Unofficial Portkey Archive

Title: Harry Potter and the Unbreakable Link (4/20)

Author: Silvestria

E-mail: [email protected]

Category: Mystery

Keywords: Hermione Estella Harry Voldemort Aphrados

Rating: PG

Spoilers: All books

Summary: Harry loses his invisibilty cloak in a mysterious manner before his seventh year starts. Dumbledore has a past, Hermione has a dangerous secret and Voldemort is looking for someone (not Harry). Slight H/H. Rated PG. I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Chapter 4- Return to Hogwarts

Ron sniffed appreciatively as he walked into the Great Hall with Harry and Hermione. "I wish we didn't have to watch the sorting before the feast. I'm starving," he complained.

"That is original of you, Ron." laughed Harry, "you only say that every single year."

Hermione cast them a stuffy look as they sat down at the Gryffindor table.

Soon Professor McGonagall entered the room carrying the sorting hat and the three-legged stool. She was followed by a ragged line of nervous first years.

After the hat had finished its song, Professor McGonagall read out the names of first years from, 'Ackerly, Susannah' to 'Vane, Kay'. Professor Dumbledore then stood up to make his speech, "Welcome to Hogwarts. Before we start the feast (groan from Ron), I have a few things to say to you. As usual the forest is out of bounds to all students and the village of Hogsmeade to any students under third year." Here he peered rather closely at a group of Ravenclaw second years who completely gave themselves away by giggling.

"We must also welcome a new member of staff. Professor Harding, Minerva's sister, will be joining us as Defence against the Dark Arts teacher until Christmas."

Professor Harding was a slightly younger version of Professor McGonagall, with a weaker chin. Hermione frowned, "why is she only staying till Christmas?" she whispered to Harry.

Before he had time to answer, Dumbledore continued, "Quidditch trials will start next week. If you wish to play for your house please contact Madame Hooch or your house captain, Harry Potter for Gryffindor; Mandy Brocklehurst for Ravenclaw; Martin Roberts for Hufflepuff and Draco Malfoy for Slytherin."

"WHAT?!" hissed Ron, livid, "Draco Malfoy, captain?!"

"Of course; Malcolm Baddock left last year," replied Harry gloomily, glancing over at the Slytherin table, where Malfoy was looking particularly smug (though he might have looked even happier if his girlfriend Pansy wasn't hanging onto his arm).

Dumbledore finished, "Our head boy is Terry Boot, and our head girl, Hermione Granger. Contact them if you have any queries. I don't think I have anything more to say. Enjoy the feast and the year."

"About time too!" said Ron.

Hermione slept badly. In fact she slept so badly that she woke up twice. The second time was at roughly 11 o'clock. She sat up in bed and looked up at the alarm clock on her bedside table. It showed the date as well as the time. How could she have been so forgetful? Hermione realised with a jolt that the next day would be her birthday.

She went back to sleep.

But not to a dreamless sleep. Pictures of what seemed to be her life flashed through her brain, like a video on fast forward. She saw a dark room and hooded figures, then it changed and a single hooded person, who was quite small, was standing facing her. That person raised its wand and shouted unfamiliar words at her. A jet of red light shot out from the wand and the scene changed again. This time the 'video' seemed to have fast-forwarded quite a long way because this time she recognised the scene. She was telling her ordinary muggle parents that she was a witch, seven years ago. How excited she had been! And now she saw the painfully familiar house in Greece, and she saw the guards approaching, and Harry's voice in her mind telling her to watch out, then- nothing.

And suddenly a voice boomed in her head, "THE OLD MAGIC IS AWAKENED. PREPARE YOURSELF." A flash of red light like the one in her dream illuminated her mind. She woke up immediately feeling her skin was melting wax.

She screamed, but no sound came out. Switching on the light she grabbed her mirror, not really knowing what to expect to see. A strange face stared back- a pale face with thin, almost invisible lips and dark shrewd eyes and smooth, straight, oily black hair. The next second it was gone and Hermione Granger, pale faced and frightened stared back at her.

Hermione drank some water and, shuddering slightly, looked around the dormitory at the dark, humps and listened to the regular breathing of Lavender and Parvati. It was clear that they had heard nothing.

If she had been more awake she would have tried to understand what she had seen and heard, as it was, she was terrified and her brain was bemused. Her eyes wondered back to the clock. She had been eighteen for approximately two minutes. She was now, the first one in her class, technically an adult. She was no longer an under-age witch.

When Hermione awoke the next morning, she had no recollection of the previous night at all. She only felt happy that it was her birthday and the first day of school.

Her eyes opened on the familiar scene of the girls' dormitory in September. A ray of autumn sun filtered through the curtains and enabled her to see Parvati sitting bouncing on her four-poster platting her hair, and Lavender applying lip gloss at her dressing table. When they saw that she was awake, they turned around and pulling out parcels cried, "Happy Birthday, Hermione!"

