Secrets from the Future

(A/N: Hi there! First of all I need to apologize for being so late in publishing... but I've got many excuses, you know? For example, the fact that my mother tongue is Italian and that I need time to translate each chapter and then send it to my wonderful beta reader, IronChefOr for the editing... I strongly hope that you'll forgive me, especially those of you you've been so kind to leave me a nice review, like IC04! Well, back to the story then, I'm sure that you'll like the following chapter, where there is a little bit of fluff between our two favorite characters... Harry and Hermione, of course! Enjoy the reading and hopefully, leave your review...)

Chapter 17. EVIL'S DARK NET

The sun began to drop behind the hills, changing the grey colour of the sky into a dark red. The temperature had suddenly dropped, and Harry drew his long black cloak around himself even more so, raising his woollen scarf to cover his nose and ears.

He had spent the entire afternoon by Hogwarts' small cemetery. After melting the snow with his wand, he sat down on the ground beneath his parents' tombstone. He spoke to them silently, as if they were actually standing in front of him.

Dumbledore doesn't want me to face Voldemort in battle. Doesn't he trust my abilities? Harry wondered to himself. Doesn't he trust ME? Or maybe does he think that I'm still just a silly little boy?

The Headmaster's words had hit Harry hard. Ever since he came to learn about the Rebirth Flame and the very real possibility of defeating Voldemort once and for all, he'd been able to visualize the final battle much more vividly than ever before.

He could see it now, much more clearly: the spells he might cast, which of his powers he could use, how he would defend himself from his enemy's treacherous attacks. He didn't know, and didn't want to know, how the battle would end. The only thing he was certain of was that he would fight until he'd exhausted every last bit of strength, risking his own life if needed.

Mum, Dad? What should I do? he asked, tenderly brushing his hand across his beloved parents' tomb. I don't really understand what Dumbledore wants from me. I could never just stand on the side and watch while my friends were risking their lives.

Harry covered his face with his hands, a motion he often made when he needed to think something over, but was too tired to do so clearly. Suddenly, he smelled a familiar scent in the air: wild rose mixed with vanilla. It strongly reminded him of the perfume of a certain person...

"I knew I'd find you here."

Harry turned toward the person and smiled. "I was waiting for you."

Hermione smiled as well. "It's cold out here. Why don't we go back to the castle?"

"I just need a minute," he replied in a whisper. "Would you join me?"

Tightening inside her cloak, she sat by Harry's side. For a few moments, they remained there in silence, looking into each other's eyes. Harry then stretched out his hands and grabbed hers. "You're freezing!" he exclaimed, opening his cloak to wrap around her in a warm embrace.

Harry felt his heart beating faster and faster in his chest. A sensation of immense joy swept over him from head to toe. With his face hidden in her soft hair, he breathed in deeply her sweet perfume.

I could never live without Hermione, he thought to himself. He wanted to be able to express his love with words, so he whispered into her ear. "I've found you again, after months of exile. You're my angel. You're my whole life. I love you so much, Hermione."

He pulled back slightly to look at her again, and lost himself in her wonderful brown eyes which were wet with tears.

"Oh, Harry, could you ever forgive me?" she whispered, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't myself lately," she added, sorrowful. "It was all fault, my stupid jealousy. I wasn't able to think rationally."

Harry looked at her with tenderness. "Everybody makes mistakes."

"No, not like this!" she countered him, unable to hold back her tears. "If you only knew the awful things that went through my mind. I'll never forgive myself. I even thought that you and Jane could have... that you..."

"Shhhhh," Harry pressed his finger to her lips, cutting her off. He stepped closer, wiped away her tears, and then kept them away with many little, sweet kisses of love.

The clouds that had darkened their own blue skies for the past few months finally began to dissolve away. Their hearts were now overflowing with joy, finally able to be together again.

Harry and Hermione remained in each other's arms for a while, surrounded by a blanket of soft snow, like two little stars shining brightly in a vast universe that was much, much bigger than the two of them.

A snowflake fell on Harry's forehead. First one, then another, both to be followed by many more. Brought back to reality, they lifted their eyes to the sky which in the meantime had become very dark, and saw a flurry of white snowflakes descending upon them, settling on the snow-covered ground.

