Chapter Thirty-Two
CLOAKED AND CHARMED
"No, I won't let you into our dorm room," said Lavender, her eyes ablaze with a fury he hadn't often seen. She folded her arms across her chest. "You're not supposed to be up here, Harry Potter, and I'm not going to let you in any farther!"
Harry hoped very much that his face was every bit as expressive as hers. "Let me in, Lavender."
"Hermione doesn't want to see you," said Lavender scathingly. She pulled her wand from her pocket and jabbed it at him, causing Harry to take a few steps backward. A satisfied sort of smirk on her face, she continued, "She told me so herself."
"I need to talk to Hermione," said Harry, having very much to restrain himself shoving her right out of the way and barging into Hermione's dorm room. "You're going to let me in."
"I'm not going to do any such thing," said Lavender curtly. "Hermione asked Parvati and I to keep Ron and especially you away, and that's exactly what I'm going to do! Harrumph!"
She turned on her heels so quickly that Harry didn't have a chance to slip in behind her as the door opened and shut quickly. He started to turn the doorknob, but Lavender had already locked it both physically and magically. Harry swore, attracting the attention of two tiny firsts years just down the hall.
"You aren't supposed to be up here!" said one of them incredulously. She had her hair plaited in two pigtails, tied off at the end with pink bows. As for her height, Harry and Ron had a theory about the first years shrinking in size over time, this girl being yet another example. "You need to leave!"
"I could hex you all the way down to the Slytherin common room," said Harry nastily, the words just slipping from his mouth at this point, "or attempt to turn you into a toad. Now why don't you run along now, and go play with some dolls or something?"
The girl, and her friend, both gave Harry the most wide-eyed expressions. They seemed to be frozen in place. He sighed.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Harry muttered quickly. "Lost my temper there. Run along though, would you?" The girls didn't move. "I'm not going to hex you or turn you into a toad... well, er, don't just stand there. Do something useful at least. Say, why don't you run down to the common room and tell a one Ron Weasley to clear off if he values his life? He'll be the redhead slumped in a chair looking like he really would hex or transfigure you. Just go!"
Nodding shakily, the first year girls scuttled off faster than Harry had ever seen any student move outside of the Quidditch pitch. He raised his eyebrows and look off and away for a second. "Must have been intimidating right then," he muttered before knocking loudly. "Hermione, please! I need to talk to you!"
No answer.
"Please, would someone just open up again, at least?" Harry said, figuring it was all in vain. He had been alternately pounding on the door and arguing with Lavender for the better part of an hour now. It had been exactly that long since Hermione had fled the prefect common room with wishes to be alone, but Harry wasn't about to give up on her that easily. The more he thought about it, the more he could see where she was coming from, but he was still very aware of what it would have done to her to know. Of what it was doing to her to know.
As the minutes passed, Harry began to wonder more and more whether he could get away with killing Ron for blurting out such statements about the Affinity of Relations Hermione shared with her attacker. He sighed, pounding on the door once more before folding his hands on top of one another and resting his forehead against them on the door. It was the absolute worst moment he could have picked to do so-Lavender had chosen that second to throw the door open one last time.
"Are you so dense that you cannot take a hint?" said Lavender. She could see him peeking over her head to try and see Hermione's bed, which was where Harry assumed she was sitting. "You're the reason why Hermione's so upset. You're the one she never wants to see again. You're not going in there, and that's final!"
Harry tried to put on the most threatening face he could. "What makes you such an authority on Hermione?"
"She's my roommate," said Lavender fiercely.
"She's my best friend," said Harry.
"Not anymore she's not," Lavender shot back. "She told-"
"She told you to watch out for her because she couldn't have me or Ron," interrupted Harry rudely. "You're her roommate, Lavender, and that's it."
"It doesn't really matter what I am, does it?" said Lavender smugly. "I'm the one she's talking to."
Harry's eyes flashed as hot as hers once had. "You're going to let me in," he said in the coolest tone he could muster. "I don't care what Hermione told you to do because I know `Mione better than that, and she-and I need her. Got it?"
"No I don't," said Lavender. "Even if Hermione hadn't told me to keep you out, I wouldn't have let you in. You can't tell me what to do with my own room."
"So that's what this is about?" Harry's eyes narrowed as he folded his arms across his chest. "You're still mad about the bloody night we were working on our Defense essays?"
"Hermione went to me," said Lavender, ignoring him. "She went to me and Parvati, and there's nothing that you can do to change that. She obviously doesn't want you right now."
It was a good thing that Harry's wand was still locked in the drawer of Ron's desk, and that he'd forgotten he was holding onto Hermione's wand, because it was in that moment that Harry realized that Lavender was really the one that got him into the mess in the first place. If she had not been so angry about a few minutes of sleep, then he would have never gotten detention with Snape and never would have found the book. It was originally good that he knew, but now it was just messing everything up.
"You can put that face on all you want, Lavender," said Harry coldly, "but it doesn't matter. You are not Hermione's best friend. For every time she's gone to you with something, she's gone to me a hundred times."
"Oh yeah?" Lavender challenged. "You're not the one that has to deal with her every night when she wakes up screaming her head off for no apparent reason!"
"No, I'm not," said Harry. He advanced on Lavender. "I'm the one that knows why she's having nightmares. I'm the one that would be there in a heartbeat if I could. I'm the one that wouldn't care if I lost sleep as long as she was okay." Shoving his hands in his pockets, he finally turned away. "Tell her I'll be in the prefect common room."
