Chapter Fifteen: Preparations and Plotting
11:35 a.m., Wednesday morning, Hogwarts Grounds
Hermione slipped off her dragon hide gloves with a look of distaste and casted a charm on them to clean them up. Harry looked down at his own and shrugged, pulling them off and stuffing them in his backpack. She arched an eyebrow at him and grinned, opening the exit to the Herbology Greenhouses. They had just had a nasty class with plants deemed Writhing Seeds, which were a crucial element in the potion used to remedy Headaches. Despite their effects on one’s headaches, however, they were utterly uncooperative when it came to planting them”writhing and making a nasty sort of screeching sound. Needless to say, the class had been very relieved when the time to leave came.
“Where are you going? The Castle’s this way,” Hermione asked Harry confusedly, turning to see him heading in the direction of the lake.
“I know,” he said calmly, breaking into a sort of sprint for the lake. Hermione watched, amused and slightly bewildered, as Harry finally reached the edge of the lake and sat down, gazing into the horizon. He turned back to Hermione and patted the grass beside him, inviting her to sit. She grinned and made her way towards him. As she sat down, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she nestled her head on his shoulder. They stayed that way for a long time, until, in a low, choked whisper, he asked, “Hermione…are you sure of this?”
She frowned, and moved her head slightly to look up at him, “Sure of what?” by his tine, she could tell he had thought a lot about whatever he was asking her about, and he seemed troubled by it.
“I might not make it, Hermione…I don’t want you to suffer,”
Hermione gave him an incredulous look, “Harry, I”“
“Things won’t be easy…I just want you to know that. I don’t want you to regret being with me because of that. I love you Hermione, and I don’t want to see you suffer,” Harry swallowed, feeling his throat unusually dry as he gazed into Hermione’s eyes and saw the pain that had flared up inside them.
Hermione bit her lip and look down, searching for something to say. She couldn’t lie, of course. She had, recently, regretted accepting his marriage proposal because of the trouble it had seemed to cause. She knew well that she felt something much deeper than a mere attraction for him, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie for his benefit.
But she couldn’t tell him the truth, could she? It would only confirm his fears.
“Harry…there are some times in which I wish we had never kissed that night in the Library. Times in which you infuriate me so much or I just feel stressed…and yet, it is times like the ones we shared yesterday, talking and laughing in the Great Hall, that remind me of why I did it,” she saw doubt in his eyes, and gave him a weak smile before continuing, “If you think that just because things get troublesome I will leave you, Harry, then you are utterly wrong. I could never leave you. I love you with all my heart, and…leaving you would only make me feel worse about everything. You bring happiness into my life, Harry. I feel special…different when I’m with you. And I know, despite what everyone says, that I love you truly, deeply; in a way no other person on this earth could conceive,” the words had come from deep inside Hermione, and as she spoke, the words sounded foreign to her. She never once wavered on what she was saying, or stopped to consider what she would say next. Somehow, she felt as if she had been subconsciously thinking all these things, and saying them aloud made her feel much better.
Harry pondered what Hermione had just told him. The truth in her eyes was evident, and yet…his worry was not gone. Oh, he knew she loved him and wouldn’t leave him, but that wasn’t what was troubling him.
It was the thought of losing her that tormented him.
Despite the raging thoughts and worries in his head, Harry opted to end the conversation. He didn’t want her to be worrying about her own death…he knew well, after all, that it was quite traumatic to be asking himself day after day if he would survive the Final Battle. With a smile, he addressed Hermione, “Thanks,” it was all he was able to say, really. Her words were still spinning in his head.
Hermione leaned forward and kissed him softly. With a smile of her own, she turned back to watching the lake. A sense of peacefulness washed through her as she watched the ripples in the water moving slowly towards shore and crashing against the muddy banks. There seemed to be a slight disturbance near the middle of the water, making the waves appear and reach the shore faster. Hermione watched it, entranced, wondering what could be in there, until a large tentacle emerged from the water. It hovered in the air for several seconds, before descending back into the lake with a large splash of water. Little droplets managed to make their way to where Harry and Hermione were sitting, and fell on their faces as they gazed at the place where the tentacle had been.
