A/N: Is there anyone out there still reading this? Well, if you are, here's another lovely chapter.
Awakening
There is freedom within, there is freedom without
Try to catch the deluge in a paper cup
There's a battle ahead, many battles are lost
But you'll never see the end of the road
While you're traveling with me
Hey now, hey now
Don't dream it's over
Hey now, hey now
When the world comes in
They come, they come
To build a wall between us
We know they won't win
(Don't Dream It's Over-Crowded House)
~*~
Harry opened his eyes.
The hospital wing was lit with the sconces on the wall and the windows were dark. How long had he been asleep? There were some whispers and hushed voices and he could see he wasn't alone. Some of the beds were occupied with people huddled around them speaking in hushed tones out of respect for the other occupants in the room. He felt a little sore and tender but most of all…hungry. The fact that he was once again under the roof of Hogwarts instead of in the clutches of Voldemort and his Death Eaters for one more day, filled him with such a sense of relief.
"You're awake," said the most beautiful voice in the world. His green eyes met hers. She was sitting in a chair next to his bed, Ron was with her. He gave them both a small grin and moved to sit up. Hermione immediately stopped him, getting out of her chair and putting her hand on his chest, gently pressing him back down on the bed. He welcomed the contact and could feel the warmth of her hand through the shirt he was wearing. "Let Madame Pomfrey look over you."
"I'm fine," he replied but he still didn't get up. Hermione removed her hand but still remained standing. Ron stood next to her.
"Good to see you mate," he grinned. Harry gave him a small lopsided smile in return. Yes, it was good to see his friends. It seemed like he had woken up from a nightmare, a very realistic nightmare in which he was tortured and people were killed. The haunted look in his eyes didn't go unnoticed by Hermione. She was looking down at him with tear filled eyes and she began to tremble. She had nearly collapsed on his bed, nearly suffocating him with her bushy brown hair.
"You're alive. You're alive! I thought….I…was…you…" She became so worked up that he couldn't understand her choked sentence. He didn't really need to, he was getting the message the way she was squeezing the life out of him. She let go of him and abruptly turned and walked a few steps away. Ron went with her and he could see his friend put a hand on her shoulder as she had one hand on her hip, the other hand on her mouth. He whispered something to her and she shook her head, wiped her tears away and took a deep breath. When she turned back around, she was remarkably composed, the only hint of her emotional outbreak were her slightly red eyes.
"There's…there's something important we have to tell you," she said. Harry winced inwardly. A statement like that was rarely followed with good news, like Voldemort had accidentally destroyed himself in a freak accident with a chicken or something along those lines. She looked back at Ron then back at him. "Nagini is in the castle."
Sometimes, you hear things and you're so shocked and surprised by the statement that you actually question what you had heard. Your body seems to slow the connection of what you hear to how it's processed in the brain. Maybe this is done for self-preservation so that one doesn't spontaneously combust upon receiving such news.
"Er…huh?" Harry thought he had heard her say that Nagini, deadly and dangerous snake of his most hated enemy, was slithering around Hogwarts. But, he was sure he heard wrong.
Hermione leaned in closer. "Nagini is in the castle."
Fuck.
No, he heard right the first time. He wasn't sure what the look on his face looked like but his friends looked as if they had stopped breathing. In fact, they were holding their breaths. And Ron was looking a bit frightened.
"Are you sure?" he asked. The words sounded so stupid but he was still in some sort of state of denial. Maybe Hermione had her…um…snakes crossed?
"Isis told me…"
"Isis?"
"…and then Peter confirmed it." Hermione looked at him then backtracked. "She used the flashcards that Hagrid has been using on Grawp. She kept motioning to the snake…"
"That doesn't mean that Nagini is here," Harry retorted. "There have got to be a lot of snakes in Hogwarts." Right? His argument was weak, he knew it, Hermione and Ron knew it.
"Er…" Ron was at a loss for words.
"Well…" Evidently, so was Hermione.
"This is ridiculous," Harry muttered as he threw off his covers and got up out of the bed. Hermione reached out to stop him.
"Um, maybe you should wait until…"
Her words died when she saw how determined he was. Harry pulled on his t-shirt, wincing at the pain of his tender ribcage. He grabbed his wand from the table next to the bed and with a flick of his wrist, tied his shoes.
