Chapter Twenty Seven
The animated castle which looked as if a hurricane had raged through it was instantly reassembled. Anything that had been disintegrated from the occasional blast of a spell was reconstructed, where tapestries had unravelled a restoration commenced and where terrified students had woken up after their horrific period of possession a lie was told to calm their troubled minds. Immediately the Ministry had returned and heard the `preposterous' account which Dumbledore told. The head officials of Law Enforcement bluntly disregarded such a vulgar statement. They went so far as to accept that a still raging Death Eater had assumed the identity of Voldemort and tried and failed to resurrect him.
No bold headline would grace the front pages of the papers that would be published daily. Ignorance seemed bliss.
Harry felt numb to the more contented chaos that ensued when families were reunited and friends were brought back together. Ginny instantly fell into an unbridled flood of tears and apologetic unformed sentences were cried into her parent's shoulders.
Other families rushed into the Hospital Wing and collapsed from relief into their children's arms. Smiles beamed on their faces and the ringing of honest genuine laughter filled the room. It was worth the struggle he had endured to secure this comfort for these ordinary yet extraordinary wizarding families.
Gradually the crowd thinned out and he spotted Hermione sitting mutely at the end of one of the virginal white beds. She looked terribly drawn and her features were pale and gaunt. He noticed there was still some light purple bruising under her eye and around her cheek. Against the background of hugging and clasping families she appeared utterly lost but not too perturbed about it. Their eyes met from across the emptying room and she held his gaze for no more than ten seconds before averting her eyes.
Madam Pomfrey demanded that he remain in the Hospital Wing for at least one night. After the remaining families had vacated the rectangular room, Ron giving him an encouraging smile as he went, Harry realised that Hermione would be occupying one of the beds furthest from him. He discovered to his utmost disappointment that he was at a loss for words. He wished he knew what was running through her head, what thoughts had Riddle conjured up for her to digest, what poison had he fed in her ear.
He pulled the screen swiftly across before getting stripped of his torn and blood-soaked robes. After bathing using a small oval basin provided he pulled on the standard striped pyjamas offered and ripped back the screen. Hermione was already curled up in her bed, the covers brought nearly over her head.
"Goodnight," Madam Pomfrey bade them as she closed and locked the frosted glass doors behind her. Neither Harry nor Hermione answered. Calmly Harry climbed onto his bed and placed his head gently on the pillow knowing that the slightest movement would sound thunderous against the uncomfortable silence that had descended between them.
He casually glimpsed the angelic stars gleaming in a black vault of night, the repeating ticking of the clock hammered against his eardrums and he could feel his agitation developing into anger. If this was going to be the end of his friendship he wasn't going to just lie back and watch it crumble.
Inhaling sharply he climbed out of bed ridding them of the silence that had absolutely no place between them. He strode as relaxed as possible over to her bed and stood resolutely over her. She barely glanced at him before turning her back to him minimizing opportunity for conversation. Acting far braver than he felt he reached out and caught her shoulder, brusquely turning her back to face him. Again his mind blanked of all rational questions or sentences to articulate.
"I haven't really thought further than actions so I have no idea what to say to you." His voice sounded curt and gruff to his own ears.
"Then go back to bed," she advised tersely. Her eyes averted his confused face and she stared into the elevated decorated ceiling.
"Are you feeling any better?" Bewildered with a firm weakness evident in his words.
"I'm fine," she answered simply without any assurance. "Now go back to…"
"I don't know what to say or do for you. I'm at a loss. I know something has happened but why you're not speaking…"
"Go away Harry!" she cut him off.
"No…because that won't settle anything. Tell me what happened," he challenged. "What did Riddle say to you?"
"Do you really want to know?!" She shot fiercely up into a sitting position nearly colliding with Harry.
"I wouldn't ask if I didn't want an answer," he responded evenly.
