~A/N> For those of you that have e-mailed me wanting to know more about the Notebooks, this chapter has a few
entries from Lily's and there will be more from Hermione's in later chapters. The Halloween Ball will start in
the next chapter, and will probably conclude in chapter 19. After that, there's still a lot more story to go.
There's much more to come with this storyline, and more that Harry and Hermione need to discover about their
families, and each other. You may wonder why I'm telling you all of this...well, I'm just letting you know that
even though it may seem to be progressing rather slowly, there will be a lot more Harry/Hermione moments to come so
please stick with me and the story...I promise it will be worth it :)
Making their way into the castle and up to Harry's room once again, Hermione settled down on his bed as Harry went
to his desk. After waving his wand in front of it and saying the password, he opened one of the drawers and withdrew
his mum's Notebook. Settling down next to her, Harry tried to open the book, but it wouldn't budge. Waving his
wand over it, he tried all the unlocking charms he knew, but to no avail.
"Can I see it?" she asked, holding out her hand towards the Notebook.
"Have at it," he replied, handing it over to her.
Holding it in her hands, she turned the notebook over and over, inspecting every inch of it. As she turned it so that the edges of the pages faced her, she noticed something different and said, "I think I know how to open it!"
Harry watched as she took off the necklace Lily gave her and placed the pendant against the edges of the pages on the bottom. The Notebook glowed for a second and then when she took the pendant away, she opened it up to the first page. Harry smiled at her and said, "Brilliant!"
"Thanks," Hermione replied. Looking at the first page, she heard Harry's quick intake of breath as she read to herself what was written there:
My Dearest Harry,
Being that you're reading this, that means that my worst fears have come true and I am not there to see you grow. Even though that's the case, I am so glad that you have my Notebook. If you do not yet know, the women of the Evans family are Soul Guardians-mortals put on this Earth with special abilities so that we may protect those in dire danger from other's that are evil and wish to do them harm. Even though only females can be Soul Guardians, I felt that you should know about your family history, in case one day you have a daughter of your own. Every female in the Evans bloodline has been a Guardian, though my sister Petunia is the only one to ever refuse to acknowledge her abilities. I was the first Evan's to ever be both a Guardian and a witch, and although you do not possess Guardian abilities, you my son are special in your own way- you are a wizard, and possess a magic that is all your own.
One of my abilities is precognition, and I pray that the things I have seen in your future, I am able to change somehow. Though I doubt this will be possible, I can take comfort from the fact that I know you will have a Guardian of your own one day. I do not know when she will become known to you, but I do know that she will be very, very special and integral to you...she will be your future.
I have written all the events from when I became active as a Guardian up until my final days. I hope that I willl be able to share parts of my life with you that will not only one day help you when you need it most, but will also help you to understand a very important part of my life.
Be safe my child, and have faith in your Soul Guardian. She will be the one to stand by your side when no one else will.
I Love You
Hermione looked to Harry after reading Lily's letter and saw his eyes were shining with unshed tears. She felt like crying herself at the heartfelt words and sadness she could feel while reading Lily's words. Taking hold of his hand, Hermione squeezed it in comfort and said, "Feel up to reading a few entries?"
"Yeah," he replied quietly, flipping the page carefully to find more of his mother's tidy handwriting.
October 25, 1975:
I was asked to the Halloween Ball today by James Potter. I told him I'd have to think about it, and he had the nerve to say I'd better answer fast because there were other girls that wanted to go with him! I just walked away without saying anything, I was actually quite proud of myself. Unfortunately, when I went for a walk afterwards, I ran into him again by the lake. He apologized for his remark and said that he sincerely wanted to go with me, and no one else. I told him that I would go with him...I just hope that was the right decision.
Harry could feel Hermione staring at him, and when he looked at her he saw that she was grinning mischievously. "What?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just interesting how the Potter men have an affinity for walking around the lake," she replied, trying to stifle her laughter.