"Harry, listen…" Ron stepped forward to say something but Harry brushed past him. There was only one person he wanted to see and even he was untrustworthy. Talking to Pettigrew wasn't high on his happy-to-do list.
He only paused a moment when he walked past Alice Longbottom's bed. He remembered how she stepped forward and attacked the Death Eater in front of her while her husband was being threatened with another hit of the Cruciatus. He remembered the faint look of awareness in her eyes. What had happened to her?
She was resting peacefully, asleep and being carefully watched over by Madame Pomfrey and McGonagall. Harry wondered where Neville was.
"He hasn't been to see her since," Hermione said quietly, reading his thoughts. Harry continued, silently, on his way with Hermione and Ron in tow.
*
"Where is he?" Harry demanded when he walked into the darkened dungeons. The aurors on guard backed away from him as he approached the cell where Peter was being kept. The look of shock on the rat's face was not hidden at all as he scurried away to the corner.
"Is it true?" Harry demanded.
Peter sat on the bed, squeezing himself into the corner as he brought his knees to his chest. His beady and watery eyes fell over Harry's shoulder to Hermione.
"So the traitor did it, huh?" Peter sneered. "He'll pay. He'll pay." Peter grinned maniacally as he rocked back and forth.
Harry stepped forward and wrapped his hands around the bars. "You're one to talk about traitors, aren't you Peter?" he asked in a quiet voice of authority. Peter only shrank further in the corner and looked away from Harry. The younger Gryffindor let go of the bars. "Can't stand to look at me can you?" Peter stared at the wall next to him. "I look too much like my father don't I? A conscious is a terrible thing for a Death Eater to have," Harry tutted. He began to pace in front of the cell. "Is Nagini here?" he asked.
"How the hell would I know?" Peter sulked back.
Harry stared at him. "Hmm, so much for your loyalty," he shrugged. "After all you've done for him, he still sends someone over to watch you, to make sure you don't muck up what you were supposed to do."
"I don't need anyone watching over me. I'm one of his most trusted Death Eaters," Peter announced defiantly.
"Oh, of course you are. Which is why it must sting that he sends someone else along with you. You didn't know did you?" Harry sighed. "And after all you've done for him."
Harry had had enough of the pathetic little man. He moved away from the cell and walked down the corridor, his two friends in tow. He could hear Peter yelling out after him, screaming that he was the most loyal Death Eater of all. Denial was an easy and bitter pill to swallow.
He would know.
He had been living in it for quite some time. He was in denial that he was The Boy Who Lived, that the prophecy really had him in it,that his life and the lives of those around him were in constant mortal peril. Now more than ever. He had always acknowledged this on some level but now it was thrust into his face, the rose colored glasses had been taken off.
He was nearly in the clutches of Voldemort. He had been tortured. He had been humiliated. He had seen people murdered just because of his will to survive. He thought of the young nurse who had defiantly told him no, not to give in. She would rather give her life than see him give in to the most evil wizard he had ever known.
"So…what do we do now?"
Harry stared at Ron. His question broke him out of his thoughts. The three of them were in the Gryffindor common room. How did they get here? Was he so lost in his thoughts that he had paid no mind to where he was going, what he was doing? It was all too much to take in and he felt as if he needed a moment to gather his thoughts.
"I just…I just want to rest," he said softly as he dragged himself up the stairs. Thankfully, Hermione and Ron didn't follow.
Even more thankful, the dormitory was empty. "Harry!" Isis hissed as he approached his bed where she was curled. He gave her a small smile.
"Isis. Feeling better?" he asked as he reached out for her. She slid up his arm, curling around the appendage and giving him a gentle squeeze.
"Your friend…Hagrid…wasss wonderful. I'm not sure about the other one though. He ssseemsss to be a little rough around the edgesss." Harry gave a soft snort of laughter. Isis' tone became somber. "Did your Hermione tell you?"
Harry sighed and removed the snake from his arm and set her back down on his bed. He kneeled down in front of his trunk and lifted the lid. Isis slid over the top of it.
"I'm glad you are okay," she hissed. "I wasss ssso worried. I wasssn't sssure Hermione'sss plan would work and-"
Harry slammed the lid of the trunk and Isis immediately recoiled. "It did," he said in a terse voice.
Isis peered at him. "Harry…she wasss desssperate. She had to do sssomething." Isis paused. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked as she eyed the map and his invisibility cloak.
