A/N: The board is set; the pieces are moving…
Chapter Seventeen
Spring Term 1992
I stood in the doorway of the Great Hall watching the Gryffindor table. Bright morning sunlight slanted in through the high windows, throwing pools of golden radiance in a fixed pattern around the room. My eyes were drawn to the lone figure at our table. He was bent over a book and a plate of food, ignoring everything around him. It was only seven thirty, so there were just a few other students at the long tables, most of whom were Ravenclaws. I did not see any professors at the Head table.
The brilliantly lit Great Hall was quite the contrast from the darkness of our recent foray into the Forbidden Forest. There was a disconnect between the imminent danger of the night before and the pleasant scene before my eyes. Hogwarts had some sublime environments, especially during the early morning and twilight hours, but they hid something more sinister, something that all the wonderment my introduction to the magical world had hidden.
Wizarding society had a festering sore in the darkest reaches of its heart, and the boy sitting at the Gryffindor table was a testament to the losses imposed by that darkness. Harry Potter had lost his parents and, for all intents and purposes, most of his early childhood to the rampant prejudice, arrogance, and fear that had allowed Voldemort to run roughshod over Britain during the First War.
As I stood there watching Harry, my thoughts certainly were not as organized or coherent, but I felt something overwhelming just beyond the tip of my tongue. Our supposed encounter with Voldemort had sobered me immediately. Even though I was only twelve at the time, I sensed that some of my innocence had irrevocably faded away during the night. I ached with overwhelming empathy-or was it merely sympathy?-for Harry's pain and confusion at having suddenly come face to face with the being that murdered his parents, but I did not know how talk about it with him. I was only twelve. I was just as scared and confused as he was.
I took a deep breath and entered the Great Hall. I doubt he heard me coming, but Harry turned as soon as I neared the end of the table. He smiled at me, but I noted that it did not reach his eyes. I was careful not to stare at them, but they had aged considerably during the night. He was an old soul in a young body, made old by the events all around us.
"Morning, Harry," I greeted, sitting across from him.
"Hullo, Hermione," he responded, pushing a platter of breakfast foods toward me.
"Thanks." I loaded my plate and began to eat. Silence settled over the table as he returned to his food and the book.
"What are you studying?" I asked. He lifted the book for a second, allowing me to see the cover. It was our History of Magic textbook.
"I haven't been studying this as much as I should," he explained. "It's hard enough to stay awake during class… But I guess this is really the only subject I need to study for at all."
I had already memorized everything I thought would be necessary for the History of Magic exam, but that seemed like another life now. Suddenly, exams looked less important than they had, as if my priorities had shifted without me knowing.
When my thoughts returned to the present, I saw that Harry had returned to reading the book. He was only speaking when spoken to, which was rather unusual for him. He had never been a chatty person, but it had always been fairly easy to hold a steady conversation with him. For once in my life, I did not know what to say.
He must have noticed that I had stopped eating because he glanced up at me. When he saw me staring at him, he dropped the book to the table and raised his eyebrows.
"What?"
"Harry…" I sighed, reaching across the table and gripping one of his hands in both of mine. His eyes dropped to them.
"Is everything alright?" I asked, even though I knew it was a stupid question. Of course everything wasn't alright.
"Dunno," he said, still staring at the table.
"Harry, come on…" I wished I could see his eyes. They were much easier to read than his body language, which could have meant frustration, sadness, or a number of other emotions.
"What if he came bursting in here right now?" Harry asked, suddenly looking up and capturing me with his eyes. He wrenched his hand from mine and slammed his book closed. His plate actually jumped off the table with the force of the impact. I had absolutely no idea how to react to his sudden anger.
"Huh?" I intoned. A little voice in the back of my head-a voice that sounded suspiciously like Harry, though I never would have admitted it-was laughing at my inarticulateness.
"Voldemort," he said, quite loudly. There was no one around us to hear, so there were no violent reactions. "What if he walked through that door right now?" he asked, pointing toward the entrance to the Great Hall. I glanced over there, watching briefly as two sixth or seventh year Hufflepuffs strolled in.
"He can't," I said, trying to restart my stalled brain. Harry's question had taken me by surprise. I knew that we had come into close contact with the left-over essence of Voldemort in the Forest, but I hadn't actually thought about what would happen if Voldemort were to enter Hogwarts. And of course what I did not know at that point was that Voldemort had indeed been inside Hogwarts already-and for quite some time. In fact, he had been privy to all of our Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons.
"Why not?" Harry asked.
"He wouldn't," I tried. "Not with Dumbledore here."
"How can we be sure? The Philosopher's Stone is exactly what he needs, and it's sitting right here in Hogwarts." Harry then mumbled something else that I didn't quite catch.
"What was that?" I asked.
"I don't feel safe anymore," he told me. "And you shouldn't either. The Stone is bait, Hermione, even if it's not intended to be. It's a powerful and priceless magical artifact that anyone would want, and it's here."