Laughing like two children, they stood up and hurried to the castle, holding hands the entire way.

Hermione felt strengthened by Harry's words and sighed deeply, as if hoping to expel with her breath the remorse that had squeezed her heart until then. Walking through the heavy snow with some difficulty, she turned to him and brought up a subject that was important to her. "You didn't tell me about your meeting with the Minister of Magic. Everything's all right, I hope?"

Harry huffed, slightly annoyed, as he thought back to the meeting (or argument) from that same morning. "You'll never believe this. Not only did she repeal my expulsion but she even offered for me to join the Ministry and become a real Auror... without even finishing school! Unbelievable!"

"I bet she had something else in mind. She probably would've wanted something in exchange from you!" Hermione exclaimed. "After all they did to you last year... And that's not even counting the fact that the evil Umbridge is still working for them."

"Yeah," Harry commented with a certain disgust. "The one good thing was that I was able to talk with Dumbledore in private afterwards. He showed me a few sky maps. It looks like there is a connection between the Arcane Path and a group of seven planets of our solar system which are soon going to align perfectly."

"Hmm. I suspected something like that."

Harry was surprised by Hermione's words. "You mean you knew about that?"

"Well, let's say that I thought it was a likely possibility," she explained in a tone of voice resembling that of Professor McGonagall. "There often is a strong connection between certain notable events in history and the position of certain planets or stars in the sky."

Harry was becoming increasingly interested. "Such as?"

"Well, the first thing to come to mind would be the birth of Jesus Christ."

He stared at her, confused, and she hurriedly gave an explanation. "Don't you remember? The star that announced Jesus' birth and led the way to Bethlehem?"

"Oh, now I see what you mean."

"Exactly! There's even the Millenary War between wizards and goblins. It ended in the year AD 1054. Chinese astronomers reported in July of that year a new star that appeared in the sky, visible even during the day. What it was, was a supernova... a star exploding. The remnants of that explosion are still visible even to this day, now known as the Crab Nebula.

"In short, virtually every significant event in history has had some connection to the stars. It's because of that I immediately thought that something similar could happen for the Rebirth Flame as well."

It seemed to make sense to Harry. Wanting to know more, he shared with her other details from his conversation with Dumbledore. "In the most recent sky map, only Mars was missing from a complete alignment. So, when all of the planets line up again..."

"...conditions will be right such that a smart wizard might be able to successfully find the Rebirth Flame," Hermione finished for him. Then, with her sternest tone she added, "but that doesn't mean that wizard has to be YOU."

Harry nodded in silence. He knew perfectly well it would've been useless to go down that road again. It seemed as though Hermione was thinking along the exact same lines as Dumbledore. Remembering his talk with the Headmaster, he decided to mention something else instead: his dreams about Jane Porter. After all, he had promised to not hide anything else from Hermione.

"Dumbledore asked if I've had anymore nightmares," Harry began. "I told him about my odd dreams about Jane." He looked at Hermione, watching how she reacted to this.

She didn't seem too upset. "Exactly what you should have done!" she exclaimed. "Did he give you any explanation as to why you might be having these dreams?"

Encouraged by her positive attitude, Harry went on. "Well, he has his own thoughts about that. Evidently Jane had a very difficult childhood. Her father apparently was a wizard from the Order of the Phoenix. He might've even been a very brave Auror, since he's faced Voldemort several times."

"Hmm... that's very interesting," Hermione commented thoughtfully.

"Dumbledore believes that these dreams are like a calling for help. Something that I've been able to perceive," Harry said, then shrugged. "I really don't know what to think about that."

"Did the Headmaster have any suggestions on how to make the dreams stop?" Hermione asked hurriedly, as if they were talking about an annoying illness to treat.

Harry looked at her hesitantly. "Actually, he just told me to help her, if she ever needed it. That's all."

Hermione stopped abruptly, kicking up snow from her sudden halt. She stared back at him with a stunned expression in her eyes. "Help her to do WHAT?"

Harry rolled his eyes; Hermione immediately knew she needed to start again.

"All right, all right! I won't start up again with my stupid jealousy. It's just that... well, I can't say that I like Jane, because it wouldn't be the truth. Besides, it's clear she fancies you." Hermione looked rather uneasy.

