*NOTES* Well I guess I can do research much quicker when I actually want to. A lot of rereading the first six books went into this chapter. I would like everyone to note that in this chapter I have borrowed a lot of stuff from JK Rowling. Well a lot more besides her characters. The next chapter is going to be tough to write, I can feel it right now. So it is probably going to take me much longer than this one did. This one was actually easier, well you'll see why. Happy reading and please review I love knowing your thoughts. Thanks and ta!
Remus slowly pulled out a bottle from his shirt pocket and set it on the table. He could tell that the twins were slightly amazed by the amount of work that must have gone into creating something like that. Now he said the spell Hermione had thoughtfully written down. The memory was indeed three-d and it played out for everyone to see.
There was Hermione sitting in the living room at the Granger household. She was watching TV and just chatting with her dad, when suddenly an owl flew threw the window. Everyone in the room knew what that meant but they had no clue what her reaction was as they were whisked away to another memory.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," Hermione appeared in Harry and Ron's compartment. She looked little like she did now. For an eighteen year old Hermione had come into her looks, but here in this memory she sported the Hogwarts uniform, bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth.
"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron.
"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it then>" She said briskly as if what going to be an interesting show.
Everyone had seemed to have forgotten Neville and his lost toad as Hermione sat down. Ron looked completely taken aback but they didn't get to see the rest of that either.
The memory had once again changed to Harry, Ron, and Hermione standing beside a huge mountain troll. But as quickly as that image was shown it was replaced with yet another.
Hermione and Harry were standing in a dank, dark room. Hermione was clutching a piece of parchment and behind them there was a table with seven different bottles. Vaguely you could make out black flames shooting up and a doorway. The memory started with Hermione dashing at Harry and throwing her arms around him.
"Hermione!" He reluctantly returned the hug.
"Harry- you're a great wizard, you know."
"I'm not as good as you." Harry looked embarrassed as she let go.
"Me! Books! And cleverness! There are more important things - friendship and bravery and - oh Harry - be careful!"
Suddenly they saw Hermione sitting with Ginny in a compartment. From the looks of it Ginny was making Hermione a little uncomfortable.
"You're Harry's best friend?" Hermione nodded. "I met him this summer. He is nice…oh…"
The next scene was of Hermione sitting in the school library. The twins let out a snigger at this as money was exchanged between Tonks and Remus. "It makes so much sense. The monster is a basilisk. Oh and the pipes." Quickly she scribbled something on the bottom of the page she was reading and ripped it out.
"You solved it! You solved it!" Hermione screamed as she ran to give Harry a hug.
"Awake Harry?" The common room was dark but they could see Harry and Hermione sitting on the couch.
"He killed my parents," obviously they had jumped to the middle of their third year.
"We've been over this before." Hermione let out a sigh," Sirius Black isn't worth it."
"What would you have done it the roles were reversed?" Harry asked his infamous temper rising.
"I can't honestly answer that question," she whispered. They sat there for several more minutes in silence. "It's late." They parted with a hug and went their separate ways.
"Professor?" Timidly Hermione knocked on a door. No one answered, and she left looking exhausted as she put a necklace back around her neck. "At least I have my classes if I can't have my friends. And all over a stupid broomstick."
"Oh for goodness sake!' They had emerged in the divination classroom. "Not that ridiculous Grim again!"
It seemed that Professor Trelawney and Hermione were having a glaring contest. "I'm sorry to say that from the moment you have arrived in this class, my dear, it has been apparent that you do not have what the noble art of Divination requires. Indeed, I don't remember ever meeting a student whose mind was so hopelessly mundane."
Hermione seemed to be taking this all in and then, "Fine!" she said. She stood up and crammed her book into her back. "Fine!" she repeated, "I give up! I'm leaving!"
"I don't believe it!" Hermione's scream cut through the silence. "You - you -"
Lupin's voice interrupted her insane babble, "Hermione -"
"- you and him!"
"Hermione, calm down-"
"I didn't tell anyone!"
The darkness changed into a lot of white. "What we need is more time." Dumbledore's voice was crystal clear and all turned to look at his portrait which stood in-between Hagrid and McGonagall.
"But-Oh!" Hermione become very still and her eyes huge as Dumbledore explained something. They never heard any of the rest because the memory changed.
All of the sudden they became flashes of memories. Only long enough for them to get a glimpse of Hermione in a classroom teaching Harry something, Harry flying past a dragon, Ron and Hermione arguing, all three at Grimmauld place with Sirius during Christmas, fighting death eaters, going to a party, and then they images stopped/
"Why didn't you go home? Ron did." Harry and Hermione stood gazing at the tree they had decorated at Grimmauld place. "You could have had Christmas with your family before resuming this insane fight." Harry seemed to be pleading with Hermione for her to leave.
