Unfortunately I still own nothing. Thanks once again to Lady Starlight for her gracious beta work, any
mistakes are as always purely my faults...and now onto the show.
Chapter 7: Three Sevenths of the Way.
****************************St. Mungo's*****************************
July 13, 1997
8:00 pm
The harried receptionist looked up from admitting yet another patient for what the Healers had taken to calling Who's it, Itus" And gasped as six, dark cloaked figures wearing the masks of the Death Eaters phased through the wall. She saw a wand rising towards her, a flash of green, and nothing. At all. Ever again.
Screams broke out among the scattered patients and well-wishers in the Lobby, most scattered, screaming into the early evening. A few visibly tried to apparate, failed as they ran up against the new protective wards of the hospital and dived behind whatever cover they could find. The Death Eaters ignored the majority of the crowd as a few, a meager few, shot easily deflected minor jinxes at the Death Eaters before they vanished into the main part of the hospital. All new screams and sounds of spellfire were heard from beyond the swinging doors.
****************************Soho, London****************************
10:00 pm
A, today, blue-haired young witch backed out of the kitchen levitating three butterbeer bottles behind her, and a tall, thin man with gray-tinged, brown hair, kind brown eyes, and just a touch of fangs when he smiled, and a tall, broad, bald-headed man, with a single gold loop in his left ear cringed, and shied away.
Tonks turned to Kingsley and Remus and rolled her eyes. She handed the massive Auror one of the beers, forcefully, and turned and walked to Lupin on the couch opposite. She dropped in his lap, with an accompanying "ompf" sound from the Marauder. She gave him a sweet smile and kissed his cheek as she leaned back against her fiancée's back. "I can handle carrying three beers, thank you very much." She humphed and took a drink of her beer.
Lupin sighed and gave her a pained smile. He turned to their guest and looked thoughtful. "How bad was it this time Kingsley?"
Kingsley Shacklebolt took a drink to bide time as he looked around Tonks' apartment. One could tell that Remus had just taken up, at least temporary residency. The apartment was purely Tonks. A pair of enchanted lava lamps lit the side table, while a large poster of the Weird Sisters was hung crookedly in a large frame over the couch. A Muggle television and stereo were crowded into one corner of the room, with a small dining table taking up another. The walls were currently painted, or charmed most likely, in an odd two-color scheme of purple tops and blue bottoms with the colors fading to each other in the middle. Through an partially open door at the back of the room, Kingsley could see a rather disheveled bed, it had taken several minutes for Tonks to reply to his knock after her distracted "Wotcher."
"It was bad, Scrimgeour is still there right now. Looks like they were after the injured Aurors there. And maybe..."
"What Kingsley?"
"George Weasley was in there earlier that evening...seems he had a small accident at their shop. Bugger was making something up...dangerous, wouldn't tell me what it was for. When I reminded him of his obligation to the Order, he just laughed at me, and asked 'what Order'." Kingsley's eyes grew dark, "I should have grabbed the bugger then and dragged him back. I'm sure they were after him for information on Potter, since he's vanished from our sight as well." He sounded disgruntled and looked at Remus who just shrugged. "You know where Potter is don't you? He's at Grimmauld, that's why we can't get in any longer."
"Honestly," Lupin replied airily, "I don't. I'm sure he's fine. After all he has things to do just like the rest of us."
"Surely you don't believe in that Chosen One nonsense?" Shaklebolt snapped.
"Well I do for one." Tonks piped up, and stared at the large Auror.
"Even if it is true," Kingsley sneered, "Potter is just a child, he's..."
"What Kingsley?" Lupin snapped, "He has fought Voldemort, not a Death Eater, Voldemort, in one incarnation or another and survived four times now. Albus was the only one who ever beat that record, and he was a hundred and sixty. Think, you know who Albus trusted at the end with whatever he was doing...Harry, that's who."
"Well what support does Potter have, that Granger girl, Ron Weasley?"
Tonks stood up abruptly; or rather the normally clumsy young woman flowed to her feet with all the grace of a hunting panther. Her eyes glowered at Kingsley. "Which is but a tithe of what he should have, yes if that is your point, I agree. I seem to remember the purpose of the Order being to kill Voldemort, and since Harry seems to be the one that will do that..."
"He's just a misguided boy, looking for adventure." Kingsley snapped, and Lupin closed his eyes.