"And also, his theory about your odd dreams, like they're a calling for help... well, it doesn't really make much sense to me. We already know that Professor Dumbledore has a great heart, and he's surely been touched by Jane's difficult past. Believe me, Harry, there are still just too many shadows lurking about Jane's situation for me to be able to trust her."

"Do you really think Dumbledore is wrong about her?" Harry asked doubtfully.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time the Headmaster made a mistake, would it?" Hermione observed. "You should know that, better than I."

Harry knew she was talking about the events that led to Sirius's death. If only Dumbledore had revealed the prophecy to Harry in time. If only the Headmaster had set aside his desire to keep Harry "happy," and revealed the real reason why Voldemort had tried to kill him sixteen years earlier.

"We can't forget that Jane hasn't been completely sincere with us," said Hermione. "Why didn't she tell us that her father was an Auror working for the Ministry? From the moment she set foot in this school, she's done the near-impossible to draw everyone's attention onto her. And when she really does have something to be proud of, her father being an Auror, she doesn't say anything about that.

"What about her eyes, as well?" Hermione continued. "Why did she change her eye colour from green to brown? What is it that she's desperately trying to hide? I'm sorry, but I still can't trust Jane Porter, and I beg you to pay very close attention when you're with her."

Harry wanted to try to calm Hermione down, to reassure her, but oddly he wasn't able to find the right words to say.

They had almost arrived in front of the main entrance when suddenly they heard someone urgently calling their names.

"Harry, Hermione!" Both turned.

Luna Lovegood was running toward them. Her hair was rather ruffled and despite the bitter cold, she'd evidently forgotten to put her cloak on, a sign that she'd suddenly run out to them. She stopped in front of them, panting. "Harry... Hermione. Please, tell me that Ron has been with you the whole afternoon."

A shadow fell over Hermione's face. "The last time I saw Ron, he was leaving the Great Hall with you, right after lunch."

"I... I haven't seen him all day," Harry replied, feeling a horrible sense of foreboding grow in his heart.

Luna stared at them with her blue eyes wide open, unable to hide her worry. "When we left, he told me he was going to look for Harry up in your common room. He'd then meet me for a short walk in the gardens, before this afternoon's classes. I've been waiting for him for more than an hour, but he hasn't shown up."

"Maybe he got sidetracked and had to go back to class without letting you know," Hermione suggested, doing her best to remain calm. "I had Potions and Ancient Runes in the afternoon, which is why we weren't in class together."

"Oh no, no. I've already asked around. No one has seen him at all. Besides, he's never disappeared like this without saying where he was going." Luna swallowed hard before expressing the thought that had been whirling in her mind from the very beginning. "Something terrible has happened to him, I know it," she whispered with a trembling voice.

"We'll find him!" Harry exclaimed firmly. He then hurried toward the castle, his fists tightened in anxiety. Luna followed on his heels as if she was his shadow.

"W-wait a minute. Why don't we go ask Professor McGonagall first?" Hermione suggested, struggling to keep up with their urgent pace. "Maybe she called him to her office. Or maybe Dumbledore would know..."

"Each minute that passes by could be Ron's last," Harry replied as he entered the main gate. "Besides, I have a better idea. Follow me, quickly!"

Harry, Luna, and Hermione walked past the Great Hall, from which the laughter and noise of students gathered for dinner poured out. They ran up the almost deserted stairs and shortly reached a secret passage: the painting of a mermaid swimming in the sea. They went through the dark corridor and, upon opening the door, found themselves already on the seventh floor. Another couple of corridors later and they found themselves at the Fat Lady's portrait.

"I'll be back in a minute."

The girls nodded, and Harry disappeared behind the door. Luna and Hermione waited outside, nervously pacing the corridor, too restless to exchange any words of comfort.

A few moments later, Hermione stopped abruptly, frowning at the other end of the corridor. A couple had just appeared... the one couple she would have never wished to meet at that particular moment.

Theo Mustle, his head and hands still bandaged, was slowly walking with the help of Jane Porter, who was giving him her arm. When their eyes met the cold ones of Hermione, Theo and Jane lowered their gazes to the floor and slowly reached the Fat Lady's portrait.