"Harry, only heaven knows what kind of trouble would find you if I left you alone," Hermione reached out and grabbed his hand. "Plus I am with my family." He smiled down at her as she said this. Cautiously he took the hand he was holding and wrapped it around her waist as she put her head on his shoulder.
"I love you Hermione," Harry whispered as they stood watching the lights twinkle on the tree.
"I love you too, Harry."
The image faded out with a pop and everyone looked at the bottle expectantly. Some of their eyes flitted from the bottle to Ginny, but the red head was starring at her plate. Remus pulled out the next bottle. It was Ron's and he said the spell as to get it over quickly.
Ron's started out with flashes of images. You saw first his parents, and then came all of his siblings from eldest to the youngest. Next you saw the scene with the troll once again. Then came a flash of a huge chessboard, which had McGonagall smiling. And the finally scene from his first year was of Gryffindor defeating Slytherin in the house cup award.
"We'll go and get our stuff," Ron's voice was the first sound to come from the image of them sitting in what looked like Snape's office.
"What are you talking about, Weasley?" Barked McGonagall.
"Well, you're expelling us, aren't you?"
Both Harry and Ron quickly looked at Dumbledore. "Not today, Mr. Weasley."
"Ron!" Harry shouted. "Are you okay? Ron!"
"I'm here." Ron was on one side of a huge bunch of rocks and from the sound of it Harry was on the other. "I'm okay - this git's not, though - he got blasted by the wand-" Suddenly Ron kicked Professor Lockhart in the shins.
The scene changed to show the three Gryffindors against three Slytherins. No sound came from the image but they could tell it was going to ugly really quickly. Hermione though had beaten Harry and Ron to the punch and she smacked the tall blond boy with all the strength she could muster.
Flashes of fourth and fifth year were all they saw it was much like the same as Hermione. There was the first task, the ball, Harry in the hospital wing, their time at Grimmauld place, Christmas at the hospital, a couple of talks with both of them about Voldemort, some DA meetings, and fighting with the brains.
Ron included nothing from his sixth year. Which some found odd but he did include the argument he had with his parents on the subject of him going back to school. It end with Molly in tears and Ron giving her a hug before he left. He didn't, apparently, want to leave on the terms like Percy did.
"And I now pronounce you husband and wife." They had arrived at Bill's wedding. Ron was sitting in-between Harry and Hermione as the ceremony ended.
"Time for food," he said which cause Harry and Hermione to laugh. "Oh come on you would be hungry to if you had to do the decorations this morning, but no the guest weren't allowed to help." Ron mumbled something about them being family and not guest, which caused Harry and Hermione to grin.
They filled out of their chairs and watched as Charlie did some impressive magic which transformed the already decorated garden into a dancing area and a sitting area. Quickly they found their table and watched as Bill and Fleur did their first dance. It was slow and sweet to some muggle song Ron couldn't possible even think of getting the name right, because it was French as well as muggle.
He was one of the first in line when the food was set up. He piled his plate high but when he turned to go back to his table he noticed that Harry and Hermione were missing. He did a full turn before his eyes settled on them on the dance floor, swaying to some slow song.
Ron became entranced as he watched how easily his friends got along. They were dancing close but not too close. Harry was gazing steadily into Hermione's eyes as she chatted on about something which obviously was funny. When the song ended they hugged and went back to the table, and it was only then that Ron snapped out of his trance and went to join them.
"Are you ready?" Three figures came out of three different shadows and met right in front of the door to Grimmauld place. "You know you don't have to do this." Harry spoke as he took in both of his friends faces.
"You have got to be joking mate, we are going with you. No matter what." Ron said as he placed his hand on Harry's shoulder.
"Are fates were sealed the moment we entered your compartment during the first train ride. I doubt either of us knew it them but something extraordinary had happened that day."
"Yeah you met the boy-who-lived," Harry grinned at Hermione who smiled back, sadly.
"No mate we met Harry, just Harry. And he is even better then the boy-who-lived." Ron said and they turned to face the door. The memory ended with them going into the house and that is also how the whole thing ended.
Remus avoided Molly's eyes as he couldn't face her tears right now. The last bottle was Harry's and he wasn't sure he was ready to face it, but he gathered up all the courage of a Marauder and pulled the bottle out. Before he could perform the spell a hand was place on his wrist, "let me." He looked up to meet the eyes of Hagrid and nodded.
Harry's didn't show any scenes from anything for a second and then it finally blinked to life. They found themselves in the kitchen at Grimmauld place. Harry sat holding a glass full of some liquid and staring at the flames in the fireplace.