"Well, I've been told I'm alot like my dad," he said, giving her the famous Potter half-smile that she loved so much. "Now, can we continue?"
"Oh, by all means."
October 28, 1975:
Something wonderful, yet sort of scary, happened today. While I was out walking, I was stopped by a voice coming from a grouping of trees. When I walked nearer, I was face-to-face with an actual angel! He told me that his name is Micah, and that he was there to give me my first Charge. I was so excited...until I found out who it was. He told me that I was to be James Potter's Soul Guardian. I had no idea what to say, or how to react. When I mentioned that I was attending the Ball with him, Micah said that it was a good thing and wouldn't elaborate. I'm afraid that something bad is going to happen on Halloween...some of the premonitions I've been having have shown images that are terrible; I never remember them clearly, I just wake up feeling scared and unable to catch my breath.
"My mum was my dad's Soul Guardian?" Harry asked in disbelief, after reading and re-reading the entry.
"Um, yeah. I never got to tell you that actually. You're mum told me about it while I was in Elysian with her. I'm so sorry, I was just concentrating so hard on getting you back to your aunt's house to get the Notebook...it just slipped my mind..."
"It's okay, Hermione," he said, stopping her explanation. "After what you told me of Elysian, I can understand how you felt overwhelmed. I'm just glad that I know now." He was quiet for a moment, thinking about how he felt about Hermione before mumbling, "Seems my dad and I had something else in common."
"What?" Hermione asked, missing what he had said since she had continued to read on.
"Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself."
"I can't believe that Micah was Lily's Guardian Angel as well," she said. "I'm sure there are thousands of Guardian Angels, it can't just be coincidence that we each have Micah."
"Let's read on and see if we discover the answer to that question," Harry said, smiling at her as he turned the page. They came to the night of the Halloween Ball, and Harry's smile vanished as they noticed Lily's shaky handwriting on her entry that night.
October 31, 1975:
Something terrible did happen tonight, and I'm so frightened that I wouldn't write about it usually, but I don't want to forget any of the details. We had our Hogsmeade trip this morning so we could go get our dress robes and it was so much fun. Supposedly, Death Eaters took the place of five Slytherin students while we were there, thanks to Polyjuice potion. They started attacking students during the Ball, curses I'd never heard of before, and then they went after James. Somehow, when a curse was fired at him, I put up a blue shield of light around us. It deflected the curse and kept us safe, but unfortunately five other students weren't so lucky. They were killed tonight, on a night that had been so magical up until then...
Hermione swiped at the tears that were running down her face, remembering the first time she had shielded Harry. It wasn't under such dire circumstances, but it had still scared her nonetheless. She couldn't imagine being Lily that night, she must have been so scared.
"Are you crying?" Harry asked softly, putting a finger gently under her chin to tilt her head up. When he saw the tracks of her tears, his eyes softened as he reached up to brush a tear away.
"I can't help it," she whispered. "I know how your mother must have felt because of the way I felt the first time I shielded you, but her's was during such a terrible time. Seeing five students killed, knowing that you're responsible for just one and wishing you could help others. I felt that way that day on the Quidditch Pitch, during the attack. I had to concentrate on you, but I was still worried about the other students at the same time. It's a big responsibility."
"Kind of like being the-boy-who-lived?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah, I guess it is."
~*~
After spending a good part of the day dodging Seamus, Hermione went to see Harry right before Quidditch practice Tuesday night. As the Portrait announced her arrival, Harry opened it to let her in and noticed how stressed she looked. "What's wrong?"
"I know you have practice, but could I possibly stay here and do my homework?" she asked, sounding tired.
"Sure," he replied slowly, wondering why she'd come to his dorm to do her work instead of the Library or her own dorm. "You can go up to my room and use my desk."
"Thank you," she replied gratefully. As she followed him upstairs, he grabbed his broom from where it stood in the corner closest to his bed and watched as she dropped her book bag onto his bed before dropping into his chair, exhausted. Turning, she caught him watching her with a quizzical look on his face. "You're wondering why I'm here instead of my dorm or the Library, aren't you?"