"Get out." Lupin said softly. Kingsley just looked at him, and if Tonks had been a panther when she gained her feet, Remus was a wolf on the prowl. Fangs slightly dropped as barriers that he had fought all of his adult life to keep in place frayed. "That boy...is your only chance in hell. Get out and don't speak to me again until you are ready to admit that."
****************************Knockturn Alley, London*********************
July 14, 1997
1:20 am
Mundungus Fletcher took a hit off of an old, smelly pipe and smiled, revealing yellowed teeth. With a small grunt of satisfaction as he played with a stack of coins in his pocket, he tightened his ragged, rags of robes around his body and started to walk towards the Leaky Caldron for a drink, and possibly a game of chance if he were lucky. Raw, dark laughter, the kind that one hears in places where all hope is gone sounded in the night, but ended with a gurgle. A young witch, who by all rights looked as if she should be in her fifth or sixth year at Hogwarts, was standing in a red-lit doorway as he passed, her robe, what there was of it, only covered the essentials and those barely, it draped down over her front and back and was tied closed at the side with a single cord. She shouted out a price in an Irish brogue and he replied not tonight.
Definitely not tonight, at least not for him. As he rounded a trash-strewn corner, and stepped over a half-naked hag passed out on the ground, but not before quickly patting her down, he felt the tip of a wand indent the skin behind his right ear. "Goodnight Dung," a soft baritone whispered and everything faded to black. Harry bent over the unconscious thief and tapped him on the forehead with his wand. An instant later, like watching a mirage disappear, Mundungus faded from view. Harry flicked his wand and the quasi-invisible Mundungus lifted into the air and started floating towards a dim flickering light that marked the entrance to a run-down boarding house. Harry vanished under his cloak and followed.
The pair of them, the Gryffindor and the thief, passed the night man at the desk, who would have not noticed them if they were visible and dancing the mamba. He was far too engrossed in the Muggle magazine in his hands under the desk. Nor were the wizard and witch sitting, staring at the corner of the room with slightly slack expressions on their faces, paying the slightest attention at all. The man was groping the woman absently, reaching inside of her robes, and she seemed to care, not at all.
Harry reached the second floor like a ghost, his captive in front of him. They reached room eleven and entered.
The old boarding house was decrepit, or more precisely gross. A broken bed sat in one corner; its mattress was caved in, in the middle, and covered by graying, stained sheets. A small brazier sat in the other corner to provide heat when needed, and a cracked, peeling mirror reflected the room from the other from the top of a dresser that had last seen polish sometime around the Battle of Waterloo. The remnants of used...potions sat in an overflowing garbage can next to the mirror.
One single, straight wooden chair completed the furniture and with a negligent wand flick, Harry sat Mundungus in it and tied him up. His head lolled forward onto his chest as Harry pulled off his cloak.
Two others appeared an instant later. Hermione's eyes were hard as she walked over to Mundungus and pulled on the ropes. Her boots made a slight thumping sound on the worn, wood floor as she retreated to stand next to Harry. Behind them, Ron leaned against the wall, his arms crossed and his wand in hand. He faced the door and flicked his wand and watched disinterestedly as a Silencing charm lit the room for an instant.
A wand flicked, and Mundungus stirred. He fought for a moment against his robes for an instant then relaxed. He looked up and a fake smile lit his face. ""Arry, Hermione...let me go...we are friends, there must, be..." he started then stopped at the hard expressions on the faces watching him silently. He gulped and started working at his sleeve.
"I have one question," Harry said softly, darkly, then corrected himself, "or rather I have two, but since the second requires accuracy on the first answer, you will need help in telling the facts." Hermione held up a small phial of a clear liquid and approached him slowly.
She bent down and started to reach towards his forehead to push it back to force his mouth open, when...a small, sharp blade fell into Mundungus' hand and he sliced the rope, his hand came up with the knife towards Hermione's throat, to kill her or gain a hostage...and stopped as he felt a trickle of blood escaping from his throat at the tip of a twelve inch blade, just under the line of his jaw. "Honestly, Mundungus, that was a poor choice." She glanced down at the shattered vial of Veritaserum and grimaced when she saw it had splashed on her boots. She frowned and looked back at Harry.