"It's late," Hermione came through the door of the kitchen clad in one of Harry's oversize t-shirts. "We haven't slept for two days for we have been destroying another Horcrux and yet here you are still not sleeping." She pulled up a stool and looked at him.
Harry looked tried and sick, his eyes held no place for a soul behind the pain they held. He still hadn't really acknowledged Hermione's presence. Instead all he did was take a sip of his drink. She took the drink from him and threw it in the sink. His eyes looked at her and they held sadness.
"Harry…" she reached out and touched his cheek.
"Hermione I'm scared that I'm going to lose Ron and you. One day you're both going to wake up and see I'm not worth it."
She actually laughed at him, "If that is what you are worried about then get over it. We aren't going anywhere." Ron had entered the room and pulled up a stool beside Hermione. "See even Ron agrees with me," Hermione said.
"What about the danger?"
"You are just beginning to think about the danger?" Ron snorted into his hands. "Harry we've been in much more danger and that was a t Hogwarts. Right now all we are doing is destroying some crummy old objects and keeping our best friend company."
"When did you become so smart?" Hermione and Harry asked at the exact same time.
"Yeah well one day she had to rub off on me, if only a little bit. Too bad that didn't happen at school, first."
They lapsed into silence as the watched the flames of the fire dance. Each had his or her own thoughts turned to simpler times. Times when the war wasn't always everything they thought and dreamt about.
"Do you remember the night we all met Sirius for the first time?" Hermione asked and Harry and Ron laughed. "God we were all so young and now look at us. I mean we are still young but now it seems we have aged with the destruction of our world. Too quickly."
"Remember how we were all so brave in thinking we were going to die before he killed Harry." Ron said right before he yawned.
"He said I could live with him once he was free. I really wanted to, too. It was such a nice dream, for that half an hour." Harry sighed as he thought of how he was technically living with Sirius or at least in his house. "And Hermione next time you get a time turner tell us about it first so we can make sure you aren't killing yourself in the process to get to classes." Harry smiled up at Hermione as she blushed.
"I still can't believe Trelawney wasn't a complete fraud. For all good intentions sometimes things aren't what they seemed. I guess we definitely learned that that year." Hermione got up and went over to the stove to put the kettle on the stove. "What were you drinking?" She asked Harry as she picked his cup out of the sink.
"Pumpkin juice," Hermione walked over and kissed him on the cheek and then gave Ron one. "My two boys are still that, boys." They both made protesting noises as she said. "It's true and you know it. You both would rather be playing Quidditch then saving the world, or even making up wild predictions for Trelawney's class. I guess sometimes, especially these times, we need to remember that we are still children at heart. Now, how about a game of exploding snap?"
The memory was just that one memory. Remus silently put the bottles back in his shirt pocket and he looked around the table. His eyes went from Tonks, to Fred and George, Bill, Fleur, Ginny, Molly, Arthur, Jane, Edward, Minerva, the portrait of Albus, and finally Hagrid. All these people the three teenagers had touched and been touched by them. It was amazing to see them all with tears in their eyes as they watched the last memory of all the memories. Harry and Hermione and Ron were too precious for words sometimes, but now was not one of those moments.
"She is right they were just children. But they grew up too quickly; you could see it in their eyes." It was Ginny who spoke. "I wanted to go with them and help but now I see I would never have been able to do what they did. They gave up so much for us and yet they found so much too."
"No," Remus's voice was hoarse when he spoke. "They didn't give anything up. They had each other and that was all they needed. I know that now."
"Oh you two step out of your pity party. We haven't even read the letters yet. Only when the last word is read, out loud, will I finally join that party. But until then we keep going. We read those letters and pray that sometime during them they decide to come out of `mortal peril'." Molly snapped at her youngest and Remus.
"I agree with Molly. Don't get me wrong Remus, I love you but I've had enough of your pity party." Tonks suddenly screwed up her face and turned her nose to one that resembled Professor Dumbledore's. She glanced at the portrait and found him smiling at her, obviously he approved. "Now lets say we finish this breakfast, let Molly get at the twins for coming here drunk, and read what Ron has to say."
Molly went back to making toast and sending glares at the twins as she made breakfast. Jane tried too many times to offer her some help but to Molly cooking was therapeutic and she needed that right now. Finally everyone had been fed to their fullest and molly waved her wand. She sent all the dishes flying to the sink. There they would lie awaiting the order to be scrubbed, but right now she had something much more important to do. Quickly she sat down in her seat next to Arthur; the distance between them seemed to be like an ocean so she moved closer. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she leaned against him for support.
Remus glanced at Molly and awaited her nodded which seemed to take forever for her to give. Quickly and silently he pulled out the twelve envelopes and set them on the table. "I guess there is no more point in waiting," he said as everyone stared at the envelopes and no one made a move to reach for them.
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