Fifteen
"Blown Away"
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All characters are creations of Joanne K. Rowling, © 2007, to whom I am deeply indebted. I make no money from any of this. I'm just taking her world and tweaking it a bit. ALSO, I used some of the text from the Philosopher's Stone and that most definitely belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Note One: I felt so bad for making all of you wait so I'm giving you the un-beta'd version. As soon as my beta sends me the clean version, I'll repost it.
Note Two: I want to take a moment and say thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited, and put Her Story on alerts. It really means a lot to make and it's you people who keep this story going. I love you all!
Note Three: Sorry for the wait guys! Real life has been hectic but I'm slowly getting back into my writing schedule. I'm starting school in a few weeks so I'll finally be in a steady schedule and have a set amount of time in my day to write! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}
27 March, 1992
Hermione frowned as Hagrid's hut came into view, the drawn curtains and smoke billowing from the chimney a stark contrast to the beautiful day outside. She, Harry, and Ron glanced at each other as they made their way towards the hut. As they got closer, Hermione could see that the curtains were being clamped together with something. Her frown deepened, that wasn't suspicious at all.
Harry reached the door first and rapped loudly on it. Fang, Hagrid's boarhound, began to bark madly from inside. "Who is it?" Hagrid called.
Harry glanced warily at Hermione and Ron, "It's us, Hagrid."
The door opened a quarter of the way and Hagrid motioned for them to enter. Harry went first, followed by Ron. Hermione went in after the redhead, clutching the door and blinking in surprise as she was hit with an intense blast of heat. The hut was so hot that it was almost suffocating and Hermione was forced to take off her robe almost immediately.
"Tea?" Hagrid offered cheerfully, shutting the door behind her.
They refused, it being way too hot for a warm beverage. Hagrid busied himself with making his own tea and Hermione, Harry, and Ron tossed their robes onto an oversized armchair, their sleeves already rolled up.
"So yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?" Hagrid asked, sitting down at his little table.
"Yes," Harry said, getting straight to the point. He, Hermione, and Ron had clambered onto the chairs surrounding his tiny table. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Philosopher's Stone - apart from Fluffy."
"O' course I can't," Hagrid frowned at Harry.
"Come on, Hagrid!" Ron protested, frustrated. His tie had been loosened and the first few buttons of his white shirt were undone. "We already know about Fluffy and that others are protecting it."
"And that's exactly why yeh lot shouldn' know any more," Hagrid retorted. "It's dangerous jus' knowin' about the stone. And besides, I don't even know meself."
Hermione huffed as Ron continued to argue with Hagrid. It was stifling in the hut and she knew that arguing with the giant wouldn't get them anywhere. Wiping the perspiration that had begun to form on her brow, Hermione decided to try a different tactic.
"Come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know - after all you know everything that goes on around here." Hermione flashed Hagrid her most winning smile, using the voice that Viola always used when she tried to convince someone to do things her way. "We only want to know who had done the guarding. Who Professor Dumbledore trusted enough to help - aside from you, of course."
Hagrid shifted in his seat, the whiskers of his moustache lifting up in a smile. Hermione smiled back, she could tell immediately that her change of tactic worked and couldn't help but feel a little smug.
"It can't hurt to tell yeh, I suppose," Hagrid conceded. Harry and Ron beamed at Hermione. "Let's see … he borrowed Fluffy from me… then some o' the teachers did enchantments." Hermione grabbed a paper from the table as he began to finger off the names, fanning it on her face. "Professor Sprout - Professor Flitwick - Professor McGonagall - Professor Quirrell… Dumbledore did somethin' himself o' course… oh - and Professor Snape."
"Snape?" Harry, very red in the face, gasped.
"Yeh, Professor Snape." Hagrid nodded. He paused, frowning, "Yer still not on abou' him, are yeh?"