Harry crossed the room in two strides, slapped his hand on Mundungus' forehead and pushed back hard. His other poured a vial of Veritaserum directly down Mundungus' throat and watched darkly as the thief swallowed involuntarily. Harry let him go at the same time Hermione stepped back, with the tip of a dagger and the tip of her wand both pointing at their captive.
Harry contented himself with glaring at Mundungus for a minute as the potion took effect then pulled the fake Horcrux from his pocket and held it in front of Dung's face. "Did you take something like this from Grimmauld?"
"Yes." Mundungus croaked. And Harry's heart thumped.
"Where is it now?"
"Borgin and Burkes" Mundungus cried and a red light lit the room as Hermione stunned him.
"What do you want to do with him mate?" Ron asked with a slight tremor in his voice. Hermione glanced over at Harry, and her lip was shaking slightly, but he knew she was still in the fight.
"Like we planned, despite what he's done," He looked at Hermione, she looked troubled, but nodded. She turned to Mundungus and her wand whipped up. "OBLIVATE" a shimmering cone snapped out from her carved, ivy-wood wand and enveloped his head. She knelt and checked his pulse, felt for a second and nodded. Ron came up from behind her and poured a fifth of singularly putrid rotgut over Mundungus' face and robes and threw the bottle down to shatter next to the thief's head.
"Let's go," Ron said lowly and urgently, "we can check out Borgin..."
"Go on ahead, Ron" Harry replied quietly and flicked his eyes towards Hermione who was still standing looking down at Mundungus. Ron flipped his cloak over his head and vanished. Harry came up behind Hermione and placed his hands on her shoulder, "will you be ok, Mione?" He whispered.
She nodded and shivered a bit. Glancing down, she noticed that both her wand and right hand dagger were in her hands, and she sheathed them before dropping either or both. "He tried to kill me Harry." She muttered. Hermione turned around and watched as words of concern, and comfort and other emotions danced behind his eyes. "It's not the first time, someone's tried...but..."
"Yeah."
"Let's go Harry, let's go see if Borgin and Burkes has the Horcrux or if we can see where it went." Hermione shot him a small smile that vanished as a silvery cloak passed over her head. Harry felt a sudden nostalgia for the days when the three of them, or when just he and Hermione had hidden under a single cloak. He shook his head, flipped his cloak over it, and left, closing and locking the door with a silent Colloportus as he went.
The entrance to Borgin and Burkes, several minutes later due to their having to go slow despite being invisible to avoid drunken wizards, a couple of witches even younger than the girl before selling something, and a large rotund man, about the size of Hagrid, who was drunkenly singing loudly about Bonnie Prince Charlie, was dark and shadowed, the nearest unbroken gas light yards away. Harry eased up to the door, next to where, for some odd reason, he knew that Hermione would be standing. "What now Hermione?" Harry whispered. "He surely has the door warded to..." He heard one footstep on the boardwalk, a long, complex string of Latin and a soft click.
"Well come on." She whispered harshly and Harry and Ron hurried into the shop. Harry closed the door so it just closed but did not quite lock. Silencing charms on the their feet, the trio started to search the shop. Harry went immediately to a large glass case on one side that contained a large, opal necklace with a small card next to it, reading "Caution, do not touch, Cursed-Has Claimed the Lives of Nineteen Muggle Owners to Date.
Across the room, Hermione scowled at a display of skulls in a glass case topped with several human femurs. She pushed aside a coil of Hangman's Rope in the midst of several rusty instruments and peered into a large black cabinet on one side of the room surrounded by masks.
"Hey Harry." Ron stage whispered and motioned them over. He was standing behind the counter, his hood was thrown back, making him half-invisible, half not, and holding a thick ledger. Harry and Hermione slipped over and saw what Ron was pointing too in a section of the ledger marked amulets, talismans and random jewelry:
Pearl necklace, cursed ? Sold to E. Foxworthy 7 galleons, August 1, 1996
Amulet of Torna. Purchased from C. Barrett, 25 Galleons. August 4, 1996
The Talisman of Confuses de Amor Inflecto, Sold to G. Weasley, 10 Galleons, August 10, 1996.
Broken Locket, Green with Snake Emblem, Purchased from M. Fletcher, 5 Sickles, November 12, 1996.
...
"What was George doing buying an talisman here?" Ron wondered, and Harry and Hermione shrugged as one.
