who was standing in the doorway of the room. Closing the book, and trying to clear away the fog of thoughts that were still clouding her mind, she gave Ginny a smile, as she shut the already forgotten book that rested on the bed beside her.
"Ginny, sorry, I was miles away," Hermione waved her over to the bed, and patted a spot for her to sit down on.
Walking over, Ginny laughed lightly. "I wish I could get that engrossed in one of these books." She grimaced, her brow creasing, as she closed the distance and sat down on the bed, pushing the offending book out of the way, as she turned to Hermione, her smile reappearing but not quite reaching her eyes. "I'm not interrupting, am I? But you said I could talk to you." Her voice trailed off.
Turning slightly on the bed, hooking one of her legs underneath her, the other dangling off the bed, Hermione gave Ginny a smile, having forgotten completely that she said she would meet her later. Hermione had too much on her mind at the moment, and this forgetfulness was beginning to bother her. "You aren't interrupting," she lied.
"Oh, Hermione…" Ginny's voice sounded down and pleading to the other witch's ears. "I don't know what to do." Her eyes slipped down to watch her hands fidget in her lap. "I really like him and I hate seeing him all miserable, and I know he doesn't want anything to do with me, but I…" Her gaze once more found Hermione's. "I..." Her voice petered out.
Hermione let out a low, inaudible sigh as she sat just looking at Ginny, trying to form her words into the best possible way that would not send the girl into a flood of tears. "Well…" She begun and paused, not happy where that sentence was going as she tried out another in her head. "Ginny…I think you really need to remember…" She stopped again, as the other looked into her face expectantly, as if Hermione was going to be able to solve all her problems at once. "Would you like me to talk to him for you?" She finally said, regretting the words the minute they were out of her mouth.
"Would you?" Ginny practically squealed as she threw her arms around Hermione and hugged her. "You are such a good friend. Thank you so much." Getting off the bed, she rushed over to the door, a huge smile on her face. "Oh, you won't leave it too long, will you? The sooner the better and all that." She waved happily and disappeared from sight.
Hermione collapsed back on the bed, wondering where her senses were gone, as she kicked her foot, showing her annoyance with herself. "Why? Why? Why? You idiot." Letting out a sigh, she sat back up, giving her homework a sorrowful look, as she realised there was no way she would be able to get into it now.
* * * * *
Several hours later, the common room now in darkness except for the lightly burning embers in the fireplace, three people stood fully dressed. The wand of one of them illuminated a little patch between them, as they looked at each other, their faces in the low light still revealing a little of their nervousness and determination. One unravelled a cloak that he was holding and threw it over his shoulders.
"That thing is barely big enough for the three of us now." Hermione's voice, though lowered, echoed around the quiet room. "We are going to have to be very careful and very lucky to get away with this."
Harry grimaced as he realised she was right. "But with this and the Marauders Map, we should be able to get out of the castle unseen." He scratched his head, as if thinking. "And we know some secret paths. I don't think we'll have any trouble."
"As long as Lupin and Tonks aren't home." Ron chipped in, not helping the situation any.
Harry looked at Ron and Hermione, his face the picture of surprise. "Damn, I forgot about them." His shoulders sunk with disappointment. "They'll inform McGonagall and she'll put a stop to our research."
The room fell deadly silent, as the three pondered the weight of this discovery. They had covered everything it would take to get out of the building and grounds, and make their way to Hogsmeade, but they had completely forgotten to think about their destination. The crackle of the slowly cooling fire the only sound other than the gentle breaths of the trio.
"They could be out?" Ron asked, hopefully.
"Are you feeling that lucky?" Harry certainly did not sound like he was.
"I'm just saying they could be out."
"And I don't think we are going to be that lucky."
"Ssshh!" Hermione glared at the two of them, the light not low enough to hide the look she gave. "If you wake everyone up, we won't even get out of here, let alone to Grimmauld Place." She huffed loudly. "If we aim for the library, and keep quiet, they won't even know we are there. They never go to the library."
"And they'll probably be wrapped up in each other, anyway." Ron finished.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "That's neither here nor there."
"But if they were too busy…you know?" Ron winked.
"I really don't think we should be discussing Lupin and Tonks like this." Hermione's voice began to rise slightly.
"I'm sure they wouldn't mind."
"Would you like them to discuss us?"
"No, of course not." Ron looked quickly at Harry and his face reddening slightly.
Harry grinned. "If you two have finished your lover's tiff?" He indicated the way out. "I say we go and hope that luck is on our side."
Ron sighed. "It's times like this that I wish I still had some of that Felix Felicis. Too bad we used it all up last year. That stuff was brilliant." He mumbled as he followed Harry and Hermione to the common room exit.
"Be quiet, Ron!" Hermione whispered.
Stepping out of the hole, careful not to wake the sleeping lady as they pushed her picture open. Closing it behind them, but leaving a gap so that they would not have to wake the portrait when they came back, Harry pulled his cloak over the heads of the three of them, wondering how much of them was showing beneath the hem. They paused for a moment, as Harry pulled out the Marauder's Map and tapped it with this wand, intoning 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good' to reveal the locations of everyone in the castle. The three viewed the map, using a low light emitting from the end of Hermione's wand.
"It looks pretty clear." Ron whispered, as he pointed to several points on the map.
Nodding his head, Harry handed the map to Ron. "You keep your eyes on that, while Hermione and I get us to the gate." He turned his head to Ron, his movement pulling at the cloak. "Keep a close eye out for Filch, he's our biggest problem."