"I'm going out," he replied.
Isis flared and hissed at him. "Harry, that sssnake is dangerousss!" Harry threw on his cloak and walked out of the door.
~*~
"We'll just give him some time," Ron murmured as he stabbed at his tart. He was lost in his own conversation, staring straight ahead even though Hermione was sitting right next to him. She sighed and put her spoon down, pushing her bowl of pudding away from her. She didn't really feel like eating.
"I suppose you're right," she sighed. "This all must be a nasty shock to him. I just don't want him doing anything he will regret later."
The food began to disappear from the table and people began to get up to return to their common rooms. The volume in the Great Hall rose considerably as the air filled with the chatter of the students, a busy drone of conversation that sounded like a hive of bees.
Hermione paused outside of the doors in the foyer. "You're going to find him, aren't you?" Ron asked her. Hermione's guilty look said it all. Ron sighed. "Just be careful alright? There's a big ugly snake on the loose in here." He turned and walked away from her to find his girlfriend to escort to her common room.
Hermione went the other way, strolling through the halls of Hogwarts, on her guard and more than a little thankful that she wasn't alone walking through the halls as she passed her fellow schoolmates.
She found who she was looking for in the Astronomy tower, sitting out there by himself as if he were the loneliest person on the planet. She made her way through the amorous couples, careful not to disturb their trysts in the dark shadows.
"Hello," she said to him as she approached. Neville looked over at her, his brown eyes met hers before he stuffed his hands in his pockets and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
"Ginny send you?" he asked.
"No," Hermione replied. "I came looking for you because I was worried about you."
"Don't be," he shrugged. "I'm fine."
Silence fell between them and Hermione stepped forward and leaned back against the wall next to him. The moon cast a
pale light on the balcony of the astronomy tower creating long shadows in the corners.
"You haven't been to see your mum since they brought her in," she said softly. Neville turned and looked at her then looked away. "I mean, I think you should-"
"Hermione," Neville cut her off then he hung his head and sighed. "Just drop it okay?"
But she wouldn't drop it. She couldn't. Her friend was in pain and she wanted to help somehow. But she didn't know how and she found herself floundering for something to say that would make it all better.
Neville leaned back against the same wall she was resting on and slid down to sit on the floor. Hermione joined him.
*
"Sorry Sonny," the gargoyle cackled in Harry's face. "But I can't let you in without the password."
"Look, I'm not here to see McGonagall-" The gargoyle fluttered excitedly and hopped up and down on its perch. "Sorry, er, Professor McGonagall," Harry corrected himself. "I need to speak with one of the portraits."
"And where is said portrait?" the gargoyle asked.
Harry sighed. "In the Headmistress' office," he answered.
"And to get into the office?" the gargoyle grinned.
"I need a password."
The gargoyle hopped up and down on its perch again. "Oh, he can be taught!" it said with glee. "So…again, go ahead and try some more."
"I've already tried a billion words and I'm sick and tired of guessing! Now, LET ME IN!!"
"Let me in? Hmm, nope that's not it either," the gargoyle grinned. Harry glared at it. "Do you need a hint?" it asked.
"You're going to give me a hint?" Harry asked, unsure.
"No!" The gargoyle flipped on its back on the pedestal and began to roll back and forth upon it. "Oh, you should've seen your face!"
Harry was finished being patient and he drew his wand. "Alright you overgrown, ugly bat, let me in or I'll make sure Peeves spends the rest of his days stuffing chewing gum into your eye sockets."
The gargoyle stopped laughing and looked up at him. "Who are you calling ugly?"
Okay, that was it. His patience was definitely gone and he threw down his wand and wrapped his bare hands around the stony little throat of the gargoyle. "Listen to me you useless piece of rock…"
"MR. POTTER!"
The sound of McGonagall's voice made him jump back from the offending statue with his hands innocently behind his back.
"What on earth do you think you're doing?!" she asked him with wide eyes. Where she came from, he didn't know but it was now obvious to him that she wasn't in her office to begin with.
The gargoyle began to speak up but Harry slapped his hand over its mouth and draped an arm over its shoulders. "Just chatting," he said casually. He felt a small sting on his finger and realized with amazement that the gargoyle had somehow nicked him.
McGonagall appraised the teen who stood before her with a big, false grin on his face. Puh-lease. She survived the Weasley's, she knew when a student was up to no good and trouble seemed to follow Harry Potter like his very own shadow.