"Harry we need to get out of here..." Hermione said urgently. Harry frowned and nodded.
"But it's here Hermione." Harry shot back, he looked at her with a sudden realization, "I can feel it...could it be that easy?" He mused, "Accio Slytherin's Locket." A pile of papers rustled on a nearby desk and a large, green locket shot across the room to slap into his hand with a loud noise. Harry felt instantly cold. He started to speak...
CRASH, Ron backed up and knocked down a half-rusted suit of plate armor, and a loud stomping noise was suddenly heard from the upstairs apartment. "Let's go..." Hermione snapped in an undertone and the teens flicked their hoods over their heads in unison and ran. Harry pointed his wand over his shoulder as he slipped out of the door into the alley and heard the door seal itself. He felt Hermione's hand find his left one and they ran through the night, hidden under cloaks, jumping over drunks, around tables, barrels and refuse and at least one large, bat-like creature.
They ran until they reached Diagon Alley, and paused for breath. Nearby they heard Ron breathing hard and Hermione dropped Harry's hand as they walked towards the sound and though neither could see the other, they both knew their wands were out and ready. "You okay Ron?" Harry whispered to the air, and received a grunt in return that he took as an affirmative. "Can you Apparate?"
"Yeah." Ron replied with a more constant stream of breath.
"Then go home." A crack sounded in the still night air a moment later, and Harry felt something brush against him. "That you Hermione?" He asked even though he knew it was somehow. She took his hand in response and he felt the sensation of being squeezed through a bottle to pop out in the Library at Grimmauld place.
Ron was already popping the top on a bottle of butterbeer. He motioned one towards Harry and Hermione. They shook their heads in response, Hermione yawned; rather prettily Harry thought tiredly. "Dobby," he muttered. The tiny elf appeared, but fell silent at a gesture from Harry, "Dobby, no one comes into the house from now on, without one of our permissions, even if they are related or something, and do not touch this." Harry held up the locket and conjured a steel lockbox. He placed the amulet into it and closed it with a tap of his wand. "I'm going to bed."
4:15 am.
Harry was sitting up in bed, having a staring contest with his owl, not because he wanted to, but mostly because his adrenaline was still spiking, jangling along his frazzled nerves like a live wire across a puddle. Visions of that small blade glittering as it approached Hermione's throat haunted his eyes. He saw not the quizzical expression of his familiar but the sight of Knockturn Alley as they ran. He closed his eyes, deliberately, sat back on the pillows and ran his fingers through his hair.
A soft knock drew his attention to the door. Hermione was standing there, her hair up in a pair of braids on either side of her head, and a short, thin-strapped camisole over a pair of sleep pants on her body. He just waved to her and she crossed the room and sat Indian style on his bed facing him. "What are you doing?" She asked softly.
"Having a staring contest with Hedwig." Harry replied truthfully.
Hermione snorted, "Who's winning."
"She is, she has bigger eyes."
"I like yours better."
"Thanks" Harry replied with a small grin. They sat for a minute as Hedwig turned and took flight, the window automatically opening and closing for her. Hermione let out a small sigh and pulled a glass vial with an opalescent blue solution in it from her pocket. She twirled it in her fingers as she watched the colors dance in the light from Harry's lamp. She glanced around the room, Sirius' former bedroom.
Dobby did a good job in this one, I wouldn't mind staying here myself... Dobby had taken the concept of Gryffindor a bit too seriously. The room, which should have been square, was circular, just like the dorm rooms or the Common Room. Harry's bed, which was probably half the size of his bedroom at Privet Drive, sat against one wall. A large bay window, looked out over the expansive, hidden backyard through crystal clear panes. A new rack held the Sword of Gryffindor vertically next to the bed, with a three level perch providing accommodations for Hedwig. A large closet was open opposite the bed, Harry's heavy Docs were on their sides next to the door and a pair of jeans was thrown haphazardly over the back of a chair. A large, slightly decrepit crimson and gold couch finished the furniture off and she idly wondered if Dobby had made it that way or if Harry had.
"Harry," She murmured, as she looked down at the phial in her fingers, "If I ask you to..." She didn't even finish before he held out his hand for the vial. "Not even going to ask?" She said softly.
Harry closed his hand over hers for an instant as he took the vial, "No, I trust you'll explain..." She nodded, as he gave her a quick smile.