Before entering the common room, they turned one last time. Jane looked like she was about to say something when the portrait suddenly opened and her sad gaze crossed Harry's surprised look. He suddenly found himself in front of the three people who had made the past few months so difficult for him to handle. His eyes stopped on Jane's pale face, then moved over to Theo's sulky countenance, and finally landed on Hermione who was still staring at them in silence, observing the situation.

"Harry, is everything all right?" Jane asked timidly. "Is something the matter?" she added, guessing from their worried faces.

Harry was torn. Despite the fact his mind about Jane and Theo had been changed slightly after his last talk with Dumbledore, Hermione's words had again raised more doubts about the pair. In any event, they were wasting precious time; he didn't have time to explain much about what was going on.

"Everything fine," stated Hermione, speaking the words Harry's mind was struggling to find. She then turned to Harry and Luna. "Let's go! There's no time to lose!"

Harry nodded in silence. He then gave a slight wave to Jane and Theo and hurried behind Hermione and Luna, who were already running down the corridor.

Hermione found an empty classroom and opened the door, letting the other two in. Harry pulled out the Marauders' Map, which he'd just retrieved from his room. He tapped it with his wand, thinking the magic words without actually saying them aloud.

As soon as the map of Hogwarts appeared in front of them, Harry looked everywhere, desperate to find Ron's name on it somewhere.

"There he is!" Luna exclaimed, pointing to the highest tower on the castle. "The Astronomy Tower."

"Come on!" Harry put the map away and ran outside, followed immediately by the two girls. Finding Ron so quickly wasn't reassuring. Quite the contrary, his heart was still in turmoil. The fear that something horrible might have happened to his best friend prevented him from thinking clearly. In that moment, he was only able to run, to reach his friend as quickly as possible. All he cared about was finding Ron and making sure he was all right.

They climbed staircases, passed through empty corridors, and finally reached the south wing of the castle. They ran up a spiral staircase and shortly found themselves in a circular stone room that covered the staircase and led out to the open part of the tower. Everything was quiet. The weak moonlight barely illuminated the surrounding darkness. A few telescopes stood off on the side. Unfortunately there was no trace of Ron.

With trembling hands, Harry pulled out the map again. On the accurate representation of the Astronomy Tower, labels with their names had appeared, still next to the one with Ron's name.

"M-maybe... someone covered him with an invisibility cloak and that's why we can't see him," Luna suggested. Without waiting for a reply, she then closed her eyes and stretched out her arms. She started searching the room in small steps, blindly grasping out into the air with her hands. If it wasn't such a serious moment, Harry might have even considered the scene comic. He suddenly grabbed Luna's arm, preventing her from knocking over an ancient mahogany lectern standing in the middle of the room.

"Or maybe..." Hermione didn't finish her sentence, but moved closer to the wall and leaned out the windowsill.

"Of course!" Harry exclaimed, as if he had suddenly realized what she was doing. He went over to her and looked over as well. The snow was falling heavily and an icy wind was making the situation even worse.

"D-do you really think that Ron... fell from the tower?" hazarded Luna.

Harry prayed that she was wrong. With a certain fear in his heart, he looked down to the ground far, far below them, but he only saw a white mantle of snow. He then realized it was impossible for Ron to be on the ground below, since on the map his name was still on the tower.

Fighting the icy wind and snow, Harry carefully climbed up onto the windowsill and carefully turned around to try to look on the roof.

"Be careful!" Hermione shouted, grasping tightly around his legs. She then pointed her wand to the wall and several strong straps magically appeared and wrapped themselves around Harry's sides, firmly attaching themselves to the walls on each side of him.

Mentally thanking his girlfriend, Harry grabbed hold of the rusted iron decorative roof railing with both hands. He looked up again, but couldn't see anything; the sleet was now blinding him.

"Damn it!" he cursed. He took his wand out and pointed it at the glasses. "Impervius!"

His lens cleared immediately. Harry squinted his eyes to see better. To his great horror, he saw a dark shadow hanging from the highest spire of the tower, being tossed in the wind like a flag.

"RON! CAN YOU HEAR ME?" Harry shouted with all his strength. There was no reply.

Sure that it was Ron, Harry pointed his wand toward him. "MOBILICORPUS!"