“Maybe it was waving to us,” Harry chuckled.
“You have a terrific sense of humor, Harry,” Hermione said dryly, a small smirk on her face.
“You think you’re funnier, then?” Harry asked, feigning to be insulted.
Hermione shrugged, “I can think of a few things that are truly funny, thank you very much,” she said, “For example...your drool on the History of Magic notes you gave me the other day,” he laughed and she winked at him, leaning back so she was lying down on the grass, looking up at the sky.
“I recognize defeat. You’ve never done anything like that,” Harry said, laying down beside her.
Hermione smiled, “No, I guess not,” she sighed contentedly and turned so that she was laying down on her side, facing Harry, “Listen, how about later we go to the Library?”
Harry chuckled, “Typical Hermione. You want to spend the few hours before our first training session locked in a room chock full of books?” He shook his head dismissively, “C’mon, let’s take a walk under the Invisibility Cloak, or just a walk…”
Hermione looked at him incredulously, “How could you ever get the idea that I wanted to go to the Library for books? I actually had something else planned, but it’s fine if you want to go under that cloak in broad daylight. Should be interesting,” she said, faking dry sarcasm and giving him a small smile.
“Why else would you want to go there?”
“Well, for one thing, that was the place where we shared our first kiss. I think it deserves a visit once in a while. And for another, we do have homework to get done,” Harry looked at her closely, and he could see the barest outline of a blush creeping up her cheeks as she pushed her hair behind her ear.
“Oh, well in that case, I’d be glad to go,”
“Yeah, now you do, don’t you?” She sat up and approached the lake. In one swift motion, she traced her hand along the water and sent a shower of it in Harry’s direction. He ducked, but got drenched either way. He looked up at the sound of Hermione’s soft laughter, her hand still lingering near the surface of the water.
“You’re no match for me, Potter. Quidditch won’t do you any good here,”
In a heartbeat, Harry had made his decision. He gave Hermione a wicked smile and lunged towards her, pushing them both into the water. He heard Hermione’s cry of surprise and”was it annoyance or amusement? He couldn’t tell, and he barely had time to think. He planted his feet safely on the bottom”they were in shallow waters”and emerged, taking in a breath of cool air. The water was quite cold, but considering the heat that had been bothering him since morning, this was bliss.
Hermione’s head arose from the icy depths moments later, small droplets of water dripping from her extremely wet hair, her face a slight crimson shade, and her shirt completely adhered to her body. Her eyebrows were knitted together and she looked murderous.
“I…Hermione…sorry…I thought…” Harry stammered at the sight of her current expression, moving towards her.
But, seconds later, her face broke into a large smile. With a quick movement, she twined her arms around Harry’s neck and pulled herself towards him, closing the distance between them. She lunged for his lips, still wet from the lake’s waters, and Harry felt the cold he had experienced when he fell into the water disappear instantly. He placed his hands where here waist should be, and, to his pleasant surprise, he found that her robe had slipped off her when she had fallen in the water. Sure enough, he saw it floating a few feet away.
And as Hermione’s fingers began trailing soft circles on the nape of his neck, he began to feel slightly panicked concerning his self-control.
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Earlier that day
4:39 a.m., Wednesday morning, Sibyll Trewlaney’s house “ Killarney, Ireland
Severus Snape was not in a good mood. If anything, he was positively furious as he strode into one of the grand living rooms in Sibyll’s gigantic mansion. It was the fifth one to the right after taking a left turn on the foot of a staircase leading to the third floor. Its furniture was, as all the other rooms in the house, extremely expensive and fancy-looking; there was a golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and it seemed to be engraved with a trail of tiny sapphires and diamonds; there was large window on the left side of the room, offering a beautiful view of the lake, and there was a strong smell of perfumed air. Lavender? Oranges? Or was it vanilla?
Severus hated it.