Harry had apparently thought about this extensively since the night before. The centaurs had been the main topic of discussion in the common room, but Harry's concerns went far beyond anything that had been foretold in the stars. He was talking about practical, urgent matters that demanded our attention, even if we were only first years in way over our heads.
"Dumbledore wouldn't keep it here if he thought it was endangering students."
Harry laughed in derision. I frowned at him, hurt that he was laughing at me. I couldn't remember ever hearing that sound coming from his mouth-the cynical, jaded laughter of someone much older.
"Right," he said. "Just like Dumbledore wouldn't keep a bloody Cerberus in the school if students were endangered."
"Harry, you heard what he said last night-"
"I sure did!" Harry exclaimed, cutting me off and nearly burning into my eyes with his. "He said that we have to look out for each other now, which means that he can't protect us!"
I remembered that part of the conversation, but I supposed I had not realized all of the implications of what Dumbledore had said.
"Harry…" I said, at a loss for words. This conversation was going absolutely nowhere. If Voldemort were to penetrate the castle's defenses and go for the Stone, there was very little we could do. We were only first years. We couldn't hope to stand a chance against the most powerful Dark wizard to ever live, even if it was only a remnant.
"He shouldn't have to protect us, Hermione. This is a school."
"So let's finish this year on a good note! Let's ace the exams and enjoy our summer holiday… Maybe Dumbledore will have moved the Stone by next year?"
Harry had frowned at the mention of summer holidays. Questions about his home life had receded to the back of my mind since Christmas, but seeing that frown made some of them resurface. I hoped that I would be able to see Harry this summer.
"Maybe," he grumbled, looking down at the textbook. Suddenly, inspiration struck me:
"Quiz me," I said, gripping his hand and squeezing it.
"What?"
"Quiz me, Harry!" I said, pointing to the book.
"Um, ok. On what?"
"Names, dates, whatever! Just quiz me! Then we'll know if I'm really ready for the exam or not."
He smiled, and this time it was the genuine version. The skin at the corners of his eyes crinkled slightly.
"Hermione," he said, opening the book, "I know you are more than prepared for this silly exam."
I couldn't help it; I knew I blushed a little. As I tried to ignore the warmth in my cheeks, I swatted his hand.
"Flattery, Potter, will get you nowhere. You know just as well as I do that if I'm prepared for the exam, so are you."
He shrugged. "If you say so."
"I do. So because I walked in here on you studying, maybe I need to check that I've done enough too."
"Fine," he nodded. "1333." He raised his eyebrows expectantly.
"Hmmm…." I intoned, wracking my brain for the answer. Quite honestly, the date was unfamiliar to me.
"I'll give you a hint," Harry said. "It concerns something that we have been concerned with all year." No light bulbs were going off in my head. Apparently I really did need to study a bit more. I looked at him and shrugged. He leaned back and crossed his arms, smiling triumphantly.
"Guess I'll hit the books," I said, disappointed in myself.
Harry chuckled. "You won't need to. That was a trick question. Perenelle Flamel was born in 1333."
I pouted at him, having just understood his reference to what we'd been concerned with all year. Perenelle was Nicolas's wife.
"Harry, that's not fair!"
"Gotcha," he smiled, winking at me. Oooh, he was so frustrating sometimes!
For the next half hour or so, we quizzed each other about History of Magic. During that time, most of the other students trickled into the Great Hall, with Sally, Neville, and finally Ron joining us by the time we were ready to leave. They were still very concerned with what we had talked about the previous night, but as with Harry, the conversation went nowhere. We were merely first years; there was ultimately nothing we could do to protect the Stone-or even ourselves, for that matter, if Voldemort really did show up-without bringing bodily harm or breaking about a dozen school rules.
Hundreds of owls streamed into the Great Hall around 9:30, landing in front of each student and depositing an envelope with an official Hogwarts seal. I slit the wax seal with my thumbnail and pulled out the thick piece of parchment contained within. It said:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
Deputy Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall
First Year Final Exam and End of Term Schedule, 1992; Miss Hermione Granger
Monday, 1 June 1992
9:00 - 11:30: Charms Theory
11:35 - 12:55: Lunch Period
1:00 - 3:30: Transfiguration Theory
4:00 - 5:00: Charms Practical
Tuesday, 2 June 1992
9:00 - 11:30: Potions Comprehensive
11:35 - 12:55: Lunch Period
1:00 - 3:30: Defense Against the Dark Arts Theory
4:00 - 5:00: Transfiguration Practical
Wednesday, 3 June 1992
9:00 - 11:30: Herbology Comprehensive
11:35 - 12:55: Lunch Period
1:00 - 2:00: Defense Against the Dark Arts Practical
9:30 - 11:00: Astronomy Practical
Thursday, 4 June 1992
9:00 - 11:30: Astronomy Theory
11:35 - 12:55: Lunch Period
1:00 - 3:30: History of Magic Comprehensive
All first years should report to their regular classrooms for exams unless otherwise notified.