"Well, I am pleased to see that you are out of the hospital wing…again," she nodded at him. "How are you feeling Mr. Potter?"
Harry glared at the gargoyle as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. He looked up at the Headmistress. "Do you think we could…" He nodded his head in the direction of her office.
"Of course," she said and stepped forward.
It was still weird to walk into the office that had once been occupied by Dumbledore. Many of the old headmaster's odd and ends and little knick-knacks were still cluttered around the room. It brought back bittersweet memories of the times he had been in this place, to seek answers, to give answers, to be reprimanded lightly for breaking various school rules. It was in this very room that Dumbledore had told him of his fate, his destiny the night he had lost his godfather.
Harry swallowed loudly to squash that painful memory.
"I've been changing the passwords frequently," McGonagall was saying and Harry forced his attention to her. She walked around the desk and sat down in the high backed chair. "What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked.
Harry's eyes flickered to Dumbledore's portrait. The former Headmaster was gazing at him with kind eyes. He scratched the back of his head, unsure of where to start.
"I am glad you are okay," McGonagall said sincerely. "When Miss Granger and Kingsley Shacklebolt told us of-"
"Nagini is in the castle," Harry blurted out.
McGonagall lifted an eyebrow and Dumbledore frowned thoughtfully. Maybe he shouldn't have just played it out like that but tact was never really his strong point.
"What did you say?" McGonagall said breathlessly, her hand had fluttered to her chest.
Harry looked her square in the eye. "Nagini is in the castle," he repeated. He glanced up at Dumbledore then back at the Headmistress. For once, she didn't seem to have anything to say. Her lips were pursed together but her brow was furrowed with worry.
"You must call a meeting with the Order," Dumbledore said gravely.
"That's one of the reasons I'm here," Harry replied. "I have no way of tracking her without…" Harry trailed off, unable to finish what he was about to say. Unable to track Nagini without opening his mind to Voldemort, letting him in so he could see through the eyes of the snake like he had accidentally and unwittingly done in his fifth year when the snake had attacked Mr. Weasley.
"You do not track the snake," McGonagall said stiffly. "Leave this to the Order."
Harry stared at her. "I am perfectly capable and willing to lead this hunt."
"Absolutely not," she said, keeping her ground. "And I am seriously considering that you leave the castle."
"What?!" he blurted out at her before looking up at Dumbledore. He was frowning in thought at McGonagall's words.
Harry looked at her in betrayal and disgust. "How could you do this?" he accused.
"Mr. Potter, I am the Headmistress of this school and it is within my rights to have you removed," she said with authority.
"I am more than capable of defending myself. I need to be here." He had to find a way to find Nagini and kill her, destroying the horcrux in the process. This was his chance that he had been waiting for.
"There are more important things at stake here," McGonagall said firmly. "We had nearly lost you at St. Mungo's and I, personally, am in no hurry to send our only hope of defeating Voldemort down the drain."
"I'm not leaving," Harry stubbornly replied.
"You don't have a choice."
"If I may, Minerva," Dumbledore interrupted, "I shall have a word with Mr. Potter."
Harry could see her nostrils were flaring and her lips seemed even tighter at her mouth. "Fine," she replied shortly, before leaving the office.
Harry watched the heavy wooden door close before slowly bringing his eyes back to the portrait of his favorite Headmaster. He was looking down at him, peering at him over his half-moon glasses for what seemed like forever before he finally spoke.
"She has a fair point, Harry," he said softly then he gave a weary sigh that was so reminiscent of his final days. "But, then again, I understand why you must stay. I believe we are, what the muggles would say, between a rock and a hard place."
Harry stepped closer to the portrait. "We aren't going to get this chance again."
"I know."
"I'm not leaving," Harry repeated, firmly.
Dumbledore looked at him again for what seemed like a long time before speaking again. "I heard about what happened in St. Mungo's," he said. Harry dropped his head and looked away. "This war is getting more and more dangerous. We were so close to losing you…and our last chance of defeating Tom." Harry didn't say anything. The memories of his torture were too raw to bring forth. Dumbledore changed the subject.
"There was an overly excited gargoyle at the entrance to the staircase that was having too much fun with a young man who wanted to speak with me," he said with the hint of a smile.