Dejected, Harry headed down the spiraling staircase and back into the main part of Gryffindor tower. Several girls peeked out of their dormitories to give him odd stares on his way down, but he paid them no mind. He scanned the common room once for Ron, and when he did not see his friend, he headed right up to the prefect common room. After bartering with Lavender for the first few minutes, he had realized that she wasn't about to let him in to see Hermione, but it hadn't stopped him from trying. All he could do now was wait.
The prefect common room was just as they all had left it, their things still strung all about, which was unusual. The sixth and seventh year prefects weren't necessarily as close as Harry, Hermione, and Ron were (or, as it was looking, had been), so they weren't up there nearly as often, but the Head Boy and Girl, Tyler Etherington and Katie Bell, were infamous within the Gryffindor tower for their tucked-away snogging sessions. Harry could understand being that attracted to someone, but he still found walking in on it unpleasant.
Closing his eyes, Harry flopped against the worn couch. He really hadn't a clue whether or not Lavender would even give Hermione his message, let alone if she would come up to talk later. As much as he tried not to, Harry found himself considering the possibility of Hermione having heard him but not paying him any mind. She'd been his for less than a day, but already she was something that he wasn't willing to do without. Five years of friendship alone was a lot to just throw away.
Harry wasn't sure how long he sat there, just hoping and thinking and wishing, but he later finally found himself reaching for the book of wards; it was still sitting on the coffee table. He wanted to read his father's proposal to his mother once more (and perhaps draw some comfort from the fact that they, too, had fought but made up). Unfortunately for him, though, the book had since sealed itself, causing Harry to swear. He threw it back onto the table.
Back to where he had started, Harry began to wonder if what had come between him and Hermione was really even an argument. It certainly seemed that she was mad at him, but he hadn't a single harsh feeling towards her. Everything he had said to Lavender was exactly how he felt, and he thought that those few statements had summed it up quite well. It wasn't like he was trying to keep anything from Hermione. He was simply trying to protect her, which would have made him a bit mad if not for part of the conversation he had with Hermione that morning.
The longer he sat there and thought about what had all gone down, the more tangled his thoughts became. Eventually, Harry found himself abandoning thought almost entirely. He found himself, for a while, in that place between dreams and reality, but it wasn't long until he had drifted off.
Harry dreamed of a feast in the Great Hall, a feast no different than all the others he had attended in his days at the school, yet it was unlike anything he had ever known. It was on a rare occasion that he had witnessed the hall so silent, and such quiet had never come during the meal. For a moment, he sat there in silence, but then he glanced up at the teacher's table, which was eerily empty. His eyes did not hesitate at the Head Table for long, though, for one piercing scream at that moment led to several more. The hall erupted into chaos, and things all around him turned into snake after snake. Instead of talking to them, Harry searched the room for anyone familiar but found no one. He began to run, faster and farther than he could ever remember going, his scar burning all the while. When he reached the Forbidden Forest, he just encountered more snakes, and then he heard a door open.
But doors could not open in the middle of unpopulated forests, and Harry realized that the sound was really the opening of the portrait hole. The dream already long gone, he straightened up quickly. He glanced at his watch, which, much to his annoyance, had stopped working again but continued its maddening glow. Wordlessly, he held his arms out to the small figure approaching in her pink dressing gown. Hermione slid onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head on his shoulder. Her hair seemed more frazzled than usual somehow, and Harry ran a hand gently down through it.
"Is it late?" he asked finally.
Hermione pulled back from him, and he got a good look at her face. She had the coloring of a person who had been several times ill within a short space of time. "Yes," she said. "I was so adamant about not wanting to see you at first that I waited until Lavender and Parvati and Sally-Ann and even Ginny had fallen asleep."
"Lavender wouldn't let me in," Harry grumbled.
"I heard you through the door," Hermione murmured. "I'm so sorry."
"No, I am," said Harry, leaning forward so that their foreheads touched. For a long time, neither of them said anything.
"Forgive me?" Hermione said at last. "I've forgiven you."
"There's nothing for me to forgive you for," Harry said quietly. "You didn't do anything wrong-I should have told you, and I'm sorry that I didn't."
"Shh, it's okay," said Hermione, bringing a finger up to his lips. "I should probably move, shouldn't I? You're probably dying under all this weight."
"But you don't weigh much of anything," Harry protested. "Besides, I like having you this close."
"Aw, okay," said Hermione, blushing a little. She kissed his forehead. "Perhaps I was thinking back to you at eleven-skinny and so very short."
"I was not short," said Harry indignantly.
"I was taller than you were."
"Well, maybe you have a point," said Harry, lacing his fingers through hers. He locked eyes with her and acknowledged at last, "You want to talk about it?"
"A little," said Hermione softly. Hesitating for a moment, Harry squeezed her hand and went on to tell her all about the detention with Snape several weeks before. He told her of the fights he had witnessed and even how he had accused the Potions Master (a moment during which his girlfriend stayed very, very quiet), but she stopped him before he could get into the contents of Heinous Happenings, Heinous Harvests. "I'm sure it's no different from any of the other Affinities."
"No, probably not," said Harry. He went back to stroking her hair after they lapsed into a momentary silence. "Hermione, I really am sorry."
"I told you that there isn't really any reason to be," said Hermione, but she did lean her head back against his shoulder. "You were only looking out for me."
"I just thought that it was something I could protect you from," said Harry, "which is exactly what you told me not to do this morning."
"Yesterday," Hermione corrected. "Did you not know that it's after midnight?"