He had lived this life for too long”back in his childhood, which held no memorable or happy times, he had always been cooped up in his father’s fancy, splendid mansion. His father was a prominent but highly reclusive and alarmingly violent Death Eater, which led him to treat his wife and only son with extreme formality and strictness. If they so much as put one toe out of line and broke his ‘rules’, they would surely face his wrath, something they tried to avoid at best. However, when Severus was younger, he did not understand this, and his father often treated him to cruel punishments. His mother rose to his defense, and this led to another fight”which Severus’ father won, either by hexing, yelling, hitting, or stomping away.
Needless to say, Severus didn’t appreciate anything that reminded him of those times.
He looked around in distaste one more, and stood stiffly, waiting for that wretched woman to arrive so he could give her that damn notebook she’d been so keen to get. And, naturally, since he was ‘in charge of her defense’”babysitting her”he’d had to go get it for her.
Speaking of which, it seemed to have a charm placed upon it, since he couldn’t open it. He had tried numerous charms, even dark ones, but the notebook wouldn’t budge. Whatever was inside it was as safely protected as Sibyll was with him on guard.
When ten minutes had gone by, Severus begun to pace impatiently around the room, conjuring a cup of tea. The tea, at least, distracted him from the infernal smell that crowded the room. He even opened a window at one point, and was relieved when fresh air made its way inside.
At fifteen minutes past five, Severus gave up. He made to get up, when he heard hurried footsteps coming towards him. He scowled as Sibyll rushed inside, bundled in her usual attire of shawls, beads and odd-colored robes. Her hair was frizzed and a mess, and her eyeglasses were askew. Severus took quick note of her alarming appearance and raised an eyebrow.
“What in Merlin’s name have you been doing? You were supposed to be here over half an hour ago!” he snarled.
“I was pouring over books trying to find out what the hell you did to that Wormtail person!” she snarled back, eyes narrowing, “He won’t wake! I swear, Snape, if you killed him”“
“He’s not dead, you moronic witch. I administered the Draught of the Living Death”“
“What? You poisoned him?”
“No,” Snape hissed, his eyes flashing in anger, “It puts him to a deep sleep. He will be awoken only when the proper antidote is given to him. He is not poisoned, or ill in any way,”
“Oh,” Sibyll said, recognizing defeat and feeling embarrassed for her stupidity, “Well, that certainly makes the last hour a waste. I’m sorry I didn’t send word…I was just so…I don’t know. Being alone gets old after some time. I thought about waking him up, since we Obliviated him, and talk to him for a bit,”
Snape surveyed her with disgust, “Your lack of judgment is alarming. Had he attacked you, you would not have been able to defend yourself. He may be clumsy, but he is well aware of a few spells I take you would rather not be used upon yourself,”
“Yes, well…never mind that now. Did you find it?”
“Yes, after countless minutes of endless rummaging and shuffling, I did,” Snape said, thrusting the battered notebook to her. It was then that he noticed that the notebook had a name engraved on its dusty cover in elegant letters. It was hard to make out, but he understood instantly. He had heard that name before. Which Death Eater hadn’t?
Douglas Elivander
Before Sibyll had eyen held the notebook properly, he snatched it back, “Why, specifically, do you need this notebook? How did you come to have it?” His brow was furrowed in suspicion, and he saw a flicker of fear in Sibyll’s eyes before it went back to cold determination.
“I don’t think that concerns you, Snape. Give it to me,” her hand wavered near her robe pocket, and Severus let out a bark of mirthless laughter.
“Is attempting to duel me something you truly wish to do, Sibyll?”
“You can’t kill me. Dumbledore’s orders,”
“But I can render you unconscious for a long, long time. I’m a cold-blooded Death Eater, remember?”
Sibyll’s mouth tightened, and she closed it, glaring at him. Her hands crossed at her chest, she attempted to look brave, but Severus could see the telltale signs of physical discomfort invading her.
She was afraid. He had the upper hand.
With a contented smirk, he drew his wand, twirling it between her fingers and shooting her a cold look, “I’ll ask you again, then. How did you get this notebook? Did you know this man?”