Harry took a few steps forward to the chair in front of the Headmistresses desk and placed his hands on the back of it as he peered up at the portrait.
"What was it like when you died?" he asked.
He knew he had thrown the former Headmaster for a serious loop when he saw the look of surprise register on his face.
"Harry, I…"
"Was it painful? Was it like how the muggles say with the bright light and the loved ones there to greet you type of thing?"
Dumbledore peered down at him. "It is something you don't need to worry about for quite some time."
Harry stared off in space. "I honestly don't think I'm going to survive this war." Then he quickly added, "I mean, I'm determined to defeat him. To put an end to his terror but…" He looked back up at Dumbledore. "I want to live, so badly. But at the same time, I'm not afraid to die."
The look on the Headmaster's face was one of resignation and sadness as if he, too, had known this possibility and was now actually having to confront it.
"That alone gives you such an advantage over Tom Riddle."
Harry looked down at his fingers splayed on the back of the chair. His ribs were beginning to ache again and he supposed he was going to have to make a trip to the hospital wing to pick up some more potion to ease the pain.
"The Order is heading up the stairs," Dumbledore said quietly and Harry moved to open the door for them. But as he looked back one more time at his former Headmaster, he wondered if it was at all possible for a portrait to age rapidly, its subject to seem withdrawn and defeated.
~*~
"I'm afraid to get attached," Neville said quietly. Hermione looked over at him with sympathy. They had been quiet for some time, she let him mull over his thoughts in the silence, letting him be ready to open up to her. "I mean…it's all so surreal. It's like I don't really believe she's there."
Hermione placed a gentle hand on his arm. "But she is," she whispered to him.
"I can't even afford to hope for this possibility."
Hermione didn't know what to say to this. She wasn't in his shoes, she didn't know how he felt. But she did know what it was like to lay everything on the tiniest and most fragile sliver of hope.
"Hope is never a bad thing," she smiled softly at him.
Hermione sat with him until he decided it was time for him to get up and leave. Together they walked through the quiet halls of Hogwarts, ever alert for the sign of Filch and Mrs. Norris. They had their luck with them up until they arrived on the landing of the fourth floor.
"Shh," Neville whispered and tugged Hermione back into the shadows with him. Hermione's ears strained in the silence for a swish of a tail, a staggered footfall but nothing came. The silence was deafening.
"What was it?" Hermione asked, stuffing the mild alarm deep down. Please don't let it be Nagini.
"I thought I heard something," Neville whispered. They waited a few moments more until Neville relaxed and stepped out into the landing. Hermione followed him. "I think this castle is getting to my nerves," he exhaled sharply.
"It's not the safest place anymore," Hermione replied with a hint of sadness.
"Especially when you're out wandering at night."
Neville and Hermione jumped at the sound of Harry's voice and whirled around to face him as he stepped out of the shadows.
"Harry, you nearly scared me to death!" Hermione scolded. Harry quirked an eyebrow at her, the trace of a grin formed on his lips. She felt herself lightly blush.
"I know how to defend myself!" Neville replied, slightly affronted. Harry's grin turned into a slight smirk before he laughed at his friend.
"Heading back to the common room?" he asked, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the vial of potion Madame Pomfrey had given him earlier.
"Yeah, it's been a long night," Neville sighed.
"Tell me about it." Harry grimaced at the taste of the pain-killing potion.
Hermione looked up at him in concern. "Are you still hurting?" she asked.
"A bit," he replied honestly.
"Maybe you should stay one more night so Madame Pomfrey can watch over you."
"I'm fine, Hermione," he insisted.
She pursed her lips. "What is it with you two and the avoidance of the Hospital Wing."
Harry heard her and quickly looked to Neville in his peripheral. "We all have our reasons, Hermione."
His tone had a hint of warning in it, telling her to drop the subject. She got the hint and didn't say anything more until she gave the password to the common room.
There was a spattering of students still up, most of them fifth years who were panicking about their O.W.L.S. She remembered how once upon a time, she had pestered and bothered Harry and Ron to study, study, study. As if all their futures had depended on the outcome of those stupid tests. It all seemed so trivial now.
"I'll catch you guys later," Neville said, breaking through Hermione's thoughts and she turned to see him walk up the stairs.
"He'll be alright Hermione," Harry said next to her.
"I just thought he should see his mother while he still has the chance to," she sighed.