"Really?" said Harry, surprised. He shrugged a bit. "I guess I didn't realize it."
"Yes, after midnight," said Hermione, and she scooted away from him then. He glanced over at her, confused, and realized that her cheeks had gone faintly pink.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
It only made Hermione blush more. "I just feel a little unattractive in my night things," she finally admitted.
Harry dragged her back to him, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "You're beautiful."
She smiled up at him before dropping her head to his shoulder. He cocked his head in her direction, and they didn't talk for a while. Finally, it was Hermione that spoke. "Snape really didn't want me to know about this?"
"No, he really didn't," said Harry. "That's why I... er, you know, accused him of hurting you. I think he's trying to repent for everything he must have done as a Death Eater. Or something like that." He paused. "Snape's doing all he can with the Affinity of Relations to try and keep it from hurting you."
"Is he really?" said Hermione incredulously.
Harry nodded. "He was almost human for awhile back in his office there. Well, as human as I think someone as greasy as Snape can be. I think... well, I guess that I know he really does care about his students deep down."
"I guess so."
"Well, maybe not me," said Harry thoughtfully, "but I reckon he cares about you."
"Why? He's so awful to me in class," Hermione pointed out.
"I think that's for two reasons. You're my best friend."
"Girlfriend."
"He doesn't know that," said Harry quickly. He dropped a kiss on her head. "But don't worry-I do. The second reason, though, is because you're a Gryffindor."
"It really would be interesting to find out how he treats the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs," Hermione mused. "I would think that-"
"He's pretty awful to everyone," someone interrupted. It was Ron's voice, but Ron was nowhere to be seen. Harry and Hermione looked around in silent confusion for a few more seconds before their redheaded friend emerged from beneath Harry's invisibility cloak. Anna was with him, but she hung back, her cheeks pink. "Just yesterday, wasn't it, that he took points from Ravenclaw because he was `sick of you all doing so well?'"
"Yes," said Anna shyly. "Hello Harry, Hermione."
"Hello Anna," said Hermione pleasantly, but then she was all business. "Ron," she said sharply, exhaling slowly. Her hand was at her chest; he had obviously startled her. "You really shouldn't do that to people."
"No, you shouldn't, mate," said Harry. "How'd you get through the portrait hole without us knowing?" He glanced at Anna. "How are you, Anna?"
"I'm fine," she said quietly, "and you?" At this, Ron put an arm around her shoulders to keep her from backing away.
Though he knew it really wasn't any of his business, Harry had always wondered about Anna's shyness. Even before her and Ron's relationship had become a secret, she would try to stay in the background whenever they would all do something together. It wasn't even that he, Ron and Hermione were the most talkative of people because they weren't, but their time together was always filled with laughing and talking and bantering. Ron had said, and Harry had even seen, that Anna was different when it was just the two of them, and he had to wonder what made her act so shy around him and Hermione. Still, Harry kept such thoughts to himself and smiled warmly. "The same," he said, and to Ron, "Well?"
Ron, his arm still around Anna, plopped down on the second couch. "We come up here sometimes," he said simply. "I really wasn't going for the talking-from-under-the-invisibility-cloak thing, it just sort of happened. I always take it off for the portrait and put it back on in case Tyler and Katie are closely examining each other up here. You forget, after a while, that you have it on." He eyed his two best friends. "You must not have been talking much because I didn't hear you. If I had, I wouldn't have come in."
"It's okay," said Harry, and it was. "When did you clear out of the common room?"
"Two little girls came looking for me after you'd been up there for a while," Ron said, a slight smile on his face. "Scaring the first years, eh, Harry? Two came looking for me in the common room. It was all wide-eyes and hushed whispers-`we've just run into Harry Potter,' one said, and the other-`he wants us to tell you to leave.' There was also some stuff about valuing my life. Congratulations, Harry, I didn't know you had it in you."
"Harry!" Hermione chided, but he could tell she was just kidding because she snuggled closer to him. Ron grinned.
"So you two are on again?" said Ron slyly.
Harry knew not to trust that tone. "We've cleared everything up," he said. Teasingly, he added, "No thanks to you."
"I'm sorry," said Ron, the tips of his ears turning red. He cleared his throat, and the devious look came back. "So, I guess I can collect my galleons from Fred and George, eh?"
"What can you do?" said Harry, scowling.
"Well, you and Hermione looked awfully comfortable when we first walked in," said Ron. "Are you sure that the two of you aren't on for real?"
Harry and Hermione exchanged a look. She had been regarding their little talk with amusement. Finally, smiling sheepishly, Harry said, "Yeah, we are. We talked things through."
Never before had Harry seen such a look of excitement cross Ron's face, and that included birthdays and Christmas. "Thanks to you, mate, I'm twenty galleons richer," he joked. "Er, I mean, congratulations."
"Yeah, well," said Harry, grinning in spite of the fact that he was still having trouble believing that his best mate had actually placed a bet on him getting together with their mutual best friend. Ignoring Ron's ohs and ahs, he kissed Hermione's temple and muttered, "I still think I'm the one that really won."
"Well aren't we just so cute?" said Ron, and at this, Anna swatted his arm.
"Let them be happy," Anna scolded shyly. Ron pulled her back against his chest, and even though he said nothing more, he was still wearing the same sly smile.
Harry glanced at Hermione, expecting her to still be regarding their banter with an air of amusement. However, instead, she was looking at the crumpled invisibility cloak where it lay on the floor. "Hermione?"
"You never did tell me," she said, "the story of how you got that back from Filch?"