Friday, 5 June 1992 - Thursday, 11 June 1992
O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. final project / thesis presentation period. Times are posted with each Head of House and in each House's common room. All students are encouraged to attend at least one project or thesis presentation to show support for your classmates' hard work.
Thursday, 11 June 1992
Exam results are posted.
Friday, 12 June 1992 - Wednesday, 17 June 1992
Rest & relaxation period.
Thursday, 18 June 1992
12:00 pm - Graduation
6:00 pm - End of Term Feast
Friday, 19 June 1992
Last day of term.
Saturday, 20 June 1992
9:00 am - Hogwarts Express leaves Hogsmeade Station for London
Enjoy your summer holidays and we will see you back here on September 1!
"Bloody hell," Ron groaned. "Eight hours of exams each day…"
"Almost," Neville agreed, sounding just as miserable.
"How can you two possibly bugger these up?" Sally asked. "You're more than prepared."
"Studying doesn't involve Snape breathing down your neck!" Neville exclaimed, earning smiles and giggles from most of us and many nearby Gryffindors.
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"Have you seen Harry?" I asked, having just entered the Gryffindor common room. It was around nine in the evening on Sunday, May 31. Our exams started in twelve hours, and I had just finished some last-minute studying. I had looked for Harry prior to heading for the library, but I had been unable to find him. I hadn't seen him since breakfast that morning, and when he had not eventually showed in the library like I'd hoped, I began to wonder. As I entered the common room, I saw that Harry was not with Sally and the rest, either.
"No?" Sally replied, with a question in her eyes. Ron and Neville were engrossed in a game of chess, only shaking their heads in response. "We thought he was with you," she said, as I came closer.
"Nope," I said, shaking my head once. "I've been in the library for the past few hours, going over some things tomorrow."
Sally rolled her eyes at me. "Girl, you need to relax," she said, moving over on the sofa and letting me sit next to her. "You're going to over-think the exams. You could have aced them all at the end of the last term."
"I just like knowing I'm prepared," I said, shrugging.
"You have nothing to worry about," she told me, smiling and leaning into me. "And thanks to you and Harry, neither do I."
"You're an exceptional student, Sally."
"That's like the pot calling the kettle black."
"There are worse things," I laughed, resting my head on her shoulder for a moment. Sally was the close female friend that I'd lacked before Hogwarts, and I couldn't imagine what would happen if her parents ever tried to pull her from school again. In fact, I told myself I wouldn't think about it.
"Shall we go find him?" she wondered. I could feel her light exhalations in my hair.
"Sure, if you want," I said.
"I know you want to."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" I asked, coyly. I knew where she was going with this.
"Nothing!" she trilled. We received some odd looks from Ron and Neville, who shook their heads at us again; we just smiled at them.
"Right," I said, laughing again. I lifted my head from her shoulder. "Shall we?"
"Sure thing," she agreed, so we stood from the sofa and headed for the exit.
"Where are you two off to?" Ron called, when we had reached the portrait.
"An evening stroll," Sally called back, and then we were in the corridor. We stopped, looking both ways.
"So where could he be?" I asked.
"Dungeons are out," Sally said. "And I don't think he's been with the Headmaster all day. So let's go this way," she pointed, and we set off to the right. We wandered most of the first through seventh floors corridors for nearly half an hour, stopping at many points of interest-the library, the Great Hall, some of our classrooms-but we did not find Harry.
We stopped in the moonlit third floor corridor by the Charms classroom. We could see the locked door at the end of the long hallway, but everything looked undisturbed. In fact, the silver light glinted off a thick layer of dust on the stone floor. Surely we would have been able to see footprints if anyone had passed this way.
"Where to?" Sally asked.
"There's really only one place left," I said. "The Astronomy tower."
"Let's go then," she said. As we ascended through the castle, I was heavily reminded of my nighttime adventure with Harry, Neville, and a seriously pissed off drake called Norbert. We were walking the same route as that other night, though it was still well before curfew.
"I should have put some pants on," Sally said, as we neared the top of the tower's spiral staircase. Cool night air wafted down over us, and I silently agreed with her statement. The shorts I was wearing were not keeping my legs warm. Thankfully, I at least had on a long sleeve tee.
Sally and I emerged onto the top of the Astronomy tower. It was a little disorienting, suddenly entering into an open space with the supremely clear night sky all around-it was almost like floating away-but I quickly regained my bearings and searched the top of the tower. Sally nudged my arm just as I saw him.
He was sitting cross-legged at the edge of the tower, turned away from us, resting his chin in his hands. His elbows were resting on the insides of his thighs, so he was slightly hunched over. He appeared to be staring into the night.