"Well...yeah."
Taking a deep breath while opening herself up empathically, she replied, "Seamus has been following me around all day long and this is the only place I could think of to go that he couldn't. I tried to study in my room, but Lavender and Parvati kept giggling and asking me what I'm going to wear to the Ball."
The intense wave of anger that slammed into her made her dizzy and nauseous. Looking at him, she noticed the dark look on his face and said, "Please don't be angry Harry. It's not worth it, really. I just need a quiet place to do all this course work I have to do."
Taking a deep, calming breath he said, "It's kind of hard not to be angry, Hermione. It's pretty bad when you can't even do your class work in peace." A strange look passed over his features as he added, "You know, I kept running into Ginny today too, in places I don't usually see her."
Hermione felt another surge of anger, but this time it was her own, mixed with jealousy. "Well, I have to get to practice," Harry said, pulling her from her thoughts.
Both of them startled when Ron suddenly appeared in Harry's doorway and said, "Ready for practice?" When Harry just nodded in reply he turned to Hermione and said, "You know, Seamus just stopped me in the corridor to ask if I'd seen you?"
Harry's reaction was worse this time and Hermione hissed in pain as she quickly removed the pendant from under her shirt. Turning her angry glare on him she admonished, "Harry! Stop getting so angry, you're making me nauseous and if I get burned by this pendant one more time because you can't control your anger, I swear I'll hex you into next week!"
"I'm sorry," he said, walking over to her. Kneeling down in front of her, he placed his hands on her jean clad legs and repeated, "I'm so sorry, I'll try to reign in my emotions more. It's just that...when I think about you just being around Seamus..."
"I know," she replied softly, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him.
"We can still tell them we made a mistake and that we're going together," he said, leaning back and looking at her hopefully.
"Harry, that wouldn't be fair to them." When the hopeful look vanished instantly she added, "I accepted his invitation, even if it was for misguided reasons, and it would be wrong for me to back out on him now. I don't want to hurt him like that."
Bending closer to her ear he whispered, "I would tell Ginny that I'd rather go with you in a heartbeat."
"I know, but it's not right."
Sighing, he leaned his forehead against hers and said, "The thing I like the most about you, your caring and sensitivity, is going to end up driving me mad at the end of all this."
Ron, who had been leaning against the doorway trying not to watch their interaction, cleared his throat and said, "We're going to be late if we don't get going."
"Right then," Harry said, standing up. Looking down at her he smiled and said, "Will you be here when I get back? I was hoping we could read some more of Mum's notebook?"
"Yeah, I'll be here," she replied, smiling back at him.
Harry turned to make his way from the room, and as he walked past Ron he said, "Let's go."
Ron turned to follow him, but then stopped and turned back to look at Hermione. With a mischievous smirk on his face he asked, "So, you want me to send Seamus up here?"
"No!" Harry and Hermione both replied in unison, causing him to start laughing.
"Fred and George have been a bad influence on you lately," Harry said, walking up to him and grabbing a fistful of Ron's Quidditch robes, practically dragging him down the stairs behind him.
"Lighten up, mate. I was just joking."
"Yeah, well, we'll see how funny you think it is when I tell Romilda Vane how much you fancy her and how you want to go to the Ball with her."
"You wouldn't?!" Ron replied quickly, yanking his robes from Harry's hand and now following him quickly through the common room. "Harry? Mate...I was only kidding! Romilda Vane? C'mon..." Hermione listened as the portrait opened and laughed as the last thing she heard Ron say was, "Oh man, do you know what Luna would do to me!"