"Got what back from Filch?" asked Ron, bewildered. Unlike Harry, he had not noticed where Hermione was looking.
"The invisibility cloak," said Hermione, giving Ron an odd look.
"Eh?" said Ron. "What do you mean?"
"You know, that night we ended up polishing plaques in the trophy room," said Hermione carefully, and Harry could tell by the quick look she shot Anna that she was worried about saying too much. He felt his heart sink as her explanation went on. "It was detention, or had you forgotten? Filch also confiscated the cloak that night. Of course... I was in the hospital wing about a second later, so I guess I must have missed the big rescue." Playfully, she finished, "You still could have told me about it."
"There wasn't any big rescue, Hermione," said Harry quietly. "At least, not one I was involved in. Ron?"
"Er," said Ron, shifting nervously. His voice faltered. "There wasn't one?"
"I'd forgotten that Filch had it," Harry confessed. "I reckon... I reckon I was so worried about you that I didn't think on it a second longer. I can't believe I forgot."
"Maybe you forgot that you'd gotten it," said Ron uncertainly. "It was always in the trunk when I needed it."
"No, I never got it back from Filch," said Harry with conviction.
"Then it must have been you," said Hermione sensibly, nodding in Ron's direction. "It's okay to have forgotten, as long as you did get it... and you did get it, right?"
"I think I'd remember something like that," said Ron lightly.
Harry swallowed hard. "Er... I guess..."
"If I could say something?" Anna said timidly when he trailed off. "There was a while there that Ron didn't have it-a few weeks maybe. Remember? Filch nearly caught you one night when you were in the Charms corridor. I asked you, then, why you didn't use Harry's invisibility cloak anymore, but you were startled, and you never gave me an answer."
"You weren't the one that had to witness rubbing his hands together in the middle of the hallway," said Ron indignantly. "`Student out of bed, I sense a wee student out of bed, I'll catch that student out of bed. Won't write him up, won't write up student out of bed, I'll take him straight to my office and put him up for a few hours... hang him up for a few hours...'"
Anna shuddered. "He's scary," she said quietly. "I'm sorry. I noticed Ron wasn't using it, and I would have asked why if I had realized it would later be important. I just figured we'd never before had a problem with Filch or any of the other teachers catching us, so he decided it really wasn't necessary. I really am sorry."
"Don't be sorry," said Harry. "It's not like we can fault someone for not being observant when we weren't either. Do either of you remember the first time you saw it again? I know I haven't used it since then."
"It was the day we turned in our Defense essays," said Ron with conviction, "which was just a few days after I ended up ducked behind a statue for half an hour. I hadn't seen Anna for a few days because I was trying to get my essay finished, but when I went that night, I remember thinking that I didn't want to get caught in that situation again. So I fished Harry's cloak out of his trunk." He scrunched up his face. "That was... which night was that?"
"We were in one of the classrooms on the fifth floor, weren't we?" said Anna quietly, glancing up at her boyfriend. Ron kissed her lightly.
"If you think we were," said Ron.
"That's the night you realized Clara Lewick was Anna's aunt," said Hermione. "You came back to tell us right away."
"How do you remember that stuff?" Ron muttered. Then, suddenly, he shifted. "Wait," he said slowly, "I would have had the invisibility cloak on me then. How come you didn't notice?"
"She was asleep when you came through the portrait hole," said Harry.
"It doesn't matter," said Ron after a few seconds. "That's not the point. The thing is, Hermione, that I've used the invisibility cloak loads of times since the night that we finished our Defense essays, and you've seen me using it some of them. Merlin, there were a couple of times in there that even you used it with Harry and me! How come you're just now noticing it?"
Hermione looked like she'd been slapped. In a voice that had become all too familiar the day before, she stammered, "I... I don't know. It just... well, it just dawned on me."
Ron narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "How many times is that now for this weekend? Two? Three? Four?"
"I'm not sure," said Hermione quietly.
"Isn't that convenient?" Ron muttered, which brought about a smooth glare from Harry less than a second after he realized Hermione's lip was trembling. "Er, well, convenient isn't really the right word. It is strange, though, and a little frightening, and even you can't say it isn't."
"No, it is," Harry admitted.
Hermione laughed nervously. "Strange and frightening?" she said lightly. "Think of how I feel!"
"Maybe I should go."
Three pairs of eyes were all looking in Anna's direction. She shifted nervously on the couch she was sharing with Ron, which pulled her out of his embrace. "You know," she said, her voice faltering, "I don't really know what's going on, and I don't just want to invade your privacy by listening to the whole conversation."
"You're doing no such thing," said Ron at once, but the question was now out there. Slowly, slowly, his eyes met with Harry's and then Hermione's. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, and then at Anna. A decision had been made.
"Er, well, a lot of weird things have been happening this year," said Harry stupidly. He gave Hermione a sheepish grin. He talked for a long while about the year that they had had beyond what she already knew, and Ron filled in some of the details that he missed. For the most part, Hermione remained quiet, but there were times that she reminded the boys to explain this or that and others during which she called them on saying the same thing twice. Harry had gotten through recounting what all Hagrid had said as well as Hermione's almost immediate connection between the described book of wards and the book of Sagesse Bom's that they had found when she finally jumped it.
"No, it really was just like that," said Hermione, snapping her fingers. When Harry had said so, Anna had looked on in disbelief, but now her bright eyes were alight with understanding. Hermione glanced at her boyfriend, as if to confirm whether or not it was all right to continue. When he nodded, she said, "Harry and I had Ron open the book of wards for us with the family charm you wrote down for him."