"Harry?" I called, grabbing Sally by the hand and pulling her toward Harry. He jumped, startled at the sound of my voice, and looked over his shoulder at us. His glasses flashed as he turned.
"Hey Harry," Sally said.
"Hi," he said, uncoiling his body and leaning back across the stones. He looked very relaxed, positioned like that. "How're you two doing?"
"Fine," Sally shrugged.
I echoed her. "Fine," I said. "How come we haven't seen you all day?" I asked, sitting down next to Harry, with Sally on my other side. I glanced at the view before us, of the grounds and the Highlands beyond; it was sublime, under the moonlight, and I wondered why I'd never taken the time to look during our Astronomy classes. I supposed I my eyes had always been turned toward the stars.
He was quiet for a moment, looking at me. He was wearing jeans and a tee, but he did not appear to be cold at all.
"I've been up here for awhile," he finally said. He pointed to his bag, which I had failed to notice. "I was studying, but I decided that I didn't really need to. So I've just been enjoying the view."
"Oh," I said, mystified.
"You should really come up here for sunset some day. It's quite beautiful," he told us, turning his eyes to the scene laid out before us.
"That sounds nice. I think I will," Sally said. "I'm cold, though, so I think I'm gonna go back to the common room. See you two there?" she wondered, pushing herself to her feet.
"Sure," I said, looking at her and nodding.
"Yeah, see you, Sally," Harry said.
"Bye," she said. It was breathy, fading. I knew without looking that she was heading toward the door to the stairwell.
Harry moved then, lying back and lacing his hands behind his head. His feet rested on the very edge of the tower. I watched his chest rise and fall for a few moments.
"You ready for this week?" he asked, staring upward.
"Of course," I said, still looking down at him from my slightly higher vantage point. The breeze skittered across the top of the tower just then, blowing my hair around my face. I reached up and pulled it back, tying it there with a band that had been around my wrist. Suddenly Harry was laughing.
"I love your hair, Hermione," he said. It was the last thing I had expected him to say, so I had absolutely no response. He loved my hair? Why? It was a bushy, tangled mess; it was completely uncontrollable.
"What?" I managed to say.
"I love your hair," he repeated. "It's so…wild."
I frowned, and he must have seen it, because he quickly clarified: "Not a bad wild. Obviously. It's just so unique and so you," he said.
"Your hair is quite wild too, you know," I said. My arm was getting tired so I shifted, lying back along the stones as he had. I copied him, lacing my hands behind my head. My ponytail was fanned out to the right of my head.
"Oh, I know," he responded. "Believe me, I know. I see it every time I look in the mirror."
"Well I love your hair," I told him. "It's just so you," I added, echoing what he had said.
He chuckled, and it was a beautiful sound. I wondered what he'd been thinking about up here, all alone. He seemed much more relaxed than at any point during the last three or four days. I knew he would never worry about the exams, because of how well he had done all year, but he had been worrying about the Stone and what had happened in the Forest. Right now, all of that had apparently melted away.
"So much has happened this year," he said, breaking a long silence. I thought I might have actually been beginning to doze.
"Yup," I agreed. "Good and bad."
"More good than bad, I think," he replied, and I could hear the smile in his voice. "The holidays at your house especially."
I felt warmth flood my being as I remembered those wonderful weeks at home during the winter recess. Harry and I had spent so much time alone together-and we had successfully retrieved Sally-that I could honestly say it was then that we became real friends. I remembered Christmas night, when we had held each other in my bedroom; I remembered my parents accepting Harry like one of their own; I remembered seeing a genuine, unguarded smile on Harry's face for the first time.
"Definitely one of the high points," I said, hearing the happy emotion in my own voice. "Your flying lesson was another one."
"We should do that again before term ends," he answered. "We'll make you a Quidditch star yet."
"Ha ha," I mock laughed. "Somehow I doubt that. But it would be fun to have you teach me again."
"Maybe after the exams," he sighed.
I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. The cool, humid night air invaded my nostrils, filling my lungs with the refreshing essence of the lake, the Forest, and the Scottish Highlands. There was just a hint of ancient stone beneath all of that. When I opened my eyes again, the stars and moon were unnaturally bright. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, and for that brief instant, I enjoyed the sensory overload. I reached up and pretended that I could touch the stars…
"Hermione?"
"Harry?"
"Are you glad you're magical?"
"Yes, of course-"
"No, I mean, are you really glad?"
"Yes, Harry. Are you?"
"I think so."
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I had little time to reflect on Harry's question during the next week. At nine the next morning, exams started with the theory portion of Charms. I smiled to myself when I read the question asking which syllables to stress for the incantation tenus calculus. Harry had used that spell spectacularly to save me from a Troll, and that all seemed so far away that I could now laugh about it. It was hard to recall that feeling of impending, inevitable death whilst sitting in our sunny Charms classroom.