Sibyll’s eyes widened from initial surprise, but she realized just a second later that he was bound to know about what had happened. He had joined long before it happened, after all. She sighed, “He…he was my husband,”
This statement caught Severus off-guard. He frowned incredulously at her, “What? That is impossible. They raided the house”this house,” he breathed, recognition etched on his sallow face, “The Dark Lord sent spies to look for his family, how could he not find you?”
“Albus helped us,”
“Ah. Of course, that is why Elivander was murdered. For turning on the Dark Lord,”
“He didn’t turn in the Dark Lord. You make it sound as if it was a cowardly act”the easy way. He realized there was nothing for him with the Death Eaters. All those promises your Master has made to you”each and every one”is a lie. He only uses you to achieve his goal, and then he will kill you all. Do you think a person so greedy would be willing to share power with anyone else? Douglas--,” her voice shook as she uttered the name she had long since vowed not to mention,””realized this, and decided he would be better off helping Albus. You two have something in common, I believe,” she added silkily, flashing him a mistrustful look.
Severus’ eyes narrowed at her last comment, “And he was unable to keep his cover? The man was clearly not very clever, Trewlaney. He should have practiced Occlumency or something of the sort,”
“If you speak of him that way again, you imbecile, I swear you will regret it,” Sibyll hissed angrily, her hands forming fists, teeth bared, “He did use Occlumency, and he did deceive the Dark Lord more than once. One night, however, a spy for the Dark Lord followed him when he left a global meeting, and, unaware of this, he communicated with Albus using those phoenix feathers. The spy caught sight of what he wrote and informed his Master,”
Snape nodded, “And then a small group of skilled and stealthy Death Eaters were ordered to kill him”the Dark Lord didn’t want to draw too much attention by going himself or killing him during a meeting”and his family as well. That would have meant you, but you were safely protected,”
“And then…well…I came back one day to find the house in ruins”ashes scattered through the bedroom, blast marks on the walls, broken shelves”and a note safely placed on top of this notebook. I think he knew they were after him. Idiot. He should have told me…we would have helped him…” her voice was thick with the emotion she had felt years ago and was reliving now, and tears threatened to leak from her eyes.
“You couldn’t have. He would have died anyway. The Dark lord has a special way of getting things he wants”if he wanted your husband dead, he would not have rested until he knew for certain that Douglas Elivander was dead.”
“Albus would have protected us both. We could have made it,”
“It is common to deny what we fear is true. I will not bother continuing this discussion. Now tell me, what was in the notebook and the note he left behind?”
Sibyll shrugged, her lips curled in a smirk, “Unable to open it, are you? Figures. He said only I’d be able to, and I never questioned his word. He was a clever wizard, despite what you think,”
“Trewlaney, I need to know what it said,”
“Why? You probably aided in his murder, for all I know!”
“I knew him. We worked together. He and I were researchers for the Dark Lord. In my early years, that was how I served. I researched ways to make him permanently immortal, and new potions to use against his enemies,”
Sibyll stared at him, mouth open in shock, “And you speak of him as if he were no one to you?”
“I never considered him terribly knowledgeable, and we hardly spoke. The only times we talked were when we compared out results from our research and experiments,”
Sibyll gave him a cold glare before looking away from him. Her eyes lingered on the chandelier above them, before she turned to gaze at the floor. Severus watched her in irritation, his fingers tracing the letters on the cover of the notebook.
“Please”,” the word took him great effort to utter. He was not accustomed to asking, much less begging, “”Trewlaney. I know I was not fond of your husband, but don’t you think that if he died to protect whatever was in this notebook, it was something important?”
“All the more reason not to let you know of it,” Sibyll snarled, and Snape felt his patience weaken considerably.
“Very well then. I shall take it with me,”
“You won’t be able to open it,”
“And neither will you,”
Sibyll cursed under her breath. Burying her face in her hands, she sighed, “Oh, alright. I do warn you, however, that the note is very romantic and…emotional at times. Needless to say, it’s not up to your taste,”
Snape glared at her, “Just hurry up and open the notebook. I assume the note is inside?”
