“I really don’t like this,” Ron’s voice was muted as he, Harry and Hermione craned their necks skyward, watching Ginny’s broom swoop gracefully away in the distance, darting away from Grimmauld Place and London. Harry stared up a bit longer than the other two, certain he could still see the glowing red banner of her hair. Neither do I, neither do I. Any of it, he thought.
Harry looked at his two friends, standing tiredly in the milky five o’clock light of Wednesday morning. For a moment he had the disturbing impression he was standing with two ghosts “ the eerie pre-dawn light and their exhaustion had sapped Ron’s and Hermione’s skin of any color.
“I really don’t like this,” Ron repeated, turning to Hermione, “I still don’t think we should split up.” Before she could reply, Harry spoke.
“Ron, I don’t like this either,” Harry could see Hermione dying to argue and continued before she could, “However, Hermione has a point. There are two extremely important things here “ one, getting to the Horcrux cup before anyone else does, or before it possesses Fiora Podlink. That’s Hermione’s job. Not trying to destroy it on her own, of course,” Harry said, raising his eyebrows at her, “But securing it, with Fiora’s help, until we can get there. The second is finding Lupin and Tonks. I have a feeling that Lupin had at least some inkling about the Horcruxes, based on what he said to me before they left. You and I have to go the flat where they were supposed to be staying,” Harry finished. He had the address of the flat on a piece of paper in his pocket. Clever Ginny had remembered it from Kingsley’s conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Weasely. That was the other thing Hermione had wanted from her.
“I don’t think you’ll find them,” Hermione started, meekly for her, “but maybe you’ll find some sort of clue as to where they are, or something they were working on. We don’t know they didn’t make it to that flat...” she trailed off, glancing surreptitiously over at Ron, who was now avoiding her gaze.
“And if they did, and someone surprised them there, or followed them there…?” Ron queried.
“That’s why you and I are going together Ron, we’ve been over this,” Harry was exasperated. He, too, honestly didn’t like the idea of splitting up. But the truth of the matter was, they knew what awaited them at Fiora’s shop “ the flat was a big old question mark. He wasn’t crazy about Hermione striking out on her own, but they all knew she was cleverer than most two witches put together. Besides, it was only going to be for a few hours…
As if reading his mind, Hermione piped up. Harry knew she couldn’t keep her mouth shut for long. “Look, Ron, we’re only splitting up for what, half a day? I’ll go to Fiora’s, talk to her before anyone from the Burrow can get there, and “”
“But why on your own? That’s what I’m not keen on, Hermione, and you and Harry haven’t really given any good reasons for it!” Harry could see an argument brewing and spoke.
“Ron, ok, again “ Hermione knows her way around Paris, she’s been there a few times. She also speaks some French, which is more than I can say for either of us,” Harry paused, “Also, even though I don’t know her, I can imagine Fiora Podlink is probably a mite nervous, scared really, right now. She doesn’t know us at all, and I think if Hermione goes on her own, she’s got a better chance of keeping her calm,” Harry took a deep breath, grinned a little to himself, “Plus, Fiora Podlink seems like another know-it-all, what with being McGonagall’s favorite and everything “ the two of them should really hit it off.”
“Oh, very funny, Harry,” Hermione grouched, but Ron was chuckling, and that’s what Harry had been hoping for.
“So, then, alright. Harry, you and me, we go to the flat where Lupin and Tonks were supposed to be staying, check everything out, if there is anything to check out. It’s half five now, so in Paris, it’s almost breakfast time. No matter what happens,” at this, Ron placed his hand on Hermione’s shoulder, gripped it tightly, “No matter what, Harry and I will head to Fiora’s shop at six o’clock this evening, exactly. We’ll Apparate into the nearest alleyway. We’ll expect to find Hermione and Fiora in the shop, the Horcrux contained but not destroyed “”
“Unless we have to,” Hermione interjected, seemingly unable to help herself, “Don’t look at me like that you two, it might come to that. If we have to destroy it on our own we will. We could handle it, you know. I could handle it,” Hermione finished.