Nothing fazed me for very long during that first exam, so after our lunch break when we all compared answers, we headed for the Transfiguration classroom. I was expecting this exam to be the hardest, and it was certainly harder than Charms, but there were no questions that stumped me. I finished in about an hour and a half, so I had some time to practice for our Charms practical at four o'clock. Harry joined me down by the lake, where I was casting various spells; the others eventually joined us as well. When it was time, we went back to the Charms room and cast several Charms for Professor Flitwick. I successfully completed all the spells.
We all compared notes again that night. Harry and I had apparently had the fewest problems with Monday's exams, so we woke up Tuesday ready for the next round. The day began with our comprehensive Potions session, which was relatively easy but, as Neville had said, also annoying with Snape hovering over our cauldrons. The practical portion of the exam had us making a Forgetfulness potion-cruel irony for a final exam. After lunch we sat for the theory portion of Defense; again, I found nothing difficult.
I noticed that Quirrell looked absolutely terrible, though. He was sweating profusely and shivering, which were contrasting reactions that were not normal. He was either running an incredibly high fever or there was something else seriously wrong with him. His classroom smelled funnier than it usually did, something like a cross between garlic and rotting vegetation.
In any case, after a short break, we performed Transfiguration spells for the practical portion of that exam, during which we had to transform mice into snuffboxes. It was the easiest of three spells we had to complete; the other two had us transforming our desks into gleaming marble and turning fire into water. The last was something that we had never actually done in class. Instead, we had to combine some of the theory we had learned with two other spells to perform the correct Transfiguration. Needless to say, I sweated that one out, but I managed to complete it during the last quarter of the hour. Harry had finished the third transfiguration ten minutes before me. The only other students to successfully finish all three spells were Hannah Abbot and Sally, both of whom finished as McGonagall indicated time had run out.
There were many sour looks after that exam, but Wednesday was a new day, so we all tackled it with our heads held high. Two straight days of exams were taking their toll, though, as some students looked rather bedraggled as we all left the Great Hall for the first exam of the day. Our comprehensive Herbology exam was first, followed by lunch and the practical half of the Defense test, when we had to successfully cast the Stunning spell. After watching Harry cast the spell at full power on top of the Astronomy tower, I knew that he would have no trouble. We also had to prove that we could cast the basic Shielding charm and a light spell designed to blind opponents, with an incantation of solus. I must have put too much power in the solus spell or not learned how to control it properly, because it was quite honestly the brightest thing I had ever seen. Quirrell shrieked and covered his face when I cast the spell.
We had a long break after that before our Astronomy practical, so we spent much of the afternoon by the lake. We discussed many things, including the receding memory of our time in the Forbidden Forest, how we thought we were doing on the exams overall, what we were doing for the summer, and that we couldn't believe we'd already nearly completed one full year at Hogwarts. There are many things I regret about my time at Hogwarts, but if I could have even one of those seven years back, I think I would. There's something about growing up among your friends that is impossible to recapture after you've left, and it's a feeling only those that have graduated and moved on will know.
The Astronomy practical turned out to be the easiest of our exams because we had all spent so much time studying our star charts, so I finished it relatively quickly and went straight to bed. I was tired and wanted to be fresh for the last day of exams.
The next morning, after eating breakfast, we sat for theoretical Astronomy. More than once, I noticed Harry rubbing the scar on his forehead, which I hadn't seen him doing since the Forest. I asked him about it at lunch, but he just shrugged it off, saying that it was aching a little. I was worried about him, but I didn't pursue the matter right then. We had our last exam after lunch-History of Magic-and then we were free! I don't remember much of that last exam, thinking about what could suddenly be bothering Harry again, but I do remember it being a breeze. First year was over!
We all cheered when Binns told us that time was up, and after we handed in our parchments, Ron suggested that we head down to the lake. His twin brothers had said that most of the students usually congregated on the beach after the last exam was over. So after we had returned to the common room to change into summer clothing, we joined the growing throngs of students moving through the corridors and outside.
"Well, there's a bloody lot of them," Neville observed, when we had reached the beach. There were groups of students of all ages scattered around, from one edge of the beach to the other. There were even a few groups of older students where the Forest came almost to the edge of the lake. The giant squid was lounging in the shallows, spraying students with water who came near it. I had always wondered how such a beast found itself in the lake, but it was very docile and had never shown any cause for concern. It made weird squeeing noises as several seventh years mounted its tentacles. It lifted them gently in the air, giving them a ride through the warm summer day. We shaded our eyes as we watched this show.
"I would love to know why my scar started aching," Harry said, drawing our attention away from the squid. He was probing his forehead with the tip of his right index finger.
"Hospital Wing?" Ron suggested. He was lying on his side with his head on his hand.
"Thanks Ron," Harry replied, rolling his eyes at him. "But I'm not ill."
"Then…?" Neville wondered.
"It could be a warning," Harry said. "The last time it felt like this was in the Forest."