They sat on the edge of her bed and insisted that she opened her presents, which she did. From Parvati she received some pink hairclips and some perfume, which she felt obliged to wear. From Lavender she had a book called, A 100 Magical Tips for Improving your Appearance.

"I thought you'd like a book best," added Lavender.

Hermione felt like laughing and crying at the same time. She felt a sudden affection for her two room-mates who she always pretty much ignored and had even scorned in the past. She gave them a sudden hug before descending into the common room where Harry and Ron were waiting.

It seemed that they had got her a joint gift. It looked very like a very thick book.

"We think you'll like it," said Ron, almost jumping up and down with excitement as she opened it.

"It's the very latest edition," added Harry.

It was a shiny, hardback edition of, A Concise History of the Teachers of Hogwarts, Past and Present.

"It's a companion to your favourite book," Harry said, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Which is?"

"Hogwarts, A History!" chorused Harry and Ron at the same time.

Hermione seemed to see the last six years of her life flash by and she was suddenly acutely aware that she had only one year left at Hogwarts.

"You don't know what this means to me," she said in a low voice.

"So you like it?" asked Harry, anxiously.

"Idiot! Of course!"

Ron seemed to be thinking deeply, then said nervously, "Er, Hermione, I want to say something to you."

Hermione's eyes narrowed visibly but she replied, "All right then."

Harry coughed and muttered, "I'll just, er, go then, shall I?"

"No!" cried Ron grabbing his arm, "I want you to be a witness."

"A witness?" asked Hermione.

"Yes. Hermione, I forgive you."

"Forgive me?"

"Yes, for slapping me last year at the ball. You had provocation. I apologise."

"Apologise? I'm the one who should do that; I was hot and irritable. Anyway, I forgive you for kissing me, though you mustn't do it again."

"I won't," sighed Ron.

There was a pause. Then Hermione burst into tears and gave Ron a massive hug.

Here the author must fill in spaces in the reader's knowledge. To bring the reader up to date we must now acknowledge that in the summer before her sixth year, Hermione had broken up with Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian seeker. When asked why, she was evasive. Not even Harry or Ron knew the reason. She had visited him twice in Bulgaria and after the second visit she had merely said that they had had, 'a difference of opinion and had broken up by mutual consent.'

Meanwhile Cho Chang, a Ravenclaw in the year above, had been devastated when her boyfriend, Cedric Diggory, who she had truly loved, had died at the end of the year before. Harry had had a bit of a crush on her, but had never had the nerve to ask her out.

Eventually it was Cho herself who came to his rescue. She was stuck for a partner for the Seniors' Ball since she did not want a boyfriend after Cedric. However, she liked Harry and asked him to accompany her. Harry had been the only fifth year going, but he had enjoyed it and after a while he began to grow out of his crush for her and to love her in a much more fraternal way. It was the beginning of a life long friendship.

Harry found Cho sensible and intelligent, though bitter about Cedric's death. She was determined to become an Auror and to avenge his death, as well as never marry. He found himself telling her things he had never told anyone else before, including Ron and Hermione; like how the Dursleys' really treated him and how he had blamed himself for Cedric's death. Cho reminded Harry of Hermione a bit.

As Harry spent more time with Cho, he also noticed how little he knew of the lives of Ron and Hermione. When he was playing Quidditch or fighting Voldemort, what were they doing? The more he thought about this, the more he noticed that Ron liked Hermione. He didn't know about Hermione's feelings, but Ron's were very obvious. It occurred to him that they might already be going out behind his back as it were, and Hermione was just better at hiding it. The idea hurt him, but he had to consider it.

He wasn't to know just how wrong he had been until the Seniors' Ball in their sixth year. Ron went with Hermione, and Harry had gone with Cho. At the end of a very romantic, slow dance, Cho had drawn Harry's attention to Ron and Hermione. Suddenly Ron had kissed Hermione, not on the cheek, but firmly on the lips! The whole ball had watched as Hermione had drawn back, red in the face, and slapped Ron hard across the face. She had only ever slapped someone before once, and that had been Malfoy. She then left the hall and wasn't seen by anybody until the next day when she wasn't speaking to Ron. Ron seemed happy with this arrangement; they were both furious with each other.

It was their worst fall out yet. They did not speak to each other for the whole Spring term, the Easter holidays and half of the Summer term. In the end, they had called a truce and started speaking again, probably for Harry's sake who was acting as a go-between. Still it seemed that they had not forgiven each other.

Now fortunately, it seemed that they had and life could continue normally for Harry, Ron and Hermione's seventh year. They hoped.

This chapter has now ended.