Harry could sense she was preparing for a protest from at least one of them, and without her noticing, he stepped on Ron’s foot. Ron glanced over, his mouth open to retort, and Harry shook his head. His best mate didn’t say anything.
“What happens if you two don’t show up? As Harry pointed out, you two have no idea what you’re in for. You better be careful,” fear had made her voice squeak up nearly an octave.
“You’re right Hermione. If we don’t show up at Fiora’s by midnight “”
“Midnight? You expect me to wait that long, Harry “”
“Yes, and don’t panic. Just because we may be delayed doesn’t me we’re in any immediate danger. I have a feeling, too, that by that time, there’ll be quite a few more folks in Fiora’s shop, Mr. Weasely and Kingsley at the very least,” Harry surmised. “You have to stay there, Hermione, and tell them what’s going on. Don’t come looking for us. I don’t suppose the Horcruxes are going to be kept secret much longer, anyway. Lupin almost surely knew, which is probably why he and Tonks are missing. And from the sound of her letter, Fiora Podlink has very strong suspicions as well…” Harry trailed off, pulled his newly-acquired watch out of his pocket.
“We better get going then,” Ron said in a tight voice. He was looking up at the brightening sky.
“Yeah, we better,” Hermione echoed him. Now that the time had come, she seemed to have lost some of her fierceness.
Harry felt disquiet enter his heart. For someone who’d plan on taking this journey alone, he was suddenly loath to part from either of his friends. The three of them stood in a sloppy triangle for a few moments, not speaking. Hermione broke the silence.
“Well, you know you two, now we’ll be able to say ‘We’ll always have Paris,’” she smiled ruefully at her friends. Ron looked utterly perplexed, but the line sounded vaguely familiar to Harry, calling up images of a man in a smoky bar and the tear-stained face of a classically beautiful woman.
“What in bloody hell are you on about?” Ron asked gruffly. Harry had the sneaking suspicion he was holding back tears. Harry felt his own eyes prickling a bit as well.
Hermione laughed. “It’s from a very famous Muggle film, Ron,” she sighed. “‘We’ll always have Paris.’ I was trying to be funny, you both look like you’re sending me to my doom,” Hermione concluded. Harry was struck again by the bravery of his friends. While Hermione did appear nervous, she also seemed excited and ready for the task at hand. “I guess I’ll go first.”
“Seeing as you are the Apparation expert of the group, why not? Determination, destiny and detonation, as that old fart from the Ministry would’ve said, right Hermione?” Ron muttered, and the three of them really did laugh. Ron and Harry stood on the same square of sidewalk as she walked a few paces away from them.
She paused, turned and rushed back. She flung her arms around Harry, hugging him tightly around the neck. He hugged her back. Let her be safe, he wished. “Be smart, Hermione, be careful.” He whispered into her hair.
She pulled back a bit, gave him a lopsided smile. “Well, you know I’ll be smart. Careful? We’ll see what’s called for, Harry - ‘careful’ isn’t always possible…” She let him go, turned to Ron.
“Don’t even start with me, Ronald, I’ll be seeing you by dinnertime and have to watch you stuff your face “” But Ron had gathered her up, practically lifting her off the ground, and had stopped her admonition with a kiss. Still weird, Harry thought with a grin. Weird, but so right, somehow.
Hermione backed away, her eyes locked with Ron’s. She had her hand pressed to her mouth, as if she wanted to hold his kiss there awhile longer. Ron gazed at her for a minute, said nothing, and tilted his head back up at the sky. Hermione stood there a minute longer, her face wrinkled in concentration. Then she spun, with some grace, her eyes closed tightly. “We’ll always have Paris, you two!” She cried.
Harry blinked. His best friend was gone, the space where she had been a moment ago now just a blank, sun-dappled square of cement on a lonely London street.
The Time is Now by Hermione816
Chapter Notes: Well, the Trio is on their way ~ and they're headed in different directions. As the sun comes up on the day, Harry, Ron and Hermione say farewell. For now. We hope.