"He will. When he's ready. This is huge. A lot to take in right now. Honestly, if roles were reversed, I think I would react the same way." Hermione seemed doubtful and troubled but she nodded anyway.
"Where were you this evening?" she asked.
Harry picked at a notch in the stone banister of the stairs. His voice dropped to a whisper. "I told the Order about Nagini."
She exhaled. "And?"
"Remus is leading the first search."
Hermione's stare bored into him. "I want your Map," she said.
Harry had the nerve to look amused. "Nagini doesn't show up on the thing," he replied.
"Then give me your invisibility cloak instead."
"I'm not going anywhere Hermione, I promise."
"Do you really think after all this time I would believe that?" she said as she cocked her head.
Harry grinned and stepped toward her. He reached out and playfully tapped her on the nose. "Clever witch," he said.
"You can stop trying to charm me, I'm immune to it."
Harry stepped dangerously close to her, his nose nearly touching hers and sending her heart racing at a dangerous pace. "Shame," he whispered then leaned forward to kiss her lips.
The kiss was soft and tentative. His lips were warm against hers. Her breath seemed to be caught in her throat. And then, just before she could part her lips underneath his to deepen the kiss…he pulled away.
"Good night, Hermione," he whispered and then walked up the stairs.
~*~
She didn't get much sleep that night and she wasn't alone. While she tossed and turned in her bed, worrying that Harry would sneak out of the tower and search for Nagini, Draco Malfoy was wondering how to keep the snake as far away from him as possible. There was only one way to do that and it was to get rid of the horcrux. His time here on this earth was ticking away very quickly which each passing day. If Nagini were ever to discover that he had it all this time…well, Draco could only wish for the AK. Hmpf, fucker would probably send his father over to do the job. And it would be a long and tortuous one too.
Of course, he could also turn the horcrux over to Scarhead and hope, pray and beg that somehow the nitwit would manage to inflict some sort of damage on the Dark Lord. Preferably a mortal wound.
"You look tired."
He looked over at Hermione who sat next to him in class. She had whispered it him as she scribbled notes on her paper. He looked at her tired eyes, the circles under them and the way she would stifle a yawn every now and then.
"You don't look so bright-eyed and bushy tailed either," he muttered back. "Potter keep you up all night?" The bitter words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them and Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, her lips ready to deliver a verbal lashing. In succeeding on pushing her buttons, he was pouring salt into his own wounds. "Never mind," he added quickly. "I really don't want to know," he snarled.
"I was just asking," she hissed.
He opened his mouth to reply put Professor Smith stopped in front of their table. "Something you would like to share with the class?" she asked, a perfectly shaped eyebrow arched. The two of them remained silent. "Good. Then I expect no more disruptions from this table." She walked away and continued on with her lecture.
Hermione picked up her quill and began to scribble away while Draco folded his arms and placed them on the table, resting his chin on them. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle with the sensation that someone was watching him. He turned and glanced back, his grey eyes meeting Potter's green ones.
"What?" he mouthed, annoyed that he couldn't read the look the arsehole's face. Potter didn't answer him back, just peered at him for a few moments more before moving his gaze back to the front of the class. Irritated, tired and annoyed, Draco turned back around.
~*~
"We should hit the dungeons tonight," Neville whispered. "We can start on the east side."
"Remus, Fred and George searched it already," Ron replied. "No one's searched the third floor yet."
"Professors Tonks and McGonagall are searching it as we speak." Hermione paused to yawn. "I say we do the fourth floor."
Harry watched her, noting the tired look on her face. He knew she didn't get much sleep last night by the look on her face in the morning. "Maybe the greenhouse?" he offered. "It's warm in there. Isis likes to go in there once in awhile."
"Luna and I already searched it," Ron replied. Harry raised an eyebrow and his friend flushed red. "We did," he insisted as he sank in his chair.
Hermione leaned forward on the table, resting her elbow on it so she could prop her head with her hand. She gave Harry a mischievous look and he smirked in return.
He moved his gaze from her and back to the others at the table. "I say we go with Hermione's idea and search the fourth floor."
Hermione couldn't help the twinge of disappointment she felt when Harry paired himself off with Neville. Not that she didn't mind Ron's company, sort of, things were a bit strained between them. In fact, she felt as if things were strained between her and Harry as well. She felt adrift in the trio's friendship as if she had no idea where she stood in the thick of things.