"Really think so?" Sally asked.
"Could mean danger's coming," Harry shrugged, though he didn't sound too worked up. It was hard to think about the possibility of Voldemort stealing the Stone and returning to full power out here in the sunshine, with laughing students all around us.
"Dunno," Ron put in. "But I think we should just relax for now. The Stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's here, and I dunno if Snape ever figured out how to get past Fluffy."
"Sure," Sally said, smiling. "And Neville will play professional Quidditch before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down." She playfully elbowed Neville and he laughed in return.
"By all means, Neville," Harry said, laughing along with him. "You can be Seeker for Gryffindor next year."
"Then we'd never win!" Ron exclaimed, rolling onto his back and throwing his arms into the air. "You better play all seven years Harry. I don't think I can take losing any Quidditch games."
"You never know, someone better might come along…" Harry told us.
"Right," I scoffed, "someone better than the youngest Seeker in a century? Somehow I doubt that." Harry smiled at me, shaking his head, and laid back on the beach.
Conversation wound around and up and down for quite some time after that; we had plenty to talk about, with exams just behind us and the summer ahead. The other Gryffindor first years joined us for about an hour, leaving eventually to do something else. They all thought the exams were as hard or easy as they'd each expected.
As early evening approached, Harry began to grimace and rub his scar in earnest. When questioned, he said that it had just started hurting much more than before.
"Hospital Wing?" Ron asked. "And this time I'm serious."
Harry shook him off. "No, Pomfrey's not going to be able to do anything."
"How d'you know that?" Sally wondered.
"Think she'll be able to cure something Voldemort gave me?" Harry asked, ire now present in his voice.
"Dunno," she mumbled. Harry took a deep breath and visibly relaxed.
"Look," he said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you. But this pain is really starting to annoy me. The ruddy ache just won't go away."
"Think Hagrid would have any suggestions?" I asked, drawing my knees to my chest and staring out over the lake, where the lowering sun had created a blazing orange streak on the water.
"Really? Not sure Hagrid could do-" Harry started, but cut himself off. There was a sharp intake of breath. I glanced at him and saw that his face was stricken, as if he had been hit with a bolt of lightning.
"Harry?" I questioned, drawing the attention of the others to his reaction.
"Of course…" he breathed.
"What?" Sally and Ron asked at the same time.
"How could I have not seen it before?"
"Seen what before?" I asked.
"It's so obvious!" he said, jumping to his feet, surprising me momentarily with his abrupt show of agility. "Come on, all of you! We have to go see Hagrid!"
"What? Why?" Neville wanted to know, though he was standing.
"Well," Harry began, trotting in the direction of Hagrid's hut with all of us in tow. "Hagrid wanted more than anything in the world to have a dragon, and suddenly a stranger shows up who just happens to have an egg."
I vaguely wondered what the rest of the students thought as they watched five first years jog away from the lake. We must have looked like a very interesting and unique bunch. Ron and I kept pace with Harry, and Sally and Neville were just behind us.
"And isn't that even funnier?" Harry asked, rhetorically. I could see where he was going with this, and my stomach began to knot itself into a ball. If what Harry was suggesting were true at all, we were all in big trouble. Serious trouble. "That the stranger happened to have something that is highly illegal? They're right lucky to have found Hagrid, aren't they?"
"What do you mean?" Neville asked. I glanced at Ron behind Harry and saw that he understood what Harry meant as well. There was a dark look in his eyes.
"You'll see," Harry answered. "Come on!" He increased his speed gradually so that we were sprinting by the time we reached Hagrid's. We rolled in at out maximum speed as Hagrid exited the hut, carrying a large wooden bowl with him. He raised his eyebrows at our running forms.
"Hullo, all of yeh," he said, putting the bowl on a table by his door. He began to mash some kind of squishy vegetable that I did not recognize. "Yer exams are over, right? Want a drink?"
"No thanks," Harry said, having regained his breath first among us. "But I have to ask you something, Hagrid."
"Ask away then," he said, turning toward us with a little smile on his large, hairy face. I felt my heart melt for Hagrid. He was such a nice man, yet he always ended up doing the wrong things at the wrong times.
"You remember the night you won Norbert from the stranger? What did he look like?" Harry asked. We all waited with bated breath for the answer.
Hagrid looked puzzled. "Dunno, he wouldn't take his cloak off."
"Why not?" I asked.
"Yeh get alotta funny folk in the Hog's Head," he said. Harry interjected:
"How funny?"
"Huh?"
"What kind of `funny' was he, Hagrid?"
"Dunno, Harry," Hagrid said, peering down at him now. "Mighta been a dragon dealer or somethin'. He kept his hood up, so I never saw his face."
Harry looked disappointed, so I laid a hand on his shoulder. Everyone was quiet for a moment as we processed what had been said.
"Did you talk to him about anything in particular? Like Hogwarts?" Harry questioned further.