The dark figure suddenly started hovering in midair. With extreme attention, Harry kept his wand pointed at Ron, directing him back into the room. One mistake and Ron would fall to the ground far below. He did his best to not even blink, for fear of losing sight of Ron for even an instant.

"Ahhh!" Harry groaned. His left hand, still gripping the iron railing, was now bleeding. Tightening his right hand around his wand, he continued to guide his unconscious friend who was slowly getting closer.

"All right, you're nearly there," Hermione exhorted. "Now, carefully, bring him in through that other window. Slowly. Very good..."

Breathing hard from the effort, Harry did his best to guide Ron in, where Luna and Hermione were ready to catch him and set him down on the floor.

Exhausted, Harry finally lowered his wand, grabbed the iron railing with both hands to first steady himself, and then jumped back inside.

"How... how is he?" he asked, panting. His cheeks and nose were red and cold.

Ron was lying unconscious, still tethered to a large chain. His pale face bore long cuts on his cheeks, as if made by the blade of a knife. His hair and clothes were frozen and covered with many tiny icicles.

Bent over him, both girls checked his condition. Hermione released the chain and checked his pulse. "It's slow," she stated with a trembling voice.

Summoning her courage, she pointed her wand toward Ron. "ENNERVATE!"

For a fraction of a second, a golden light wrapped around Ron's body, making him glow in a surreal way. Unfortunately, the effect wasn't the one they were expecting.

"There's no time to lose!" she shouted. "We need Madam Pomfrey!"

Harry and Luna nodded, and then with Hermione's help, physically lifted Ron. The three of them carried him to the hospital wing.

After a fair amount of insistent knocking on Luna's part, the ancient nurse finally showed up to the door.

"Merlin's beard! What's the reason for all this racket?" The scene in front of her was not good: Ron Weasley, unconscious and injured, being supported by Harry Potter, his own face now bleeding from the icy lashes of the wind, and Hermione Granger, her face pale like a bed sheet. And to top it all off, Luna Lovegood was jumping from one foot to the other in panic, as if someone had hexed her with Tarantallegra. Madam Pomfrey's tone of voice immediately changed. "Oh, Holy Heaven!"

"Ron needs help quickly, there's no time to lose!" Luna shouted, then pushed the nurse to the side and crossed the threshold, waving for Harry and Hermione to follow her inside.

As soon as the Madam Pomfrey recovered from her shock, she followed them to one of the first beds. "Set him there. That's fine. Oh, he's nearly frozen! But don't worry. I've got the perfect cure for that."

She then hurried to her cupboard and returned a moment later, holding in her hands a large, black bottle with a white skull and crossbones printed on it. Harry recognized it immediately.

"Ogden's Old Firewhisky?" he asked in disbelief.

"Of course! Nothing better to warm one's insides," the nurse promptly replied as she poured a large amount into Ron's mouth. "That's it. Now, he just needs a good night's sleep and tomorrow he'll be good as new."

Madam Pomfrey corked the bottle and turned toward Harry, Luna, and Hermione, who were still staring at her with eyes wide in shock. "Well, what are you looking at? It's an effective treatment, dating back to the first magical world war. Anyway, you should be in your beds now. Come on, back to your common rooms. Hurry up!"

"Oh, please, let us stay. Ron needs to have his best friends at his side," Luna begged, directing her large, watering, blue eyes toward the nurse, who sighed deeply before replying.

"All right then. But only one of you may stay."

Hermione set her hand on Luna's shoulder. "You'll stay. We'll be back tomorrow morning."

"Thank you so much, my friends," Luna replied, smiling thankfully.

Reluctantly, Harry and Hermione slowly moved toward the door. Before leaving the hospital wing, Harry shot a last glance toward the bed where his best friend was lying. Luna was already sitting at his side, holding his hands.

Harry felt a little better. He was sure Luna would lovingly take care of Ron, just like he or any other member of the Weasley family would have. He closed the door behind him and unexpectedly, with Ron safe now, all of his tension immediately lessened. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, exhausted.

"Poor Ron. I can't manage what could have happened if we'd been much later," commented Hermione, shivering inside her cloak. "Only someone deranged would have done something so awful."