"Fine," she bristled crossly. "He threatened my family. He told me how easy it was for someone of his distinction," she pronounced every syllable through gritted teeth "to dispose of such simple targets. An `extermination' that's what he referred to it as. A straightforward manner in which he could help purify the wizarding community." Tears burned her eyes and she was visibly shaking. Her brow was creased in hatred as she recited the appalling description of genocide that Riddle had polluted her thoughts with. "You cannot protect my family, Harry. Only I can do that." She twisted around in her sheets again, her back facing him in a manner of finality.
He would have countered with a declaration of unwavering loyalty or protection or whatever he found possible to do but ultimately and unfortunately she was cruelly accurate.
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It had been two gruelling days since that horrendous and memorable night. Neither words nor glances had passed between Harry and Hermione. Hermione had become accustomed to spending a spectacular amount of her time hiding around the castle, and on the occasions when Harry dared enough to search for her he could never locate her. After a sizeable sum of frustration he decided to verbalize his problems to the only person he could: Mr. Davis.
So standing atop one of Hogwarts tallest tower, the Astronomy Tower, he revealed to Davis exactly what Hermione had told him. At first Mr. Davis remained unspoken and his sapphire eyes raked the perimeter of the forest. It glistened in the heavenly shafts which the morning sun poured out over it. Then just when Harry was assessing whether to speak Davis opened his mouth.
"Your friendships were never going to be easy, Harry. Because of your…destiny or whatever you want to call it, it will undoubtedly put those you love in danger." His voice had all the characteristics of someone attempting to be comforting and not too candid.
"But Ron and I get on fine," Harry interjected ineffectively.
"It does not take a genius to realise that your relationship with Ron is quite different to the one you share with Hermione," Mr. Davis laughed nervously. "You find her comforting, soothing yet exhilarating. She's stubborn, loyal and so considerate that she knows you almost better than you know yourself. Ron had never questioned why you know so much magic; perhaps he merely believes that it is obvious Voldemort will come after you when you are older."
"Not that older," Harry sighed as he balled his fists and thrust them into his pockets. "But you're right. Ron is funny; he's a relief to all the darkness in my life. And he's trustworthy and extremely honest. Sometimes too honest," he conceded with a grin.
Davis joined in Harry's laughing but soon stopped. "You must realise there will be no rest in your life until you have fulfilled this prophecy. This is your life, your future laid out as you look at it now. Fate has given you no choice but Hermione has suddenly come to the startling realisation that she does have a choice. Her life is in danger as a consequence of your trust and friendship."
Glacial feelings of trepidation formed around Harry's heart as he listened to Davis describe what he had been dreading. "Perhaps at some point you have considered the thought that ending your friendship will put her out of harms way but ultimately it is her decision. Her life is at stake because she has become a method to get to you. She just came extraordinarily close to losing her life as well. But right now I presume her thoughts remain with the safety of her family. In that department Harry there is not a lot of choices you can make that will help Hermione."
Harry hesitated before answering. "I thought she already made that decision. She promised she wouldn't leave me and now…" he trailed off knowing he risked sounding selfish and petulant.
Davis did not miss a beat in responding. "You've grown to accept that declaration of friendship."
Harry nodded in agreement and the early sun ascended higher into the air over them causing the parapet they were standing on to instantly flood with light. "I'm sure that apart of her mind is already made up. From watching you both it is quite possible that she is hastily and rigorously trying to deny what she already knows. It is her family, Harry, which she is considering. They have been endangered and because of their backgrounds they don't know the force that is against them."
"What are you boys doing up here? Isn't this supposed to be my territory?"
They wheeled around in the direction of Professor Sinistra's playful voice. She climbed out of the dark stairwell and squinted in the blinding sun. "It will definitely be a warm summer; you don't have to consult the planets for that prediction."
With the overwhelming feeling that he was playing the uninvited role of a third wheel Harry excused himself and approached the exit. "I know this must be terribly difficult to endure but all you can do is wait for her," Davis advised soberly.