The two of them were going along the walls, illuminating any dark spaces, using a charm Harry had taught them so they could see through the walls at the pipes hidden within. Thankfully, or not, they had no sign of the evil snake. She looked up over at the direction Harry and Neville had went then back at Ron, who was on his knees trying to get a better look along the baseboards.
"Ron," she whispered his name. He stopped what he was doing and looked up at her. "I'm sorry." He sighed softly then stood up dusting his knees off. "I've really mucked things up between us and…"
"Things began to get weird between all three of us long ago, Hermione," he said quietly, the trace of a pained look flickered across his face. She thought of the feelings she began to harbor for their raven-haired friend when she was with Ron in their fledgling relationship. Feelings that culminated in the ultimate betrayal in their friendship, even if she and Ron had broken up, the wounds had not completely healed.
He ran a hand through his hair. "Listen…," he paused a moment, thinking things through. "I'm sorry, too." Even though the apology was sincere, Hermione could tell that he had changed direction. Whatever he was going to say, he decided to keep to himself. "I'm sorry that I left your side in Diagon Alley. I beat myself up for that everyday. No matter how angry I was with you, I never should have left your side."
"Your anger was understandable," she said softly.
"I can't budge on that and don't ask me to." Ron frowned and looked away. "Malfoy may have pulled Harry out of that building," he said as he knelt back down. "But a Kerfunkle doesn't change its spots."
Hermione wrinkled her brow quizzically. Despite thinking that Ron was spending entirely way too much time with Luna Lovegood, the message came through quite clearly.
*
Neville had walked a few steps before he realized that Harry was no longer at his side. He looked back to see his friend distracted by something down a corridor.
"Harry?" he asked as he walked back to him.
Harry looked over at him. "I'll be right back," he said.
Neville looked where Harry was and saw Malfoy standing alone in one of the balcony alcoves.
"Harry don't," he said, reaching for his friend. Harry shrugged him off and continued forward. Neville stood there for a moment, vacillating between retrieving Harry or going back to get Hermione and Ron.
He went with the latter.
Draco heard movement behind him and he whirled around wand drawn to see Potter standing in front of him, wand drawn as well.
"A bit jumpy aren't we?" Harry asked.
Draco glared at him but lowered his wand just the same. Harry followed suit. "Was there something you wanted?" he asked irritated.
Harry took in his nemesis' appearance. Malfoy's once impeccable robes had a few wrinkles in them as if they had been slept in. And there were dark circles under his eyes, just like Hermione's.
"Sleep much?" Harry asked casually.
Draco's eyes narrowed and he turned away. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be left alone."
Harry took a few steps closer. "You know, there are going to be repercussions for what you did…from both sides."
"You think I didn't know that?"
"And yet you still did it."
"I didn't do it out of the goodness of my heart if that's what you're trying to get at," Draco sneered at him.
Harry swooped upon him. "I know exactly why you did it," he hissed at him.
"And it must kill you," Draco smirked, "to know that she turned to me to save your arse."
"Not as much as it kills you," Harry replied.
"Harry."
He and Draco looked up turned toward Neville's voice to see that he was not alone. Hermione and Ron were standing next to him and Ron had his wand out.
"What are you doing up here all alone?" Ron demanded.
Draco grinned and spread out his arms wide. "Is it a crime to enjoy the night air?" he asked, innocently.
"In your case…yes," Ron replied. "Get out of here, Malfoy."
"I was just leaving anyway," he rolled his eyes. "The company is a bit trashy." He walked past the group, pausing briefly by Hermione before continuing on his way. She didn't look at him, her disapproving gaze was on Harry.
"Come on mate," Ron motioned with a nod of his head. "Let's get out of here."
"We'll catch up with you later," Harry said, looking at Hermione.
Neville and Ron looked at each other unsure of what to do until Ron just shrugged and walked away. Neville followed suit leaving Harry and Hermione alone.
She stepped forward, rubbing her arms to keep warm from the coolness in the air. "You know, I wish you two would just stop and leave each other alone. He knows how to push your buttons, Harry."
"Evidently, he knows how to push yours as well." His tone wasn't mean but it was far from playful. He turned away from her and put both of his hands on the rail, bracing his weight. "Do you know what it's like knowing that the guy who saved your arse is one of your worst enemies? I mean, Merlin, the feeling I got in my gut when I saw your bracelet, the very one I gave you, on his wrist. His wrist, Hermione."