"Of course!" Ron cried. "If you heard wh-"
"Professor Snape is protectin' the stone - he ain't about to steal it." Hagrid said firmly, pointing a sausage finger at them. "Yer lookin' for somethin' that ain't there and yeh need to stop."
Hermione rolled her eyes, not believing Hagrid's argument for a minute. Professor Snape had shown on numerous occasions that his loyalty to Professor Dumbledore was questionable. And if he was a part of protecting the stone, it was more than likely that he knew about the other obstacles - except how to get past Fluffy.
Harry's glasses slipped off his nose and he grabbed them, wiping off the sweat. "Can we open a window?" he asked, replacing the glasses. "It's too hot in here."
"I'd rather we didn'," Hagrid said, shifting his gaze over to the fire.
They all looked at the large fire and Ron gasped. "Hagrid!" he exclaimed. "Where did you get that?"
"Won it," Hagrid replied proudly, reaching over to stroke the fire. "Down at the pub las' night. Bloke seemed rather glad to be rid o' it, actually."
Hermione stood up to get a better look at the fire. From inside the inferno, she could make out a black egg that was being propped up. "Hagrid," she said, squinting from the heat, "is that a dragon's egg?"
"It is," he sighed dreamily.
"What are you going to do when it hatches?" Harry asked, staring at the fire warily. "Dragons are illegal, Hagrid."
"Well I been doin' some readin' - got Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit out o' the library the other day." He stopped stroking the fire and reached to the table, holding up a book that had been on it. "It's a bit out o' date but it's all the same. Says here to keep `em in the fire, `cause their mothers breathe on `em. They also have the different eggs in here - I got a Norwegian Ridgeback here."
Hagrid beamed at the three of them, clearly expecting them to praise him. "Hagrid, dragons breathe fire," Hermione reminded, biting her lip. "You live in a wooden house."
He ignored her and went back to stroking the fire lovingly. Hermione glanced at Harry and Ron, all three of them realizing that they wouldn't be able to get anything more out of Hagrid.
"We should go," Harry sighed, getting up. Hermione and Ron followed suit, grabbing their robes. "There's still a lot of homework we have to do."
Hagrid's head shot up suddenly, his black eyes widening in fear. "Yeh won't tell anyone, will yeh?" he asked quickly.
"Of course we won't," Hermione soothed. "But you should really reconsider this, Hagrid. Not only is keeping a pet dragon illegal, it's also very dangerous. You could get in trouble and be hurt in the process."
"I'll be fine," Hagrid dismissed, going to the door. He opened the door halfway and Hermione, Harry, and Ron slipped out.
As soon as they were outside Hermione sighed, relishing in the cool air blowing on her face. There was no discussion between them as they walked back to the castle, all three of them lost in thought. This was the last thing that they needed, Hermione thought with a scowl, another thing to worry about.
The next month went by so fast that Hermione couldn't even remember how she managed to get through it. Every day she'd wake up with dread in her stomach, just waiting for a sign that Professor Snape managed to get past Fluffy or a note from Hagrid that said the dragon had hatched.
Hermione was so caught up in trying to keep up with her school work, revising for exams, and trying to act like there was nothing worrying her that she didn't realize she hadn't written home in weeks until her parents wrote to her asking if there was anything wrong. She had just finished writing about how much schoolwork everyone had been getting when she paused, frowning down at the parchment in front of her.
It was then that Hermione realized just how much she was keeping a secret from everyone, not just her parents but from her friends she had made at Hogwarts as well. She dropped the quill, sitting back in her chair with a sigh and staring at the mostly blank parchment in front of her. If she couldn't even explain why she was so paranoid to her own friends that lived in this magical world, how on Earth was she supposed to explain all that to her parents? They wouldn't take kindly to knowing that Harry was a marked target, Hogwarts was the home to one of the most prized possessions in the wizarding world and that a professor was trying to steal said possession, or that the school's groundskeeper was harbouring an illegal dragon egg to keep as a pet.