"Er, that mighta come up," Hagrid told us, scratching his head. "We talked about me bein' the gamekeeper and what sorta creatures I hafta look after. Eh…I can't really remember too much because he kept buying me drinks."
"Try, Hagrid. Please," I implored.
"Alright, alright… He said he had an egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted. So o' course I said sure but he wanted ter know that I could handle a dragon. I told him after Fluffy a dragon was easy."
"Did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked. I could feel his shoulders sinking slightly, something that I wouldn't have noticed if my hand wasn't resting on his right shoulder.
"O' course! Who wouldn't be? How many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet? I told him that Fluffy's easy if you know how to deal with him-all yeh hafta do is play some music and he'll go straight ter sleep-"
Hagrid clapped one of his huge hands over his mouth, his eyes widening in shock.
"Ferget I said that! I shouldn't have said that-where're yeh goin'?" he asked, but we were already running, once again just behind Harry as he led us back toward the castle. I looked over my shoulder at Hagrid's receding form, and he was still standing there, staring at us. Harry was sprinting again, and it was very tiring running at full speed up the slope toward Hogwarts. Neville fell a little behind the rest of us as we neared the front entrance. We waited for him just inside the Entrance Hall.
"We've gotta go to Dumbledore," Harry said, panting and leaning over, placing his hands on his thighs. "This is exactly what he was talking about. We can't do anymore snooping around-we have to go to Dumbledore," he repeated. I thought his logic was sound.
"What're you talking about?" Sally asked.
"Honestly, did you miss all of that?" I questioned, looking at her. She shrugged. Neville arrived at that moment, wheezing and haltingly asking what was going on.
"Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, Sally," Harry explained. His tone of voice implied that his patience was wearing thin and his frustration was quickly growing. His jaw was set and his green eyes were ablaze. "It had to have been either Snape or Voldemort under that cloak, and Hagrid woulda been easy to get answers from once he was drunk."
"Are you sure?" Sally asked. She was dumbfounded.
"Yes," Harry said, vehemently. There was purpose in his voice and it thrilled me, as much as I hated to admit it, to be in the thick of things once again. "I just hope Dumbledore believes us. Firenze might even back us up if we suggest that to Dumbledore. Come on, let's go to his office."
We had just turned toward the grand staircase when McGonagall exited the Great Hall. We stopped when she narrowed her eyes at us and started in our direction.
"What are you five doing inside? Dinner isn't for another half hour."
"We're going to see Professor Dumbledore," I said, stretching to my full height and looking braver than I felt. I was still slightly stung from losing those fifty points. We had been rather chilly toward each other since then.
"Why?" she wondered, surveying all of us. Neville withered under her glare.
"Er, well, it's a secret," Harry said, rather lamely. I looked at him, signaling with my eyes that he should have said anything else.
"I see," she said, with no warmth in her voice. "You will be unhappy to know that Professor Dumbledore left fifteen minutes ago on urgent Wizengamot business."
"He's gone?" Harry asked, shock and fear now evident in his voice. I wondered how Dumbledore could leave, after he'd told us that he would be watching things more carefully from now on. McGonagall obviously hadn't heard the details of our encounter in the Forest, or she would have been asking some pointed questions at this point.
"Professor Dumbledore is an incredibly busy man, Potter. On top of his Headmaster duties, he is the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards-"
"Yes, yes, we know all that," I said, interrupting her. She was silenced with shock. "But he can't leave, not now. This is too important for him to be gone."
She grunted. "More important than the Wizengamot, I suppose?"
"Oh, bollocks it all!" Harry exploded, throwing his hands into the air and walking toward McGonagall. If my eyes weren't deceiving me, she had taken a small step backward. "Professor, it's about the Philosopher's Stone-"
"What?!" she screeched, holding her hand over her heart. "How do you know about that?"
"That's not important!" Harry said, loudly. "We think-no, we know-that someone's going to try to steal the Stone! We need to talk to Professor Dumbledore!"
All the pieces had fallen into place for Sally, Neville, and Ron, because now they looked sick with their own fear and apprehension. Things were finally coming to a head and the most powerful wizard of the age was not in the castle. I was tempted to bury my face in my palm at the futility of it all.
"Potter, enough of this," she said, reasserting her dominance. "The Headmaster will be back tomorrow, and if you must speak with him, you can do it then. I do not know how all of you found out about the Stone, but it is impossible to steal."
"But-" Harry tried.
"I know what I am talking about," she cut him off. The chill in her voice could have frozen the sun. "I suggest you all return to the lake and enjoy the remainder of the day with your classmates." She nodded once and turned away. We watched as she ascended the grand staircase. As soon as she had turned the corner and disappeared from sight, Harry turned to us. We all huddled together at the base of the stairs.
"It's tonight," Harry said.
"Snape's going through the trapdoor," I added. He nodded.