Harry nervously passed his hands through his hair. He felt a painful sting and remembered that his left hand was cut. He hurriedly hid it behind his back, not wanting to worry his girlfriend any more.

"Whoever did it must not have wanted to kill Ron. Otherwise he'd have already done it."

"Do you think it's the same person who broke into Professor McGonagall's office and stunned Pansy Parkinson?" asked Hermione, moving closer to him.

"And the one who killed the school owls and petrified Mrs. Norris. Yeah, I think so," Harry replied, more and more worried. "There's got to be a connection between all these events. We just need to discover who's doing it and what they're after."

Hermione thought about it for a moment. "These are all actions that can't have gone unnoticed. I'll bet one of the purposes was to attract students' attentions." She paused, then suddenly her eyes lit up. "A diversion! He or she wanted to draw the teachers' attentions and..."

"And be able to gather information freely. Of course! Information about the Arcane Path and the Rebirth Flame. Just like Dumbledore thought... Voldemort needs to know where the Order is in its research." Harry widened his eyes. "It matches perfectly!"

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked.

Harry turned toward her, eager to share his theory. "Who are the Hogwarts students closest to Voldemort's ideals?"

Hermione didn't take much time to reply. "The Slytherins."

"And amongst all the Slytherins, our dear Draco Malfoy has plenty of reason to hinder the Order's job."

"Malfoy? Do you really think that he'd be able to organize all of this?" Hermione didn't appear entirely convinced. "Don't forget that Pansy Parkinson is his girlfriend."

"Well, attacking Pansy Parkinson was a genius move. He needed a perfect excuse to divert attention from himself, and he got it!" Harry exclaimed. "Not satisfied, Malfoy attacked Ron to collect the information he needed," he suggested. "Then, he tied him up like a kite and hung him from the Astronomy Tower. I'm sure he wanted to get some sort of revenge too. What a bloody coward..."

Hermione sighed deeply. "Malfoy could have been able to, but I don't know if he's smart enough to make it all work. About all we can do is to wait until tomorrow. Then we can ask Ron exactly what happened." She then rubbed her eyes. "I think we should go to bed now."

"You're right. It's been a long, long day," commented Harry. It was unbelievable that his discussion with the Minister of Magic had been that same morning.

He grabbed Hermione's hand and both slowly walked toward Gryffindor Tower.

***O***

The first morning light found Harry and Hermione lying on the sofa in the common room, deep asleep.

The dawn was being illuminated by timid rays of sunlight that were filtering in through the window, lighting up Harry's face. He first clenched his eyes shut to block the light, then made a funny grimace with his nose, finally waking up.

He raised his right hand to straighten his glasses, but felt an unusual obstacle along the way. Oddly, his fingers were entangled in a very soft mass. He squeezed his eyes shut once more, then opened them to be surprised to find Hermione lying on his side, with her hand resting on his chest.

Suddenly, the events of the previous night came back into his mind.

Returning to Gryffindor Tower, they found the common room almost deserted. Wanting to stay together a little longer, they took a seat in front of the fireplace. Hand in hand, they watched the dancing flames as they grew weaker and weaker as the night passed. Without realizing it, they had fallen asleep into each other's arms.

Harry looked at Hermione, who was still asleep. She was so sweet, like an angel. He traced the contours of her pretty face with his fingers. Being so close to her, to feel the warmth of her body, the fragrance of her soft hair, was causing so many emotions that he could barely describe them. He felt the same as he did when he was flying on his broomstick, but at the same time, his stomach felt upside down, like when he was facing a very difficult test. He felt restless and confused, but also tremendously and irrepressibly happy.

Harry had often imagined how he might feel in a situation like this. Now he almost felt dizzy, like looking over the edge of an abyss, unable to see bottom. Without even realizing it, his hands had started rubbing up and down Hermione's back, as if they had a will of their own.

If Professor McGonagall or any other student had found them there like that, they would both be in serious trouble.

No, I can't, Harry thought in panic. I need to stop before I go too far.

"Hermione," he whispered, shaking her slightly. "Hermione, wake up."

She moved weakly, bringing a hand to her head, blinking several times. She then opened her eyes and looked around. "H-Harry?"

Suddenly, she shot up like a rubber band, hurriedly adjusting her clothes. She'd only then realized where she was lying. "Harry! But what... and how...?"