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More morbid days crawled by in which Harry learned that Dobby was in fact the original slave of the Malfoy family. Brief conversations with the newly reinstated Headmaster had finally brought good news to Harry's ears. Apparently Dumbledore had confronted Mr. Malfoy but he had yielded nothing. When the Headmaster had realised whose House-Elf Dobby was he had placed a substantial amount of pressure on Lucius to release him from his enslavement. Malfoy accepted grudgingly therefore ensuring his guilt in Albus Dumbledore eyes.
The Ministry refused to place any limitations or restrictions on the Malfoy family refusing to acknowledge that they were anything more than benevolent and charitable. However Dumbledore exercised his authority as Headmaster by removing Malfoy from his position as governor. This was mainly aided by the other governors who confessed to being blackmailed and were presently fuming indignantly over their treatment. Draco Malfoy's customary strut had altered into an arrogant but normal walk.
The ex-professor Lockhart was escorted by two stout Healers into a carriage which Harry watched forlornly trundle down towards the iron spiked gates. Harry had listened to rumours firing about the castle of how the Defence Against the Dark Arts position had been cursed therefore affording no applicants. Secretly he longed to hear what Hermione's view of the ridiculous rumour would be. He could imagine her shaking her head disapprovingly and then rant contagiously about how desperate the students were for a melodrama.
It was on his peaceful way back to a newly rejuvenated Gryffindor Tower that he received an answer to a question he had not had the bravery to even ask himself. His blank footfalls echoing around the empty corridor were joined by someone else's. Instinctively he swivelled around and found himself face-to-face with Hermione. She had returned to her usual self except for the minor bruising that still adorned her cheek. Her hair hung in curls and she raked a hand through it causing it to stay behind her ear.
Despite the stifling warmth of the castle she was wearing a frayed red hooded jumper. Harry distinctly remembered her telling him of how her parents had bought it for her while on vacation in Ireland to apologise for not bringing her with them. Unlike many hooded jumpers Hermione's fit her snugly which Harry guessed made it more comfortable than his baggy one which had always weighed him down. His eyes travelled back to her face which regarded him silently. Then.
"You can't protect your family, Hermione." He acknowledged as soon as the words left his mouth that this was something she had admitted to herself. Unshed tears formed at the corners of her alluring eyes and she swiped them away with the back of her hand. Harry had no doubt that his choice of words was blunt but there was no alternative.
"I know," she choked out. "But that will not stop me from trying to defend them in anyway possible."
"I understand," Harry said through the obstruction building in his throat. "Anybody in your position would do the same." He nodded in comprehension of her words and his darkened eyes glanced left and right as he found the sight of her painful to bear. Finally after a minute of silence his eyes trailed back to her face. "You made the right choice."
"It's funny," she smiled sweetly as her eyes stared pensively at a point midway between their bodies. "I thought I had a choice to make but I didn't really. Because there are some things we cannot control. Well beyond our capacities to understand or even recognise. Harry, I have been trying to tell myself that forgetting you would save my family," she laughed clearly outlining how absurd she found it.
"There is a good chance it will," Harry responded quietly while his mind screamed at him to shut up, refusing to just give up.
"Nothing will save my family from death. Harry, death is inevitable whether natural or through some awful circumstances, it will happen. You have a chance to rid the world of a psychopathic murderer and by helping you I'm helping the rest of the world, including my parents. However it isn't just to save my family. It would be naïve of me to say something like that. I've said it a million times before…you're the best friend I've ever had and losing you would be…I don't even want to think of what it would be like."
Harry's heart already felt lightened. Relief seeped through his veins and inwardly he was jumping hysterically from overwhelming joy. But being typical Harry he did not display his feelings. "Correction, I am the only friend you've ever had," he grinned teasingly.
Hermione reacted with feigned hurt and then broke down in laughter while he joined her. He instantly stopped when she gently laid her hand on his elbow and moved, if possible, nearer to him. Slowly she leant up and placed a quiet kiss on his cheek causing his mind to be rendered motionless. He could tell that she was modestly embarrassed as a slight flush appeared on her own cheeks and her eyes slid to her feet before she peered up again. "Thank you. For being my first friend. " She smiled sweetly at him before rotating on the spot in the other direction.