Sibyll nodded silently and extended her hand to grab the notebook. Severus shoved it in her hand and crossed his arms, waiting. With a melodramatic sigh, Sibyll placed the palm of her hand on the cover of the notebook, directly above her late husband’s name, and muttered the words he had told her, so long ago, that she would need to say.
“Imperceptus Nullus Plus,”
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4:16 p.m., Wednesday afternoon, Hogwarts Library
The Library was as crowded as ever, with students darting from their tables to bookcases, and then to other people’s tables. Madam Pince was skulking near the left side, watching two students that were apparently enjoying a game of Exploding Snap under a table. The light was overall dim, but near each table there was another torch to facilitate reading and writing.
“I think we were sitting over there,” Harry said after examining the tables and scratching his head in thought.
“Are you insane? Anyone can see that table. No, it must have been over there,” Hermione said in a whisper. Her hair was tied in a messy bun, with a few loose strands falling over her eyes, and she was now completely dry. Her brown eyes were narrowed in concentration as she looked from table to table, wondering how she could have forgotten the table where she and Harry shared their first kiss.
“I reckon it might be the one beside it,” Harry retorted, pointing.
“No, it’s that one!” They both exclaimed a second later, pointing to a table that was barely visible behind the towering bookcases around it. They could barely see the corner, but quickly they realized that was the one. They shared a laugh before heading towards it, Harry slamming his book bag on the table when they reached it and Hermione placing hers neatly on the floor beside her chair. They both pulled out their Transfiguration books and a roll of parchment, and quietly began doing their homework.
Well, Hermione was doing her homework.
Harry was scribbling and doodling mindlessly on his parchment, glancing up between each stroke of his quill and grinning at the sight of her. Her eyes were small on her face was she narrowed them in thought, and she was biting her lower lip, biting the end of the quill as she worked. The few loose strands of her hair that had leaked out of her knot gracefully fell in soft curls along the sides of her face, and Harry wished he were holding a strand of her soft hair between his fingers.
The thought reminded him of the lake that morning, and his grin widened considerably. They had kissed that way for a long, long time, until their lips parted and only their foreheads touched as they stared into each other’s eyes. Their hands sill straying over each other’s bodies, they shared another kiss before Hermione suggested they go inside and eat. Harry had agreed, and as they made their way out of the water, he couldn’t keep his gaze from admiring her figure”which was much more noticeable, with her clothes desperately clinging to her body”before she dried her clothes off and they returned to their normal state.
Still, he reflected as he looked at her now, she looks beautiful all the same.
He looked down seconds before she looked up at him, a small smile on her lips, “Feels odd, being back here,” she said, her voice low and delicate.
“Yeah…before it was as if we had to be watching our backs constantly. We had to be here in complete silence to avoid getting caught,”
“It’s nicer this way,”
“Yeah. It really is,”
They locked eyes for a fleeting moment, and Hermione looked away, a small smile on her face and a blush creeping up to her cheeks, “So, what have you gotten done?” she asked.
Harry looked uneasily down to his parchment, grinning, “Err…loads,”
“Hmm, you don’t say?”
“Yeah…I’ll just…uh…finish it up later,” Harry said quickly, folding the parchment in half and pocketing it. He picked up his book and stuffed it in his bag, feeling Hermione’s amused stare in him.
“Good, then you won’t need my help?”
Harry got up from his chair and moved it so that it was beside her. She raised an eyebrow at him and closed her books as well, turning to face him, “What d’you think we’ll…” her voice trailed away, however, as Harry captured her mouth with his lips softly. She gently wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him back slowly. Harry’s hands wandered to her hair and untied it, letting it cascade down to her shoulders elegantly.
This kiss, despite”or maybe because”its slow nature, delivered a much stronger message than their fiery, passionate ones. It felt so much more tender…so much more full of love. They both savored the way they felt their emotions pouring from each other, and they entered an indescribable bliss.
A while after, Hermione broke the kiss. She opened her eyes slowly with a dreamy expression and licked her lips. She stared at Harry for a while, her eyes gleaming in the soft light, and then she smiled. Harry knew that smile. It was the typical smile Hermione Granger always got when she had solved a problem.