~*~
Thanks to special training sessions at night and all the extra coursework she had to do, the next week and a half flew by before she even knew it. The night before they were to go to Hogsmeade, Hermione had fallen asleep in her bed, the book in her hands falling to lay across her chest. As dawn broke Saturday morning, she started tossing and turning as horrible images broke through the wonderful dreams she had been having. As she helplessly watched the terrible scenes play out in her head, her eyes fluttered as she fought to break through to consciousness so that the horrid things she was seeing would stop, but it felt as though something was forcing her to stay asleep. Deciding that the only way to stop her nightmare was to just let it play out, she stopped fighting the images and let them come, feeling as if she couldn't breath. The scenes she witnessed were pure horror and violence, filling her with fear, and she could hear someone screaming, "Noooooo!!!!"
Feeling her lungs burn from lack of oxygen, she gulped in air and sat straight up in bed, realizing that she had been the one screaming. Opening her curtain, she hurriedly made her way to the loo with Lavender and Parvati watching her with concern, shutting and locking the door behind her. She quickly made her way to the toilet. and feeling more sick than she could ever remember feeling before, she retched as her stomach roiled from what she had just witnessed. Heaving until her stomach hurt, she started crying as the images kept replaying themselves before her eyes. When she could be sick no more, she went to the sink to splash her face with cold water and then brushed her teeth. Looking into the mirror, a very pale image of herself looked back with eyes haunted by what she had seen and dark cirlces underneath them. As more tears ran down her cheeks she said, "Oh God, what am I going to do?"
After a few minutes more in which she got herself together as best she could, she walked back into the other room and assured Parvati and Lavender she would be fine. Quickly dressing, she made her way downstairs, out of the common room, and to the Great Hall. She needed some tea and toast desperately, hoping it would help to settle her stomach before she had to go shopping to buy her dress for the Ball that night. As someone sat down across from her, she looked up and was surprised by who she saw. "Luna?"
Luna sat across the table from her, looking just as tired as Hermione felt and with the same haunted look in her eyes. As Luna stared back at her, realization struck and she asked, "You saw it too, didn't you?"
"Yes," Luna replied in a quiet, yet raspy voice. "I don't think I have ever seen something so terrible in my entire life."
"Me neither," Hermione said with sympathy. "So, was it a premonition then?"
"Yes, it was a premonition," Luna replied, picking up a piece of toast and taking a small bite. After forcing herself to swallow it, she looked at Hermione with tears shining in her eyes and whispered, "I've had premonitions before, but never anything as bad as what I saw last night. Do you think there's anything we can do to prevent it?"
"I don't know," Hermione replied quietly. "It's never happened to me before. What I saw...we saw...I don't know what to do to stop it."
"Hermione...something bad is going to happen, and I think it's going to be soon."
Hermione's eyes burned with tears once again as she realized Luna was right. She really hadn't been looking forward to this night...not really...it was just a Ball that she would be attending with Seamus, but she had resigned herself to have as much fun as she could. But now...now she would have to be prepared in case something happened to threaten Harry tonight. James had been attacked at the Halloween Ball all those years ago, so what would stop Voldemort from repeating history and trying to attack Harry at the Ball as well? She knew Seamus wouldn't like it, but they would have to stay close to Harry and Ginny that night because she was not going to let anything or anyone hurt Harry, no matter what.
"I have to speak to Firenze," Hermione stated, standing up on shaky legs.
"Would it be okay if I come with you?" Luna asked quietly.
"Sure," Hermione replied, a small ray of relief breaking through the sorrow and helplessness she was feeling at the moment. She wouldn't have wished that anyone else see what she had seen that morning, but there was a small comfort in knowing that Luna had seen as well. Maybe that meant that there was a miniscule amount of hope that they could stop whatever evil was coming after them.
As the two of them made their way out of the Great Hall, the grey, threatening clouds opened up outside, and Hermione watched solemnly as the drops of rain fell from the sky. Turning away from the window she had just passed, Hermione closed her eyes, took hold of the pendant Lily had given her, and prayed to every Higher Being there was that she could somehow stop what was coming. Just as they reached Firenze's classroom a clap of thunder shook the entire castle, and before either of them could knock, the door opened. Firenze studied their faces and took in their morose expressions; motioning them inside, he said, "Come in, I've been expecting you."