"You might want to lay down Harry...the text says this should be taken in the early morning hours," She frowned slightly.
"This is going to taste like shyte?"
"Don't they always?" Hermione replied. "Ready?" Harry nodded and took the vial in his left hand. Hermione started to step back to stop as his hand touched her arm. Her eyes caught his, she couldn't explain...yet, but she wasn't about to leave, she stayed. Harry looked at her and downed the vial in one gulp. He let out a horrified grunt at the taste as he laid back.
Nothing happened for several minutes and for an odd instant Hermione was wondering if she was correct and if so if she was...Harry suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream. He arched up off the bed and a wave of magic, so long repressed in its battle against ever increasing portions of potions fought free. Hermione staggered but only showed a small wince as Harry squeezed her hand painfully. The odd noise like someone talking just out of earshot built to a roar and Hermione did finally drop Harry's hand to cover her ears as the sudden pain drove her to her knees. The non-noise faded away after a minute to the background hum that she had felt before and that was not really noticeable behind her busy thoughts. Hermione climbed back to her feet panting heavily and leaned on the edge of the bed for support to check on Harry.
Harry's eyes flicked open for an instant to show glowing green eyes, before he slipped into unconsciousness. Her heart almost beat through her chest as she bit her lip nervously and cast a First Aid spell. The soft green glow showed he was just sleeping and a tear of gratitude escaped. Hermione gently floated Harry all the way up to the head of the bed. She crawled in next to him, never letting go as she cradled his head.
Hermione fell asleep an hour later curled up with Harry.
10:30 am
"Harry, get up you..." Ron stopped suddenly as he noticed the messy pile of his best friends on the bed. You could have at least closed the door. A brief flash of...annoyance danced across his face and he turned to leave, before stopping suddenly and looking back on the scene. "Oh, bloody hell." He muttered as the realized something was amiss and crossed the room rapidly.
Hermione was passed out on top of Harry's chest, still gripping his hand tightly or was it Harry gripping hers? Ron took in the dark circles of sweat still on Harry's t-shirt and a slight trickle of dried blood under his right nostril. Ron shook Hermione's shoulder; she turned her head and blinked at him several times, before motioning him to be silent. Picking her wand up from where it had dropped next to the bed with a groaning stretch she checked Harry, he was still asleep. She held her finger up to her lips and pointed out into the hall, Ron nodded.
"What the hell?" Ron asked quietly, urgently, as she slid slowly into the hall and eased Harry's door closed. Hermione leaned against the wall heavily and eyed him exhaustedly. "Why is Harry still passed out, and why was blood coming from his nose, and?"
Hermione glanced down to absently notice Harry's blood on her white top. Her hands came up into her hair as she eyed her friend and sighed. "Harry was under a potion...it umm, was impeding his magic. I gave him a Flushing Draught to get it out of his system."
Ron was a wizard, who had grown up with wizards. And most pointedly, he had grown up in the same household as Fred and George, he had had to take more Flushing Draughts than he could count over his formative years, "Hermione, a Flushing Draught doesn't cause one to bleed from the ears and nose..."
"Well one doesn't normally have a teenage Dumbledore taking it either." Hermione snapped, lowly, and shrugged. "Sorry Ron, long night..." Chocolate eyes looked up through dark lashes, "I had to give it to him in the late morning..."
"Who gave him something? Was it someone poisoning him like they did me?" Ron asked quickly, dangerously. His fist clenched at his side.
"I don't know who, for sure." Hermione replied evasively. She played with the hem of her top as Ron looked at her with a glance that more than adequately communicated that he did not really believe her, but he let it drop for now.
"Why didn't you take him to Pomfrey, she would have taken care of him?" Ron asked reasonably. He checked his watch and shook his head.
"Because it's my job to take care of Harry, Okay?" Hermione said and then large brown eyes grew to be huge as her ears caught what her throat had just let go. She covered her mouth absently and crossed to her bedroom across the hall and shut the door firmly.
"Weeellll, I guess it is at that." Ron replied philosophically to the air and smiled a small smile. He went back into Harry's room, checked briefly on his best friend and left silently, headed down the stairs to the kitchen and a bit of late breakfast.