“Harry, would you mind if I went to the Owlery to send a letter?” she asked, and Harry was taken aback by her question. The Owlery?
“Err…okay,” he said uncertainly, “but what…?”
But Hermione was already off, her book bag slung over her shoulder, she walked swiftly towards the doors of the Library, leaving Harry completely confused.
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Mum:
When I read your letter I swear I couldn’t believe you had written it. What in the world has led you to believe so strongly that my relationship with Harry is based on lust? He isn’t like that, and neither am I. I would have thought you knew that, and it pains me deeply to see the way my mother thinks of me.
I’m going to tell you the truth about our relationship, and please keep an open mind. I am going to be completely honest with you now, and, well…here goes. At first, when this all happened, I acted upon impulse. I was just so happy to know that Harry was in love with me as well, and I reached for the stars, as you might say.
However, as the days went by, I began to realize how hard things would get. Between having you and dad angry at me, Ron’s feelings to worry about, and other things I won’t bother describing, I felt stressed and worn out. I think I cried more in those days than I have in my life.
And yet, when I was with Harry, everything seemed to fix itself. I felt as if nothing was wrong, mum, and I felt loved. In those times, I was certain that I could do anything for Harry.
Then, the other day, I came to regret accepting his marriage proposal.
I know, “That’s not the sign of true love,” you might scoff, but I’m just telling you what poured out of me right then. I didn’t want to accept it, but we moved too fast. There was no ‘courting’, no flirting, or anything remotely typical of romance like that. By getting engaged, we made our relationship more complicated than it already was, because we didn’t yet know how to act around each other, and we still behaved without deeply considering the other.
But just yesterday I began to feel differently around him. I honestly don’t know what happened, but instead of feeling like the weight of the world was on out shoulders, we both felt completely at ease as we ate in the Great hall. And then, mum, we began to tease each other and laugh and flirt”something we hadn’t done at all. I felt something I hadn’t felt at all with Ron”I felt comfort, and the sensation that I was floating on air.
With Ron, I never felt anything close to that. To be exact, the only thing I felt around Ron was indifference, annoyance, amusement, and anger. I don’t think THAT is something you can base a relationship on.
And today, when Harry and I kissed, I knew we loved each other. It was this…indescribable feeling...so blissful, so wonderful, and I could feel the love radiating off him. I can safely say I NEVER felt like that when Ron kissed me.
And you know what? I’m willing to die for Harry, mum, and I have just found out something that leads me to believe I am crucial for his success in the Final Battle. I will help him, no matter what you believe.
I love you, too, mum, but right now I am deeply disappointed in your attitude. Harry would be just as good a husband as Ron, and I would have thought you were capable of seeing that. Tell dad I love him, too.
Please reply, mum…I don’t want to think that my words here have not affected you at all.
I love you,
Hermione
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8:06 p.m., Wednesday night, Prof. Dumbledore’s office
Harry and Hermione gave the gargoyle the password to enter Dumbledore’s office for the third time that same week, feeling a strange sensation of mingled excitement and apprehension. They stood on the staircase, their hands intertwined, as it slowly revolved upwards towards the large door.
As they stepped into the landing, they shared nervous smiles before Harry stretched his hand and knocked on the door. Footsteps were heard coming closer to them, and Professor Dumbledore opened the door, the usual twinkle in his eyes and a benevolent smile on his face.
“Tut, tut, seven minutes late...come, come, Kingsley is already there…you will have to Floo, I’m afraid,” he said, ushering them inside.
Harry nodded, “Where are we going, Professor?”
Dumbledore didn’t answer him, striding towards his desk and opening a drawer. He pulled out a small, golden pouch and hurried over to them, depositing a small amount in each of their hands. He walked them over to the unusually large fireplace, observed that they were both safely inside and had thrown the powder into the ground, before smiling again and saying, loudly and clearly:
“Godric’s Hollow!”
Harry felt a chill race down his spine.