Hermione scowled and crumpled up the parchment, tossing it into the rubbish bin that was by her table. Unsure of what to write to her parents, and no longer in the mood to revise, she gathered up her things and stuffed them into her bag. She got up, slinging her bag over her shoulder and walked briskly out of the library. A good night's sleep was what Hermione needed to clear her mind so she could write a well versed, perfectly normal letter home.
<><><>
23 April, 1992
As usual, the next morning Hermione was one of the first students to arrive in Charms. She sat down at her usual table she shared with Fay and pulled out a spare piece of parchment. She still had no idea what to write to her parents, but knew that if she didn't write it soon the letter would never be written. Hermione tapped her quill on the table, trying to think of how to start the letter when the door to the classroom burst open.
"Hermione!" Harry and Ron rushed into the room, both of them flushed with excitement.
"What is it?" she asked.
Ron brandished a small note, waving it in front of Hermione's face. "It's from Hagrid!" he exclaimed.
Hermione grabbed the note from Ron and looked at it, her stomach sinking as she read the untidy, rushed scrawl.
It's hatching.
"It was just delivered." Harry said, panting.
"Come on," Ron grabbed Hermione's Charms textbook and motioned to the door, "let's go!"
"Go where?" she frowned, taking the book back.
"To Hagrid's hut," Ron rolled his eyes.
"Excuse me?" Hermione felt her eyes bulge. "Now?"
"Yes." Harry nodded. "Hagrid needs us."
"What about Charms?"
"We'll skip it," Ron said, waving his hand dismissively.
Hermione felt her mouth drop open. "Skip Charms? Skip Charms - no!" she exclaimed. "We can't just miss a lesson!"
Both boys groaned. "Hermione," Ron protested, "this is a dragon hatching we're talking about. When will you ever see this again in your life? Never!"
"I don't care," she ground out, fixing both of them with a glare. "We can't just skip a lesson! We can't afford to skip a lesson. Exams start in just over a month, we need this precious time to revise and make sure we know everything that we've been taught. Need I remind you two that if you don't pass exams you won't get into second year?"
"How can I forget? You remind us all the bloody time," Ron snapped, glaring furiously at Hermione.
"Maybe I wouldn't have to remind you if you actually took this seriously," she snapped back. Realizing she was losing her temper, Hermione took a deep breath. "Besides, Professor Flitwick will notice we're gone. If it's found out we skipped Charms to go to Hagrid's - which we aren't - we'll be putting him at risk. They could find out about the egg and Hagrid will get in trouble."
"She's right," Harry sighed. Ron turned to glare at him. "We'll go visit him at lunch break, I'm sure the dragon will still be hatching by then."
"I agree," Hermione nodded, smiling at Harry. He returned the smile and went to sit down at the table next to hers. "But we're only staying for lunch break. We still have Defense against the Dark Arts to go to."
"I know, I know," Ron huffed and slumped down into the seat beside Harry.
Hermione rolled her eyes and stuffed the note into her textbook. Students began filing into the classroom soon after, laughing and energetic. Fay plopped down beside Hermione and nudged her, "Why the long face?"
"What?"
"You look worried," she explained, pulling out her textbook and placing it on the table.
"It's nothing," Hermione said evasively.
Fay pursed her lips but didn't say anything. Professor Flitwick came prancing into the classroom moments later, calling everyone's attention. Hermione stared at him, forcing herself to stop thinking about Hagrid and the dragon egg.
"Today will be a revision period," Professor Flitwick squeaked. Hermione felt Ron's glare on her. "I'll be going around making sure you're doing the spells properly. Now, I want all of you to go over Cero Ventus as much as possible, getting the right amount of air flow through your wand can be quite tricky and I guarantee it will be on the exam!"
"Want to be partners?" Fay asked as soon as Professor Flitwick began to walk around the room.
"Sure," Hermione grinned, picking up her wand.