"Where are you going?" Harry called after her, still getting over the wave of pleasant shock.
"Library."
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The remainder of the year dashed past the languid students mainly due to the cancellation of the end-of-term examinations. De-uniformed pupils were to be seen sun-bathing in the glorious sun or swimming courageously in the Great Lake. Hagrid, who had returned graciously (hugging the trio until their lungs nearly collapsed), could be seen trekking around the grounds more for leisure than anything else. The entire student body and staff had come to an abrupt sabbatical not even caring to finish off the year.
"Well I still can't believe we did it," Ron exclaimed while they trudged down the marble staircase with their entire luggage packed and intact. People bustled around them catching last glimpses of the castle or running through check-lists in their beleaguered heads.
"Did what?" Harry enquired as he descended the last few stairs and allowed his trunk to slam onto the ground causing everyone to spin to see where the commotion had originated. After realising it was just Harry they returned to their own ordeals. Animals continued to squawk and screech, much to Hermione's displeasure. She would never be a fanatic of cages or cramped spaces again.
"Saved the castle…and perhaps the world. Merlin Harry, have you already forgotten." Ron shrugged dramatically and shook his head.
"It was really cool. I mean we did accomplish a lot this year, excluding out studies. We've learnt more about each other too." Hermione's voice was drowned out by a call to tell them that the train had arrived in Hogsmeade.
The train journey consisted of a competitive game of Exploding Snap, a raging fight between Lavender Brown and Seamus Finnegan, and Dean Thomas hopelessly trying to explain the offside rule to an unenthusiastic Ron.
Ginny joined them late into the trip and was extremely chatty especially to Hermione who found no reason to dismiss her. In fact at one point Ron cautioned that if she did not stop talking so loudly or persistently he would remove her from the compartment. Altogether it felt like a class reunion after a troublesome year and as the brakes of the energetic train screeched noisily Harry's acute sense of loss grew almost unbearable.
The mere thought of bidding goodbye to Hermione was enough to send him into brooding silence. Lively students bustled around and gathered their belongings together. Some were already waving to excited parents who had managed to make it through to the discreet platform. "What's wrong?"
Hermione's question startled him out of his reverie. The compartment was devoid of anybody but them. Hermione repeated herself with concern. He climbed off the seat and took hold of her soft hand. "I don't want to say goodbye." He said it with such sincerity that Hermione found it the greatest compliment that anyone had ever given her. She tightened her grip on his fingers.
"It's not forever though. And I will write to you every time I can…once Hedwig hunts me down." She moved her hand to his forearm and squeezed it gently hoping for a response. His silences were intolerable at times.
"I hate the sight of you walking away," he whispered hoarsely pressing his forehead to hers. They both read deeply into each others thoughts before Hermione drew back ever so slightly.
"Wait here…for a minute." After another squeeze he felt her hand retract from his arm and he turned to solemnly gather his luggage together as she furtively slid the compartment door back and exited through it. He fastidiously rechecked the fastening of his now battered trunk and swiped the dust it had gained from remaining on the seat for less than ten minutes.
After a few seconds he finally realised what she was doing and spun around. Her trunk had disappeared and the entire train was filled with a sad eerie silence even though activity could be heard outside on the packed platform. He placed a hand over the door and leant his forehead against his own arm, watching the chattering hustle and bustle of students.
Hermione was nowhere to be seen and he was slightly relieved that she had prevented him from the insufferable sight of her exit. Harry smiled forlornly to himself and thrust the door open, making his own exit into his inconceivable future, not knowing what to expect.
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That's it. Sorry about the delays and so on. My life has been completely swamped with ridiculous activates that I will not try to explain.
The story ends quite rapidly but the next story will be extremely fast paced. Don't expect any sign of it for quite a while.
Thank you all for reading and reviewing. I appreciate your comments, positive or negative as long as they're constructive! Lol
Again thank you for your consideration and I hope you all the best for 2007
Take care,
Radagast.
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