"We fell asleep," he replied, trying to explain. Then with a silly smile, he added, "Funny, isn't it?"

Hermione looked tremendously embarrassed, and was still checking her clothes to make sure that everything was in its place. "Well, we were really tired, after all," she commented, adjusting her ruffled, curly hair. "There was nothing wrong about what happened, don't you think?"

"Absolutely nothing!" Harry exclaimed, jumping up as well as if the sofa had been wired with an electric current.

Then, realization of what had happened the previous night hit Hermione like a bludger. "Ron! We should check if he's all right."

"That's why I woke you up," Harry replied, trying to be as vague as possible as he tightened the knot in his tie.

"We need to get Ginny first. She was already in bed last night, but there's no excuse today. She has to know what happened."

Harry was still feeling confused and embarrassed. "Y-yeah... erm, now, you can... and maybe I'll go..."

"In the meantime you can go to the hospital wing," Hermione added, trying to brush the colour from her cheeks, which were pretty much ruby-red now. "I'll... I'll see you later, then."

"A-all right." Harry was already obediently heading to the Fat Lady's portrait when Hermione called him and he turned back again.

"Harry?"

She was looking at him from the stairs, smiling. She slowly descended the few steps that were separating them and was then at his side. Without a word, she threw her arms around his neck and stared directly into his eyes with endless tenderness.

Harry felt his body flushed by a great warmth; his face felt in flames. Hermione closed her eyes, moved even closer, then kissed him on the lips.

Both tasted that magical moment together, which felt like it went on for all of eternity. Everything around them disappeared. They were the two only human beings left in the world, and they would be like that forever.

When Hermione moved back, Harry started breathing normally again. He opened his eyes and got lost in her sweet, brown eyes.

"Your collar," she whispered with a smile as she adjusted his uniform. "Now it's perfect."

"Thanks..." was the only word Harry could manage to say.

Hermione smiled again and headed back to the staircases. He followed her with his eyes until she disappeared behind the door to the girls' dormitory. Then, still bewildered, he walked out the portrait and down the corridor. "Wow!" he exclaimed, smiling.

It was still very early in the morning and there were no students around yet. Harry quickly reached the hospital wing, where at the door he found a very angry Madam Pomfrey.

"Here's another one!" she exclaimed, irritated. "Miss Lovegood was here the entire night. She's gone back to her dormitory just an hour ago. Now, Mr. Potter shows up!"

Harry paused a few seconds before realizing what the nurse was talking about. "I-I just wanted to..."

"Oh, come on," Madam Pomfrey huffed. "Mr. Weasley has already woken up."

Harry shot a glance inside and was surprised to see his best friend already sitting up on the bed. He was leaning back against a couple large, soft pillows. His gaze was lost out the window.

"Ron!" Greatly relieved, Harry was immediately at his side. "How do you feel? Hermione and I were so worried."

At first, Ron didn't realize that he was there. He kept staring out the window, his eyes wide open.

"Ron?"

"Oh, that's normal," Madam Pomfrey explained. "It's a common reaction to a very strong shock."

Harry took a seat next to the bed. When the nurse was on the far side of the room, he called his friend again. "Do you recognize me? It's Harry."

Finally, Ron turned and stared at him for several moments, a puzzled look in his eyes. His face was pale and covered with knife-like scratches, probably due to sharp bits of ice being lashed by the harsh wind. His expression was empty and slightly sad. "Harry? It's really you?"

He nodded with a large smile. "How do you feel?"

"Like I landed all over again in the Whomping Willow with my father's old Ford Anglia," Ron replied, smiling as well.

Harry sighed in relief. It appeared as though his best friend was slowly returning to his senses. He decided then to question him right away. "Do you... by any chance... do you recall anything about what happened yesterday?"

Ron shook his head.

"Are you sure?" Harry insisted.

"Absolutely nothing. A complete blank," Ron replied, discouraged.

Despite Ron's answer, Harry couldn't resist asking him once more. "But there should be something... or at least a detail that you remember. Maybe a face... or a voice..."

"I TOLD YOU ALREADY! NOTHING AT ALL!" shouted Ron, deeply disappointed.