"Practically tricked me, they did," Ron grumbled, slouching in his seat. "They knew I was on my way to see you, so they didn't tell me what it was."
"Oh, you looked so happy," Hermione said with a wave of her hand. She grinned at Anna, which caused the younger girl to shyly return the smile. She went on then, outlining what they had found in the book of wards, (giving the boys an I-told-you-so look when Anna admitted to being able to read its magical language as well), before letting Ron go into all that Ginny had told him after dinner.
It was Hermione that finished the story. Anna's eyes widened the most they had when she noted Krum's Death Eater status. Talking her way to the second before Ron and Anna had emerged from beneath the invisibility cloak, Hermione finished, "So that's what Ron meant earlier. Things have just been coming to me all day." She gave a hollow laugh. "I guess it's just one more thing to worry about when it comes to my sanity. On top of all that, ever since the dementor attack on Hogsmeade, I'll have these weird and sketchy dreams of what came before I was... before I... before I was taken into the forest. For a few seconds I'll recall a passage and people and... and... well, do you see what I mean?"
For a few minutes, they all sat there in silence, not really even looking at each other. Finally, Anna laughed a little. "And this sort of thing happens every year?" she said lightly.
Their answers came all at once.
"More or less," said Ron.
"If by that you mean we find ourselves involved in something largely complicated every time we come back to Hogwarts," said Hermione, "then yes."
And, defensively, Harry said, "No!" For a second, they were all quiet. His face red, he continued, "Well, it's never been this complicated before. And it's not our fault. We don't go looking for trouble; it always finds us."
"No," said Ron after another moment. "It's really always you it finds. We'd feel pretty bad sticking you alone for it, though."
Harry was still looking rather indignant, so Hermione kissed his cheek. She whispered, "He has a point."
Resigned, Harry patted down at a particularly frazzled area of her long, bushy hair. "Yeah, he does," he said with a sigh. "I wish it wasn't always me."
Hermione and Ron nodded, as did Anna, but she also said, "So you... so you think You-Know-Who has something to do with this?"
"I can't remember ever having a trouble he didn't have something to do with," said Harry darkly.
"At least not here," Hermione offered quietly. She glanced up at him with wide eyes that said just what he was thinking.
"No, at least not here," Harry echoed. "Why do you ask?"
"Well..." said Anna slowly, as if what she were about to stay was obviously, "don't you think that Viktor Krum might have more to do with this than the Dark Scar he gave you, Hermione?"
"Like he was the one that-the one that-well, you know which one," Ron piped in.
Hermione rounded in on him. "Raped me," she said. "Like he was the one that raped me. You can say it, you know."
"'Mione, we can say it," said Harry uncomfortably, "but do you realize what you just said?"
Hermione's hand flew to cover her mouth. "No," she said.
"Maybe there's a point to be had there," Ron pointed out hesitantly, sounding completely out of his element. "Krum's a Death Eater, Hermione, a Death Eater that, last summer, tried to-"
"No!" said Hermione forcefully. "No! Stop it! It wasn't him!" With this, tears began to well up in her eyes, and Harry had a sick feeling that it very well could have been, whether or not his girlfriend wanted to consider the possibility. He tried to put his arm around her, but she wriggled right away from him.
"Look, Hermione, we should really just tell one of the teachers what we know and leave it at that," Harry said kindly. "They'll need to know if it was-"
"Stop it!" Hermione cried, tears streaming down her face for real. "I don't care! I don't care who it was, I don't care if he could still be hurting me, I just don't care anymore! I want to forget about it. I want you to be able to put an arm around me with me flinching because you moved too suddenly. I just want to be memory charmed, okay? Someone just make me forget all about it!"
"No, it'd make you more vulnerable to the Affinity of Relations," said Harry, doing his very best not to panic. "Please Hermione, you don't want-"
"Harry, don't."
His eyes leaving Hermione, Harry was very surprised to see that Anna had disentangled herself from Ron and was approaching Hermione. If it were possible, Ron looked even more surprised. Anna sat down on the couch in the small space between one of its arms and Hermione, and hugged the older girl.
"No, you don't want that," said Anna softly but firmly.
"I don't?" said Hermione, sounding bewildered. Her tears stopped quite suddenly, and she gave Anna a look of astonishment similar to that of the boys'. Almost instantly, her cheeks went red with embarrassment. Weakly, she said, "No?"
"No," said Anna soothingly.
"Why not?" Hermione sniffled.
There was quiet for a second. Then, Anna said softly, "Because I'm almost positive that a memory charm is at least part of what has you so upset."
"Wh-what?" Hermione stammered. Harry learned forward from where he was sitting.
Anna took a deep breath. She folded her hands in her lap because they were shaking, but Harry hadn't seen that. "Hermione, tell me about the dreams you said you'd been having since you lost your powers."
"I... well... I..." Hermione looked flustered. She obviously hadn't been expecting this. Harry glanced at Ron, who was looking on with curiosity, before realizing that she was looking to him. "Can Harry help me?"
"If you need him to," said Anna, forcing a cheerful smile onto her face.
"You can do it," said Harry, squeezing her hand. "Just start at the beginning... you woke up in the hospital wing and asked to be alone."
"But I didn't thinking about it until after Dumbledore came through and sent Dobby for you," said Hermione shakily. "We talked for awhile, and I told Harry that I was being allowed to stay at Hogwarts. I asked where Ron was..."
"I was with Anna," Ron filled in, almost guiltily.