The two girls took turns performing the different spells they had learned throughout the year. Hermione had no trouble with them and Fay only messed up on Cero Ventus, putting too much power into the charm so that a large burst of air shot right into the back of Shae's head.
Shae whipped around, her curls mussed from the wind, and glared at them. "Fay!" she snapped.
"Sorry!" Fay laughed, quickly putting down her wand. "I mean - Hermione did it!"
"I did not!" Hermione protested, giggling.
"Yeah, Hermione did it," Shae rolled her eyes. She turned back and continued working on Wingardium Leviosa with Lavender.
Fay picked up her wand again and pointed it in front of her, flicking her wrist sharply, "Cero Ventus."
Another large burst of air came from her wand and all the books and parchment that were on their table were blown to the floor. Hermione and Fay scrambled out of their seats, Hermione glaring at Harry and Ron when she heard them chuckle, to gather their things up.
"Why can't I get this?" Fay grumbled, slamming her textbook down in front of her. She, like Hermione, hated failing.
"I think you're flicking your wrist too much," Hermione offered. She picked up her own wand and pointed it at the books. With a slight flick, she murmured, "Cero Ventus." A light breeze came from her wand and only the loose pieces of parchment were ruffled.
Fay tried again, greatly reducing the movement in her wrist and produced the same breeze Hermione conjured up. "I did it!" she grinned. "Thanks, Hermione."
The rest of the lesson passed by quickly. Professor Flitwick was thrilled that Hermione and Fay had nothing too important work on (Fay just had to remember to work on keeping her wrist movements small) and gave five points to Gryffindor.
The bell rang for lunch and Harry and Ron sprang up from their table. Hermione quickly gathered her things up and followed the boys of out of the classroom, waving goodbye to Fay and Shae.
"Finally!" Ron groaned, nearly jogging down the stairs. "I thought that would never end."
"It wasn't that bad," Harry shrugged.
They reached the Entrance Hall and pushed passed the crowd of people trying to get into the Great Hall for lunch. "Hey Hermione," Ron said, opening the doors to the courtyard, "can I have the note Hagrid wrote?"
"Why?" Hermione asked, reaching into her bag to grab the Charms textbook.
"I want to keep it for memory's sake," he said. "The -" he lowered his voice, "-dragon will most likely almost be hatched now and I want that note so I can remember that I had the chance to be there from the start."
Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron's dramatics but pulled the textbook out. She flipped open the cover and froze, stopping in mid-step. "Uh-oh."
"What?" Harry asked, turning around.
"There can't be an uh-oh," Ron said. He and Harry hurried over to Hermione. "Fix the uh-oh."
Hermione licked her lips and looked up at them, tapping her finger on the writing that wasn't hers.
"This book is property of Fay Dunbar."
<><><>
25 July, 2016
"Oh this is getting good," Karen squealed, trying to grab the journal from out of Lindsay's hands.
"Hush, let me read," she chastised, moving out of Karen's reach.
"You've been reading for long enough," Karen pouted. "It's my turn now."
"It's been forty-five minutes," Lindsay rolled her eyes. "You got to read for over two hours yesterd -"
Lindsay cut herself off, her eyes widening as she heard the jingle of the front door being opened. She stared at Karen fearfully, her heart pounding in her chest as they listened. They had locked the front door before reading, she was positive. A moment later a soft, muffled voice could be heard from out in the shop getting closer to the break room.
"Yes I know… It's going to take some time, it's not even been… I know what I'm doing, alright?"
"It's Mrs. P!" Karen whispered.
Lindsay and Karen scrambled up off the sofa, Karen knocking her mobile phone off the arm of the sofa in her haste to get up. It crashed against the rubbish bin loudly, making Lindsay jump at the loud noise. Karen swore and dove after her phone as Lindsay quickly stuffed the journal into her purse.