"Look, Professor Stygian is wandering around." Ron observed, indicating another spot on the map. "I wonder what she's doing."
Hermione traced their path on the map with her finger. "Just make sure this route remains clear." She looked at Harry and rolled her eyes in a frustrated manner. "Ignore everyone else…unless they enter our route, or look like are going to."
"Who is reading the map?" Ron's voice began to rise above a whisper.
"Would it be better if I did it, Harry?" Hermione placed her hand on the corner, ready to take it from Ron.
"Ssshh." Harry's hiss broke through the whispering. "Let's keep the noise down and get going. We've only got about four hours of time before we need to get back again."
The three headed off, each doing their task, Harry and Hermione guiding the trio and visually looking about them, while Ron kept his eye on the map, several times informing them of people who were walking around, getting both of the others jumpy until he gave their location, which tended to be on the other side of the castle somewhere. They managed to go some distance undisturbed and free from meeting anyone when suddenly Ron spoke.
"Stygian! Boy, does she get around."
"Ron, please stop going on about her." Hermione was being to get bored hearing the running saga of the woman's whereabouts.
Harry nodded. "Where is she now?" He sounded equally uninterested.
"Just around the next corner." Ron informed them, causing them to stop suddenly and him to walk into the back of them with an oof.
"Why didn't you tell us she was getting close?" Hermione whispered fiercely, annoyed at Ron for failing them again. "You were meant to be keeping an eye on the map. I told you I should have been looking at the map. Ron, you are useless."
"She wasn't there a moment ago. It's like she just appeared."
Harry's voice broke through the conversation. "Yeah, and what about him?" He pointed to the map that was the detail of the corridor just up from them, where a marking with the identification 'Argus Filch' moved slowly towards them.
The three stood back in an alcove, beneath the invisibility cloak and waited for trouble to happen as the caretaker moved ever closer to where they were standing. The man's footfalls grew louder and louder, echoing around the silent corridor. Harry, Ron and Hermione tried to become as small as possible, their breaths growing heavy and loud as he drew near.
"Mr Filch!" A voice rang out, when the caretaker had practically reached them, and stopped only a few feet away from where they were crouched. Ron let out a slow breath, as Harry and Hermione held theirs for as long as they could. In front of them the Marauder's Map, if they could have read it, identified the voice belonging to Professor Stygian.
"Mr Filch! Oh, I am so glad I found you." The Professor sounded exasperated, as if she had been rushing and searching for a long time. "I need your help. There is a problem in my office…smells like there is a dead rat in there or something. I've tried everything to locate it."
The caretaker cleared his voice. "I have to patrol this area, McGonagall's orders. She wants everything secure for the night."
Professor Stygian paused for a moment. "Well, if you help me, I'll help you complete the checks after. I just cannot work in there with that smell, and if I can't get the lesson ready for tomorrow, I'm going to have to let the students miss the class, and they'll just be lounging around the school…"
"Hmm, we most certainly do not want that." Filch's dislike of students was legendary. "Lead the way, Professor."
The trio of friends waited until the footsteps of the two adults could be heard growing fainter as they moved away from where they were hiding. Hermione once more cast a light over the map, as they watched the two specks marked 'Professor Augusta Stygian' and 'Argus Finch' moved quickly to the Dark Arts Professor's office.
Once they were sure the way was clear, Harry guided them out of the alcove, as they looked at the corridor before them, which lead to one of the secret exits out of the school and into Hogsmeade. With the town a little more deserted than usual, it would be easy for the three to find a quiet spot and apparate to Grimmauld Place.
"That was close." Ron breathed out deeply.
Hermione looked at Ron but said nothing, afraid to open her mouth in case what came out echoed loudly around the corridor. She wanted nothing more than to zap him with a series of spells that would help him stay focused on what he was meant to be doing.
Harry looked between his two friends and smiled warily. "Okay, almost there. Now everyone, keep very quiet and watch the map carefully." His eyes meet Hermione's for a moment before he looked at their route ahead. Moments later, they were through the secret exit heading out of the grounds.
* * * * *
Standing behind one of the buildings in Hogsmeade, away from any prying eyes. Harry pulled back the cloak, revealing himself and his two companions. He took the map from Ron and tapped his wand against it, while saying 'Mischief Managed'. The inscriptions vanished and it turned into a normal piece of parchment, which he tucked into his pocket.
"Are you both ready?" Harry asked, looking first at Hermione, who nodded enthusiastically, and then at Ron, who looked less than sure. "Come on, Ron. We can both do this now." He gave his friend and encouraging smile. "We can do this all together, if you would prefer?"
Hermione turned Ron towards her, and brushed his hair off his forehead, which had become untidy while under the cloak. "You will do fine." She smiled and pressed a small kiss to his lips. "For luck." She took a step back, not wanting to meet Harry's gaze. She felt oddly uncomfortable with public displays of feeling in front of Harry, but it made Ron look more relaxed and eager.
"Who needs Felix Felicis when I have you, Hermione?" Ron chuckled and turned to Harry, who was trying not to look. "I'm ready when you are."
"Me too, Harry." Hermione gave him a smile.
"Right, let's go." Harry flicked his eyes between his friends. "And remember, the Library of 12 Grimmauld Place." He frowned. "If you turn up anywhere else," he looked purposefully at Ron. "You are on your own."
The three suddenly disappeared, leaving Hogsmeade and its inhabitants to its sleepy existence. A wind swept over the ground blowing along a single leaf that stopped where the friends had only moments before been standing.