"And I..." Hermione frowned. "I..."
"You shivered," said Harry. "I think I asked you if you were cold, and you said it was cold, and damp, on the stone floor, didn't you?"
"I did," said Hermione lightly. "Harry wanted to know if I meant the forest, but I didn't. I really did mean the stone floor. I was somewhere in the dungeons, and Voldemort-"
Ron and Anna both flinched at the mention of the Dark Lord's name, although Ron's reaction was considerably less than it once was. They all waited for Hermione to continue, but she didn't.
"I don't know," said Hermione honestly after a few minutes. Miserably, she continued, "I'm sorry, Anna. I can't remember it if I think about it."
Anna nodded. "So before you were... before you were taken to the forest you were taken somewhere down in the dungeons, but never before had you remembered being taken there?"
"Never before," Hermione confirmed.
"You said some other stuff in the hospital wing that day," said Harry. "Something about other people being there but not moving. And just a second ago-well, it wasn't the first time that you mentioned Voldemort."
Again, Anna flinched at the Dark Lord's name, but Harry was pleased to see Ron actually hadn't reacted that time. She said, "Do you remember anything else, Hermione?"
"That's the point, I can't remember anything," said Hermione, frustrated. "It's not even like it's something that has been sketchy from the beginning. In the beginning, such a detail didn't even exist." She shook her head. "I just don't understand why it always escapes-and that's it, isn't it?"
Hermione sat up very straight all of a sudden. Harry and Ron stopped their slouching, waiting to hear what she had to see. Anna was nodding along quietly but without really making eye contact.
"Oh, I'm sure you're right, Anna," said Hermione. It was odd the way she said it-pleased to understand it, miserable to realize what it would mean. "All memory charms are cast the same way, but they adhere differently to the mind of a Muggle than they do to a witch or a wizard. It actually takes a less powerful charm to modify a wizard's memory than a Muggle, you know, previous exposure leads to faster acceptance, in theory. Since I lost my powers..."
"How do you know this stuff?" Ron asked in disbelief, breaking the silence that had descended upon the room. "Let me get this straight-something happened after you were taken that you weren't supposed to know about or see. You did, so you were memory charmed. However, after you lost your powers, the charm wasn't strong enough to keep you from remembering everything, so you're getting little flashes of this and that." He shook his head. "That makes absolutely no sense. Hermione, you're a great friend, and Anna, I love you, but I think you're both nutters. They left you to die! Why bother modifying your memory, Hermione, if they were just going to kill you?"
"In case they didn't succeed," said Harry quietly. "Right?"
"I guess so," said Anna just as softly. "Oh, Hermione, I'm so sorry that you had to go through any of this."
"It's okay," said Hermione shakily. She sounded startled.
Ron was still looking at all of them in disbelief. "But what good does knowing Hermione's memory was modified do us?"
"We obviously have to figure out how to break the memory charm," said Hermione. "Right?"
Ron snorted. "Yeah right, Hermione. I know you aren't about to go to a teacher for help."
"Who said anything about a teacher?" said Hermione defiantly.
"Er, I think what Ron's trying to say is that it's really dangerous to break memory charms," said Harry.
"Exactly. No number of books in the library could teach Harry or me how to dig through your memories."
"We'll find someone to do it."
"Hermione, please," Harry said. "Please don't do that to yourself. We have no idea how strong the memory charm on you is or anything. Don't you remember what happened to Bertha Jorkins? The memory charms Crouch put on her were so powerful that Voldemort destroyed her in undoing them." He shuddered, reaching out for her. "I don't want that to happen-"
Hermione squirmed away from him. "I don't want that happening to me either," she said, taking offense. "Obviously, whoever would break the charm on me would be a little gentler than Voldemort."
Again, Ron snorted. "So, obviously, we'd have to find someone to break the charms that had done it before. Around here, that would be a teacher, and like I said, you wouldn't go to one of them."
"No, I wouldn't!" said Hermione bitingly. "I would go to someone I trusted."
Ron glared at her, folding his arms across his chest. "Fine. Name someone that you trust who can already undo memory charms."
Ron did seem to have a point because Hermione finally seemed to be at a loss for words. Harry had known better to get involved, but he couldn't help but feel the same way that Ron did. He was about to move in and try and talk intelligibly to Hermione when a voice, almost as quiet as its owner had been throughout the whole exchange, piped in.
"I know how to break memory charms," Anna said.
* * *
"What I don't understand," said Harry, getting a tighter grip on his broomstick, "is where Anna picked up the ability to break memory charms in the first place, unless, of course, fourth year charms curriculum has really changed in the last year." He dropped into a dive.
It was Monday afternoon, and classes were over for the day. There had been lots of arguments that weekend-between Harry and Hermione about the dangers of breaking memory charms, between Hermione and Ron about asking Anna to do it, between Harry and Ron about his finally agreeing to ask Anna, and even between Ron and Anna after she made it clear that she would have no part in it. It was all why the boys were out on the Quidditch pitch. Harry and Hermione had gotten into it once again in Transfigurations, their last class of the day, and Ron and Anna were also into it, although Harry hadn't the details. So, because their girlfriends weren't taking to them, Harry and Ron had had to settle for just talking to each other.
Ron brought himself up level a few seconds after Harry, having gone into the dive later. Harry was still the better flyer, but a year of Quidditch had Ron flying so well that it didn't seem like so much. He rocketed forward, this time forcing Harry to follow. "Her dad works for the Ministry, and I'm positive she said something about him being on the memory modification squad. Of course, that would have been she was a lot younger." He paused thoughtfully. "Anna's so smart, though. She probably picked it up, even then, without any trouble."