*************************Library*********************************
8:15 pm
Hermione absently paged through a book on magical talismans and amulets in a search for a way to destroy the locket, without killing themselves in the process. So far of the two, known destroyed Horcruxes, the diary, and the Riddle family ring, Harry had been at death's door when he had plunged the Basilisk's tooth into the diary and Dumbledore had effectively lost his hand to destroy the ring. She would rather not repeat that if she could help it, but if it helps Harry, I could loose a hand... The lockbox for the Locket had opened at her touch and she had used her wand to pull it out and set it on the table. An odd coldness permeated her bones when she looked at it, so she had pushed it as far away as was possible and still be keeping it out on the table. The only reason she even had it out was a series of odd runes on the back, that might hold a clue to how to destroy it, maybe. Her eyes flicked around the room, hopeful that Harry had gotten back from his sojourn out to talk to Lupin and Tonks, or that Ron had gotten back from his rendezvous with the twins at their Diagon Alley store.
Of course the fact that a certain blond who just happened to be the daughter of the editor of the Quibbler, which as it turned out, just coincidentally had its offices located just four store fronts down from the twin's shop couldn't have a single, solitary thing to do with Ron's sudden urge to see if the twins had come up with anything new in the three or so days since they had least seen the pranksters couldn't have anything to do with it...no, of course it couldn't. Harry and her had fallen out of their chairs laughing yesterday morning when Pig had appeared carrying a scroll at least four times his own size, tied with a yellow ribbon and addressed to "My King." He had turned red and vanished until right before they left to go after Mundungus.
Harry had awoke at noon, exactly, and sought her out. She was still sleeping when he had arrived in her room, having kipped back out, so he just left her a note, letting her know that he was going to go to Gringotts to check out some tomes that he had been told were now in his vault and was going to go talk to Remus and Tonks about training. He had taken the Knight Bus, for time to think, he had said in the note. She frowned at the thought, Harry wasn't stupid, in fact she knew that he was at least as smart as his parents had been, and he knew as well as Ron that a Flushing Potion didn't normally have that effect. And she knew, that he had been suspecting...something had changed their relationship last year.
Hermione stopped turning the pages for a while, she hadn't been reading them anyway and dropped her head to the cradle of her arms. It's all my fault...if I hadn't panicked when he related the Prophesy. Maybe I would have caught the signs...but no, that Harry-like voice argued sarcastically, you wouldn't have, you were too caught up with worrying about whether or not Ron was in Lavender's knickers. No I wasn't...yes you were...but why; even if I was interested in Ron...hello dated him for three weeks remember? Snogs and horniness don't count. It would if it were Harry... Harry's voice won the argument with six words and she looked back down at the book, as her faced flushed. She shook it off and returned to her study with a vengeance.
Her eyes focused rapidly as she passed a page on the amulet that Ron had found George had purchased at Borgin and Burks. A large, color illustration showed an odd, flat, silver amulet in the shape of a twisted star. An evil looking, oily black stone sat in the middle of the star:
The Talisman of Confuses de Amor Inflecto, or the Amulet of Geeves the Melancholy. This amulet was believed to have been created in 1675 by Geeves, a Welsh wizard of particular talent with enchanted objects. Geeves was thought to have created this amulet in order to lure away the attentions of another wizard, Edward of Saxony, from a witch, Sasha Delacourt, that both of the men had romantic feelings for. The talisman acts by using a focused Confundus charm to lure away the feelings of the effected one towards another that the affected has strong feelings for such as a close friend of the opposite gender. If the attentions of the close friend for which the emotions of the effected are not returned immediately, often resentful or irrational behavior is observed with symptoms ranging from uncharacteristic acts, violence towards friends and loved ones and irrational jealousy of others.
This talisman is limited in its duration and effects. A witch or wizard's innate magic will eventually defeat the effect of the amulet, but until then, the magical powers of the inflicted will be lessened. This effect is similar to that occurs when a person is under the effects of Amortentia for a long period of time. This weakness proved to be Geeves' downfall as in early 1676, Geeves was killed in a Wizard's Duel, by an enraged, fully remagiced Edward after he had overthrown the effects of the magic and discovered that Geeves had replaced his favorite Amulet of Darkness with the talisman, which the talisman is made to resemble.