The door opened just as Lindsay zipped her purse and Mrs. P stood there, her own mobile held up to her ear and staring at the two girls in surprise. "I have to go," she said to whoever she was speaking to on the phone. She disconnected the call and put her mobile into the pocket of her jeans. "What are you girls doing here?"
Lindsay's mind went blank and she stared at Mrs. P in fear. "I forgot my mobile," Karen said quickly, picking up the phone. "Found it. What are you doing here?"
"Since inventory is tomorrow I came to get things ready," Mrs. P replied, looking at the two girls with sharp eyes. Lindsay shifted uncomfortably, she could tell that Mrs. P didn't believe Karen's story. "Well, since you're both here, you can help me get ready for tomorrow."
"I -" Karen protested. Mrs. P raised an eyebrow and Karen sighed. "Sure thing, Mrs. P."
"You'll be paid overtime, don't worry." Mrs. P rolled her eyes, putting her purse down on a chair. She glanced around the room, taking in the soda cans and bag of chips that were on the table. Lindsay gulped, hoping that the older woman would think they were from that day. "We'll start with the storeroom. I want all the genres together so it'll be easier for us tomorrow."
Lindsay and Karen followed Mrs. P into the storeroom, their eyes going to the box that held the journals. Karen immediately went to the corner the box was in, claiming that area as hers. Lindsay tried not to show her relief as she went over to the opposite side. As long as Mrs. P didn't see the journals, they'd be safe.
The air was tense as the three of them worked, no one speaking much. Lindsay realized that every box was going to be searched tomorrow during inventory and a spike of fear shot through her. They had managed to keep the journals a secret up until now by hiding them in a corner, but they'd be exposed if they didn't do something quick.
Lindsay wasn't even sure why she wanted to keep the journals a secret so badly now. She was so captivated by the story, even though she'd heard it before (at least from what they've read so far), that she didn't want anyone else to know about them. It was almost like she had begun obsessing over them, they were on her mind night and day and she was always thinking of ways she could sneak in to get more reading done.
She supposed it was because she knew they were doing something that could get them in trouble, maybe even fired, that made her so riled up about them. Or it could be the way it was written, so similar to the books she grew up loving yet having little things changed over time… it made the series come alive again. Gave the world of Harry Potter a breath of fresh air that made her feel like a young girl again, reading the series for the first time. Lindsay didn't know where this would go, or what she would accomplish by reading the journals but she felt like she didn't have a choice anymore - she had to finish reading them.
Mrs. P excused herself to go to the bathroom after about an hour. Karen paused, waiting a few minutes before rushing over to where Lindsay was working. "What are we going to do?" she hissed. "The journals will be found tomorrow if we don't do something."
"I don't know," Lindsay replied. "We have to find a place to hide them."
"I got it!" Karen snapped her fingers. "Those lockers in the break room that no one ever uses. We can use them to hide the journals from now on."
"Mrs. P doesn't come in until noon tomorrow," Lindsay nodded. "We'll have time to move them before she notices."
"It's a plan," Karen grinned. She gave a small laugh and shook her head. "When did we get so obsessed?"
"I…don't know," Lindsay replied. "This started out fun and adventurous, our own little secret. Now it just feels like…"
"Like we have to finish the journals, no matter what." Karen finished. "It's still fun to read, but… there's more to it now."
"It's kind of a scary feeling," Lindsay gave a weak laugh. "But you should get back to your section, Mrs. P will be back soon."
"Right," Karen nodded. She quickly shoved the box that held the journals onto the stack she had already gone through and grabbed the next box. Mrs. P returned moments later and they went back to work, the tense feeling still surrounding them.
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}
End Note: And here's the end of the chapter! This is one of the major changes I'm making to the canon version so drop a review and let me know what you think of it!
I created the spell Cero Ventus. It's Latin for `to create wind'… at least that's what google has led me to believe. If this is wrong, please feel free to correct me!
I can't wait to hear what all of you think!
Kelci
-->