"That's nice that she's so smart," said Harry, a little more shortly than intended, "but how old are we talking about, here?" It didn't really matter to him what he said or what Ron did because the only thing he could think about was Hermione.
"You don't understand it, Harry," she had said. "You don't know what it's like to not know thoughts that are your own. You don't know how helpless it makes you feel when you're unable to recall an entire chunk of time."
"I don't know," said Ron at last. "She was probably eight or nine."
It was a good thing that Harry hadn't decided to drop into some tricky Seeker maneuver at that moment because he probably would have fallen from his broom. "Wh-what?" he sputtered. "Seven? She heard something from her father when she was seven and claims she can break memory charms?"
"I said, she was eight or nine," said Ron.
"Big difference," said Harry rather nastily. "Has she even broken one before?"
"Yes," said Ron defensively, "she says she has."
Harry snorted. "So she says. I'd hate to see the sad state of affairs that had a seven-year-"
"EIGHT!" Ron bellowed.
"-Seven-year-old breaking a memory charm. Even less I'd want to see that person when the kid was through." Harry ignored Ron entirely.
"Anna knows what she's doing!" exclaimed Ron.
"At eight?"
"She's fifteen now," said Ron, the tips of his ears starting to turn red. "Stop being such a prat, Harry."
"I'm not being a prat," said Harry. "I'm just making sure that you aren't humouring your girlfriend's abilities at the sake of my girlfriend's life."
"Hermione's still my best friend," Ron pointed out. "I'm not going to hurt her."
"No, you're not," said Harry, the cruel words all coming out before he could stop them, "you're letting Anna do that." He went into a dive at breakneck speed when he saw that Ron looked like he'd been slapped.
Harry dismounted his broom quickly and made off towards the locker rooms at once. He hadn't meant to be so harsh; he really hadn't. He just couldn't bear the thought of Hermione putting herself through something so dangerous (and dangerous it was-Harry had looked breaking memory charms up in the library that day during lunch). Behind him, he heard Ron land.
It happened very fast. Harry heard footsteps, and he felt someone tap his shoulder-Ron, of course. An apology actually on his tongue, Harry turned around, but before he could even open his mouth, his best friend's fist had connected solidly with the side of his face. Harry stumbled backwards. It really had hurt; he had no idea that Ron could throw such a punch.
"I didn't like doing that," said Ron in an oddly calm sort of voice, "but you really deserved it. Now, this is the moment when I'm going to lay it out for you. I don't like what Hermione wants to do anymore than you do. However, I can see where she's coming from, and I know it's not my choice to make. It's Hermione's choice, and Anna's, if anyone else. So, keep that in mind-I'm going to try and make peace with my girlfriend. If I succeed, by some miracle, I would suggest going now to make up with yours. Okay?"
"Okay," said Harry, although it didn't really sound like he said okay because his face was starting to swell up so badly. He reached up to rub his cheek (which turned out to not be a very good idea because it was so very painful), and watched Ron walk away, shoulders slumped. He really might have deserved that one.
Holding his Firebolt on his shoulder, Harry got over the shock of having his best friend hit him and continued on towards the locker rooms, albeit much slower than he had been going, his face stinging all the while. Part of him, by then, wanted very much to slug Ron in return, but the more sensible part of him was a constant remind of how much he had deserved it. Those last few moments on the Quidditch pitch had been telling of the entire weekend-he really had been a jerk.
Harry quickly shed his practice robes, a set of Gryffindor team robes from way before he had even started at Hogwarts, wincing in pain when he accidentally touched the swollen right side of his face. Even though he was the only one in the changing room, he was subtle about sniffing about to see if he needed a shower. He and Ron had only been out on the pitch for about an hour and a half, but it looked like he would need to freshen up a bit, especially if he went to find Hermione later.
The more he thought about it, the more that made sense. Ron was right-for as much as he cared about Hermione, it wasn't his decision to make, and for as much as he would rather not have Hermione go through with it, he could see where she was coming from. Reaching out to adjust the shower's faucet because the water was getting rather hot, Harry couldn't help but worry, though. He would find Hermione and tell her that he would support her, but that didn't mean he wasn't scared.
Shutting the water off and reaching for his towel, Harry figured that Hermione would probably be in the library if not in one of the common rooms. He had pulled on a pair of khaki pants and was buttoning his shirt, trying to think of what to say to his girlfriend, when he heard someone call his name.
"Harry?"
"Yeah?" he called back. The person was far enough away that he didn't recognize the voice. He shuffled forward, still fumbling with the buttons of his shirt.
"It's me." Hermione. There was a pause. "Are you decent?"
"Yeah, I am," said Harry, stepping out from the showers area and into the main part of the locker room. His shirt was still half undone, but that was okay because he had another on underneath it. She was standing near the entrance, books under her arm and still in uniform, looking shyly in his direction. "How are you?"
Hermione looked away for a second as she stepped towards him. "You just saw me a couple of hours ago. I'm still fine."
"Yeah, me too," said Harry.
"That's funny because you look like someone's since punched you in the face," said Hermione, closing the short distance between them and touching his face so lightly that it didn't hurt him.
"Er, well, that's funny..." said Harry feebly. "Actually, yeah, someone did punch me in the face."
"And who would that someone be?" Hermione prompted.
"Er... Ron?" said Harry. "We're okay, though. I, er, kind of deserved it, you see..."