"Yes. Why wouldn't he? He's found out everything he needs to know and now Dumbledore's gone."
"But how can we be sure?" Sally asked.
"Only one way…" Harry said.
"But we'll all get expelled!" Neville whispered, furiously.
"And what do we have here?" a familiar and hated voice asked. We all raised our heads to see Snape staring at us from halfway across the Entrance Hall.
"Why are you all inside?" he asked, repeating McGonagall's question.
"We were, uh-" Harry started, but Snape waved him off.
"You want to be more careful. When you hang around like this, people become suspicious. And suspicious people tend to take points away from relevant houses. I don't think Gryffindor can afford to lose any more points, can it?" Snape had a malignant smile on his face. I could almost feel the rage and hatred radiating off of Harry.
"So be warned, Potter," Snape continued, walking past us and up the stairs. His voice was as hard as diamonds. "If there are any more nighttime wanderings, I will personally see to it that you are expelled from Hogwarts." And then he was gone. We stared after him with different emotions in our eyes; there was no doubt that the emotion in Harry's was hate.
"Well that's it, isn't it?" Harry asked, breathing heavily.
"What do we do?" Neville asked. He was fingering his wand. Ron and Sally were still looking up the staircase.
Harry looked at Neville. "I'm going to get my Cloak and I'm going after him. I'm going to get the Stone before he does."
"You can't!" Sally exclaimed. "That'd be madness."
Harry shrugged. "Call me crazy, then."
"Harry…" I said. I wanted to tell him that he would be expelled and lose more points for Gryffindor, but I couldn't bring myself to do that. This had moved far beyond the realm of house rivalry and Hogwarts. This was fate-of-the-Wizarding-World stuff we were talking about here.
"What?" he asked. But I had nothing to say.
"You'll be expelled, that's what!" Sally said, voicing what I had half-wanted to say.
"SO WHAT!" Harry yelled, startling all of us. His voice echoed around the Entrance Hall, coming back to our ears more than once. His face had turned an alarming shade of red and his eyes were smoldering behind his glasses. He reached up and yanked his bangs away from his forehead, exposing his scar. It had turned a livid, bloody red again.
"Don't you understand?" he asked, voicing dropping slightly into that powerful command mode. "Don't any of you? If Snape gets the Philosopher's Stone, Voldemort's coming back!" Ron flinched; Harry sent him a scathing look, pointing at him. "It's just a stupid name, Ron, so don't be ridiculous! Haven't any of you heard what it was like when he was alive and powerful? Hermione," he said, looking at me, "I know you've read those books about him. You must have a pretty good idea of what it'd be like if he came back."
I nodded, unable to say anything. Harry's words had captured me.
"There won't be a Hogwarts to get expelled from, Sally. He'll flatten it without one look back. I don't care about losing points, because that doesn't matter anymore. Do you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the house cup? Do you think he'll show mercy if you're top of the class, or the star Seeker, or the best chess player around?"
Not one word was spoken in response. Harry's words were washing over us now.
"If I'm caught before I reach the Stone, I'll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort to find me there. It's only dying a bit later than I would have, because I'm never going to his side! I'm going through that trapdoor and nothing anyone says will stop me. Can't you understand? Voldemort killed my parents!"
The speech rang in my ears as Harry stared at us. He searched each of our faces, waiting for someone to say something, and when no one did he eventually turned toward the staircase.
"You're right, Harry," I said, reaching out and grabbing his hand. He gripped mine tightly.
"Thank you," he said, dropping my hand after a moment and continuing up the stairs.
"Will that Cloak cover all five of us?" Sally asked, glancing at each of us briefly and then moving a few steps up the stairs. Harry had stopped and turned. He was now looking at us with confusion in his eyes.
"The five of us?"
"Come off it, Harry, you didn't think we'd let you go alone, did you?" Neville asked, moving up the stairs and standing next to Sally.
"Of course he didn't," I said, standing next to Neville.
"Let's do this, Harry," Ron said, standing next to me. The four of us were looking up at Harry now.
"But if we get caught, all of you will be expelled."
"Do you listen to yourself?" I wondered. "That means nothing now."
"Alright…"
"And they wouldn't throw me out anyway," I said, trying to inject some humor into a situation that had quickly gone from bad to dangerous and, most likely, extremely foolish. "Flitwick told me that I received a perfect score on our Charms theory exam. They're not throwing me out after that." And Harry actually smiled. It was a wonderful sight.
"No surprise there, Hermione," he said, making eye contact with me for three or four seconds. There was genuine gratitude in his emerald eyes. "Here's the plan: you four go to the Charms classroom and I'll meet you there with the Cloak. Then we'll go from there."
He turned and ascended the stairs, leaving us to stare at the back of his head, which was held high in spite of it all. Oh, so brave…
It's too bad that night was the beginning of Harry's disillusionment with the Wizarding world.
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