"If you're asking for an apology, you're not getting one. I did what I had to do to save your life. You would've done the same Harry." She leaned back against the rail that Harry was leaning against. He hung his head and sighed. "War makes strange bedfellows," she said quietly. Harry looked up at her and frowned. "Sorry," she quickly corrected, "wrong terminology."
He moved away from the rail and stood in front of her. "I need to know, Hermione," he began. "Call me insecure, maybe that's what I am but…I need to know that it's me."
Hermione looked up at the desperate and pleading look in those green eyes that she so loved. "Of course it's you. It's always been you."
"No more secrets. No more lies," he said softly as he reached out and grabbed her hand.
"No more games," she replied as she slid a hand over his shoulder. His other hand moved to the small of her back pressing her gently but firmly against him as he leaned down.
"I need to know that it's me in your heart," he whispered against her lips. Her "yes" was nearly lost in the kiss as his lips met hers. They were a little chapped but his tongue was a warm and welcome intrusion as he tentatively explored her mouth.
She had reached up to caress the back of his neck when she heard it. A very faint, very slight rustling sound. Harry had heard it as well because he became very still, slowly breaking the kiss. Hermione looked into his eyes for confirmation that she wasn't hearing things. They weren't alone in this area. Harry slowly slid his hand down her back to her hip and then to her wand in her pocket. In a quick movement, he drew her wand and turned around, placing her behind him.
"Oh my God!" Hermione nearly shrieked when she saw the gigantic snake dart across the ledge by the ceiling. Harry blasted the ledge but it wasn't his wand and it didn't nearly do the damage that he wanted it to do.
"Your wand, Harry!" Hermione shouted. "Use your wand!"
Harry drew his and tossed Hermione's back to her as the two of them darted after the serpent. She could hear the footfalls of Ron and Neville behind them as they caught up to them.
"Damn it!" Harry cursed as the snake darted in another direction just as Harry tried to blast it. Nagini flicked her tail at the knight's armor in the hallway.
"Harry!" Hermione shouted as she reached out and yanked him away just in time before the armor went clattering to the floor, missing him.
"No, no, no!" Harry moaned as he scrambled over the metal. Nagini was sliding into a drain. "The pipes! The pipes damn it!" He loomed over it on his knees slamming his hand on the ground in frustration.
~*~
POTTER A HERO ONCE AGAIN IN DEATH EATER ATTACK
MINISTER STANDS BY AND DOES NOTHING
Scrimgeour tossed the paper angrily at Percy Weasley. "He's making a fool out of me!!" he shouted. Percy adjusted his glasses on his nose and straightened his composure only to have the minister grab the front of his robes in his fists.
"I want his head on a platter, do you hear me?!!!" he spluttered, his nose nearly touching Percy's. The minister let go of him and he fell in a useless heap into a chair.
"Sir, I-"
"SHUT UP UNLESS YOU HAVE SOMETHING HELPFUL TO SAY!!" the Minister snarled at him.
"Ahem," came a tiny voice from the corner of the room. Delores Umbridge folded a copy of the paper and set it neatly on the table in front of her. A fat sausage finger with a painted pink tip tapped the headline. "It is interesting to me that no one, not even our aurors could get in or out of the building but Potter walks out with another student. A student rumored to be a Death Eater."
"It was a trap wasn't it?" Percy spoke up quietly.
Scrimgeour narrowed his eyes at Umbridge. "Potter is not in collusion with Death Eaters, I can assure you that."
"No," Umbridge said patiently, "but you can use the boy to capture a Death Eater. Public opinion of you will rise when they see a picture of you, side by side, with Potter, working together to put a dangerous Death Eater away." She tapped the paper again.
"And which Death Eater are you speaking about?" Scrimgeour asked.
"Why, the very one who helped him escape," she smiled sweetly.
"Hmpf," the Minister dismissed her idea with a wave of his hand. "We haven't been able to touch the boy all year. Malfoy loyalty runs deep in the pockets of the tribunal."
"So have him tried by the public," Percy stood and joined the conversation. "Place members of the wizarding public in the courtroom, those especially loyal to Dumbledore. I assure you that they'll listen to Potter with eager and open ears. And I can assure you that Potter would be more than happy to send Malfoy away."
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