"If you say so," said Hermione uncertainly.
Harry smiled genuinely at her, ignoring what pain it brought about. He almost wished, for once, that there were mirrors in the locker rooms. It would have done him good on this one occasion to know what she was seeing. "I was being a real git, but I'm over that now."
"I believe you," said Hermione, dropping back from him a bit. "So anyway... do you need some help with that? You're mixing up buttons and buttonholes."
"Am I really?" said Harry, glancing down. He groaned. "Yeah, I guess I am." He did his best not to fidget as she stepped closer and began to straighten him out-he already felt like a small child that did not know how to dress himself, so there was no need to give the appearance of one as well. She was halfway up the row before he got the courage to speak. "I'm sorry I was such an idiot."
"You don't have to apologize to me for something that happened with Ron," said Hermione in an oddly formal sort of voice.
"No, I'm sorry, I've been such an idiot around you as well," said Harry. This got her to glance up, and he gently slipped his hand beneath his chin. "What Ron said... well, the more that I thought about it, the more unfair I realized I was being every time I tried to dissuade you from getting that memory charm broken. It's just... I care about you so much, Hermione, and this memory modification stuff is so dangerous. I don't even like to think about you going through it if everything goes all right, let alone if something were to go wrong." He sighed. "I'm sorry. I wasn't going to say that. This is it. If it's important to you... if you really think it's worth the risk-" he cleared his throat "-then I'll be the first one to support you."
There was a long moment of silence, and then Hermione brought her hand to rest on the one of his that was holding up her chin. "That means a lot to me."
"Does it?" said Harry nervously. He rushed on. "Then please, please be careful, okay? I looked up-"
Harry didn't get to finish. He was cut off; Hermione's lips were on his. They had kissed before, sure, many, many times that weekend and even on a few occasions before that, but he had always associated those kisses with politeness-the kind he generally wouldn't have felt awkward sharing with her in public. This, on the other hand, he couldn't imagine doing in front of an audience. He honestly hadn't ever expected Hermione to kiss him with such fire and urgency, (although he had to admit having thought about it), and he was actually surprised to find himself kissing her back in kind.
When they broke apart, it was all they could do to stare at each other with a certain level of shock and surprise. It took a few moments, but Hermione began to talk, suddenly all business. "I know. I was up in the library just a few minutes ago, asking for the same information. Madam Pince said that someone had wanted it just this afternoon, so I knew that it had to be you.
"Anyway, I'd just left when I saw Professor McGonagall. She was wondering how I was doing, so the two of us had tea in her office and talked-mostly about advanced Transfigurations next year. That's when I saw you and Ron out on the Quidditch pitch.
"I headed outside as soon as I was done with McGonagall. You weren't flying any longer, and I actually ran into Ron, who was on his way inside. He said that you were in the locker rooms. He was on his way to see Anna... he was going to try and talk her into breaking the memory charm on me at least one more time. And that's when I came in here to see-" Hermione broke off, glancing up at him. She finished in a small voice. "And you'd really support me if Anna said yes?"
"Yes, I would," said Harry sincerely. Hermione let lose a barely audibly sigh of relief. Her hands were pressed against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her waist. "How long ago was it that you ran into Ron?"
Hermione's eyes were still sparkling. "Oh, it's been a while." She blushed a little. "No one seemed to be in here when I came in, actually, but then I saw your things and heard the water running. I just kind of hung back and waited to call out until some time after it had stopped."
"Well, then, good estimation of the time it takes me to get dressed," said Harry pleasantly, which only made Hermione blush more.
"Ron looked quite guilty when I talked to him," she said, quickly changing the subject. She touched Harry's cheek softly again. "I'm guessing this is why?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm sure," said Harry, putting a hand on her wrist. "I don't think he realizes I'm not mad at him. Maybe he thinks I didn't notice how bad he felt. I honestly... I honestly deserved it."
"I don't know," said Hermione, letting him hug her against his chest. They stayed like that for a long time, until the locker room door opened again. Startled, the two of them jumped apart. The person stepped out from the shadows-it was just Ron.
"Er, hey," said Ron, glancing down. He shoved his hands down into his pockets, obviously trying not to look at the black-and-blue of Harry's face. "I looked for you everywhere, then thought that you might still be here. Anyway..."
"Yes?" offered Hermione kindly.
"Anna said she'd do it," Ron blurted out. His face went red, and he spun around quickly, walking out the way he came. "We're meeting at midnight in Private Garden Four."
He didn't even give them a chance to confirm whether or not this was okay. His hands still in his pockets, Ron was gone about one half of a second later. Harry and Hermione shared a look, and she began to giggle.
"I would say that he feels bad about your cheek," she said between giggles.
"Yeah," said Harry, still watching the door. He was trying to let Ron's words sink in. "You're really going to go through with it?"
Hermione turned back to him, staring into his eyes for a long time. "I want to," she said quietly, "but if you really are as scared as I think you are, then..."
Harry held a finger up to her lips to shush her. "According to all those books, you'll need someone to look out for you directly afterwards." Hermione nodded, and he kissed her lightly. "I'll be there."
Hand in hand, Harry and Hermione began to walk out of the Quidditch locker room. They were barely at the door when Hermione stopped and pointed to his front.
"Your shirt is still half unbuttoned," she said.
Harry looked down. Sure enough, it was. He smiled sheepishly at her. "It is, isn't it?"
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Here, let me do-"
"I can handle it," said Harry indignantly, and he promptly went about the task, sticking the second button through the third buttonhole.
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