Hermione sat back in her chair with a gasp and began to cry as they implications, if true, hit her between the eyes. She stood after a moment, drying tears angrily as her temper rose to the fore, "Accio Confuses de Amor Inflecto" She growled. For a long, heartstopping minute nothing happened and Hermione started to berate herself for thinking of that, surely Ginny wouldn't have; I'm her... Hermione's hopes were dashed as a familiar, thick, leather bound planner flew into the room and dropped in front of her on the table. A large, burnished silver star decorated the front cover of the planner, a gift from her last birthday from Ginny, with a bright green stone in the center of the straight star. Her heart was in her throat as she touched the center of the stone with the tip of her wand and whispered, "Revelo."
The silver star shimmered, and slowly the tips of the star twisted and the bright green jewel faded to black.
A conscious thought never crossed Hermione's mind as her right hand dagger came out of its sheath, its blade already alit with bluebell flames before it even fully extended. She flipped it in her hands and rammed the tip of the dagger with all her might into the stone.
Shards exploded outwards, falling slowly, ever so slowly...a rainbow wave of light shot out of the talisman throwing her across the room to bang hard into the wall, denting the plaster. On the other side of the table the Locket of Slytherin fell to the ground and the unopenable locket...cracked open.
Hermione pushed herself to her knees, shaking, and suddenly, without warning, pain ripped through her. Like the Cruciatus, but worse, this was caused by a friend, a sister in all but blood. Hermione whimpered as she pulled herself along the floor to a chair and used it to pull herself upright. Green fire danced in her pupils as she panted heavily and tried to force herself upright, only to fail and fall back down to her knees.
A dark shadow rose from behind the table, black, featureless, except for a pair of sullenly glowing eyes, Hermione glanced up through tears of pain, OH GOD....HARRY.... the room faded to black as her body crashed...
******************************Soho*********************************8
8:10 pm
A soft knock caused Tonks to extract herself from Lupin's embrace and get up from their bed. His brown eyes glared
toward the door as he swung his legs onto the floor and started looking around on the floor, "If that's
Kingsley again luv, just curse him and leave him outside for the landlord to get." Lupin growled and Tonks
giggled. She pulled a dressing robe from the floor and wrapped it around her as she went to the door, her long inky
locks drawing themselves up into a short spiky hairstyle and fading to pink.
Tonks looked through the peephole to find a messy mop of jet hair standing with his head down. She yanked the door
open, "HARRY!" Harry glanced up at her and nodded. Not really noticing she was in a robe with nothing under
it. She frowned, "come in Harry, please." He nodded and walked in past her. "How did you know where I
live?"
"Phonebook" Harry said shortly, and Tonks laughed. She had forgotten that. Harry crossed the room and started to sit, when Lupin came out of the bedroom, sans shirt. Harry's eyes opened widely as he looked to Tonks again and back to Lupin. His face turned crimson, "Oh Merlin, I'm sorry, I didn't think, Tonks, Remus, I...I'll go..."
"Nonsense Harry." Tonks replied and sat down across from him. Her eyes flickered and her skimpy robe morphed to jeans and a t-shirt. "That better?" She asked softly and he nodded. Remus came over and sat next to Harry as he pulled a shirt on over his jeans.
"What's wrong Harry, did something happen?" Lupin asked as his eyes caught Harry's tired, slightly haunted ones. Lupin looked over at Tonks, she shrugged. Harry was fine last time I saw him, at the wedding...oh crap he went to the Hollow...why the hell didn't Sirius or I... "Harry, is it the Hollow, I mean Sirius and I were going to fix it up, but we never..."
"No it's not that," Harry whispered, and looked up at Lupin, "I do thank up for the inscription, though, I remember you using it third year." The werewolf nodded solemnly, "No something else happened, happened last year, that I just found out about."
"Can we help?" Tonks whispered as she used her wand to conjure three butterbeers and handed one to Harry and tossed one to Lupin.
Harry returned a small smile, "not right now, Tonks, thanks, I need to talk to Hermione about it, I guess...maybe later." The wistful look Harry had on was not lost on either of the others. Harry took a deep breath, "I...ah...I"
"What is it?"
"It's just that...I mean," Harry began nervously, then with a breath calmed, and his emerald eyes came up and met theirs levelly. "I am going to ask you to do something that may be against your oaths to the Order, and I don't want either of you two-to feel..."
"Harry." Tonks replied, reaching over and patting his knee, "Remus and I are sorta on the outs with the Order anyway, I seriously doubt that you can make it any worse."
Harry nodded, and looked up at Tonks, "Was Minerva able to get you the Transfiguration slot for next year?"
"She said something about it, but I should be in the field, I am..."
"Trust me," Harry replied flatly, "Hogwarts will be at the center of the fight." Tonks crooked an eyebrow but nodded after watching him for a minute. "I came to talk to you two about-"
"Training you and your friends, Harry?" Lupin replied with a smile, "I already knew, Dumbledore left me a letter." Harry just nodded, not surprised, "So where should we start. Grimmauld?" He and Tonks laughed at Harry's flummoxed look, "you three did a good job of reactivating the charms, and I assure you that taking the headquarters away from the Order caused a bit of...consternation..."
"Too bad" Harry replied softly. His hands came up and ran through his hair again, he paused as an odd background buzz that he had been hearing for the last week or so faded to silence, he grinned, and...his heart stopped.
HARRY! Hermione's terrified voice echoed in his mind and green fire lit his eyes. A rush of magic filled his bones and he...vanished. Behind him in the now emptier by one, apartment, Tonks and Remus looked at each other with astounded looks as they both clearly felt Tonks' anti-Apparation wards die. They looked at each other for one more heartbeat before quickly summoning shoes and vanishing as soon as they were laced.
In the basement of the Ministry of Magic, two old, disgruntled wizards sat watching a large, faceted crystal. They were eagerly awaiting some foolish underage wizard to break the underage, anti-Apparation rules. They hadn't snapped a wand all week and were eager. Their faces lit with a wicked anticipation as they saw the crystal light from within, only to duck under their desks an instant later as the crystal shattered into a million pieces.
****************************Grimmauld Place*****************************
A dark, evil presence glided towards Hermione's unconscious body. Twin glowing embers brightened as they sensed the seer magical potential that was now unlocked in the teenage witch, and if the seventh of Voldemort's soul had a face, it would have been lit with an unholy grin. It reached for her, already tasting the life, already reaching out for its counterpart in Tom Riddle's body, already thinking of the potential as it took its new vessel.
A thunderous CRACK shattered the windows in the room and a furious, glaring wizard stood between Hermione and Voldemort's shadow. The shadow stopped abruptly and drew itself up. Harry's right hand reached back and a thousand year old blade filled his hand with a soft pop and a snap of light. A blue line of fire illuminated the dark room as the blade snapped forward, and then with a twist of the wrist, back, cleaving the shadow into thirds.
An inhuman scream drove Harry to his knees; he dropped the Sword from limp fingers and covered Hermione with his body, curling up on top of her. An explosion of light and a flare of Phoenix song rang in the large room and Voldemort was abruptly three sevenths of the way closer to death, forever.
A CRACK sounded in the hall outside and a second later, "Harry, Hermione...Remus and Tonks are out..." Ron let out a shocked sound as he saw Harry cradling Hermione in his arms.
"Let, em in Ron." Harry snapped, "and let Dobby know." He quickly added as Ron ran off, waving his understanding.
Harry rocked back and forth slightly; Hermione's head was cradled against his chest as thundering footsteps came up the stairs. Tonks let out a gasp as she took in the sight before them. Harry never noticed any of them, tears blurred his vision as he kissed her forehead, whispering, but every ear heard him. A year and a month fell away, a year and a month that had seen tragedy and sorrow, which had started on a forlorn hope to help a godfather, who was never in danger until he was, and suddenly Harry was watching Hermione fall again.
His pulse pounded in his ears, and a horrid, terrible buzzing clouded his thoughts, "Oh please Hermione, don't leave me...Please don't leave me, I'm sorry." Harry feverishly kissed her forehead again, as he swept a loose lock of her hair behind an ear with trembling fingers. "It's all my fault, Mione...please...I can't do this without you, I'm nothing..."
"Harry" Hermione's voice cracked the drone of Harry's terrified mutterings. "So tired, Harry." Her voice faded away as she slumped in his arms.
"I'll...you'll be ok, Mione, P...Poppy'll fix you." Harry raised a hand and a golden ball whizzed by Ron's ear close enough to brush his hair in passing. It slapped into his upright palm with a loud thwack, he closed his fist over it and his lips moved.
Harry and Hermione vanished in a rush of wind and a rainbow fall of light.
A/N: The house of cards has fallen, but will Hermione survive its collapse?