Mortified by the sudden reaction, Harry shot a furtive glance at Madam Pomfrey who was quietly sitting at her desk. She apparently didn't notice anything strange about Ron's shouting. When he turned to his friend again, he found him staring outside the window once more.

"Ron, I'm sorry. I didn't..."

"I don't even know if I want to remember anything. To tell the truth, the only thing that's really bothering me is the tournament."

"W-what? You mean the academic tournament?" At the moment, that was definitely at the bottom of Harry's list of priorities. "But... but... What the hell are you talking about?"

Ron turned and looked Harry directly in the eye. "You know what I'm talking about. The Defence Against the Dark Arts challenge. After what happened to me, I won't be able to make it."

Harry felt the situation was insane. After what had just happened, his best friend's only concern was to take part in a silly scholastic tournament?

"The challenge is an entire week away. You'll have plenty of time to get ready for it," Harry insisted.

"No, Harry. I won't play the part of the idiot in front of the entire school. I can't!" he insisted. Ron then stretched out his hand and grabbed Harry's arm tightly, pulling him closer. His eyes were wide open and his pupils even appeared dilated. "I'd feel much more relaxed if you took my place instead."

Harry didn't know what to say; he was genuinely surprised by that request. Ron spoke again, without releasing his grip on Harry's arm. "You're my best friend. I trust only you. You have to compete in my place and win. It's a matter of honour."

Harry stared at Ron, as if he was seeing his friend for the first time in his life. It was as if he was a complete stranger.

A moment later, Madam Pomfrey could be heard arguing with someone at the door. Both turned to look.

"And I'm telling you that Mr. Weasley doesn't need any more visitors at the moment. Mr. Potter is already with him and that's enough."

"But he's my brother! I absolutely have to see him now!"

Madam Pomfrey rolled her eyes. "Of course, if he's your brother!" she exclaimed sarcastically. "As usual, students win. Come in, but you may stay only five minutes, no more! Classes start in half an hour, and you'll have to... hey, running in the hospital wing is FORBIDDEN!"

As soon as the nurse opened the door, Ginny rushed inside and ran to Ron's bed in a second. She was only wearing her white shirt, and her long red hair fell haphazardly onto her shoulders. It looked like she hadn't even finished dressing this morning. Her tie was hanging loose, draped around her neck.

"Are you all right? Hermione told me everything. If I catch the person who did this to you, I'll... I'll..." Ginny was furious, shaking her fist in the air as if about to hit someone.

Ron smiled slightly. "Hey, calm down, little sister. I'm almost scared of you sometimes, you know?"

Harry didn't know what to think. He desperately hoped that Ron's sudden change in behaviour was just a side-effect from the shock, but he couldn't swear on it. He kept staring at Ron, feeling uneasy.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Ginny asked, now really worried. "Do you think I should owl Mum?"

"Oh, don't be silly. I don't want her to rush over here for some stupid reason. I'm fine, see?" Ron lifted his arm to flex his muscles, but his face suddenly made a grimace of pain. The sudden motion had probably caused a pain in his back.

"All right, all right, I get it. Please, don't overdo it," Ginny warned, smiling. "Maybe we should all go and let you rest a bit. Our five minutes have already passed and Madam Pomfrey is shaking her finger at me," she added, shooting a nasty glance at the nurse who was watching them from by the door. She had an impatient expression on her face. "We'll come back before lunch. You try to be quiet and sleep a bit."

"Yes, Mum!" joked Ron. "See you later, then."

Harry waved at him without much enthusiasm. "See you later." He had just turned to the door when Ron called him back.

"Harry? Think about what I told you. Please, promise me..."

Surprised by him being so insistent, Harry nodded weakly until Ron looked reassured.

When Harry and Ginny found themselves alone in the corridor, they shared their impressions.

"He doesn't look too bad," Ginny commented.

"Yeah..." Harry replied, not entirely convinced.

"Hermione told me that Draco Malfoy is your prime suspect."

Harry replied with a shrug. "Just suspicions. I'll talk about it with Dumbledore, but the only one who can tell us anything for sure is Ron. Unfortunately he doesn't remember anything."

"Give him time. I'm sure he'll be completely fine in a few days."

"I hope you're right..." Harry's mind returned to his chat with Ron shortly before. The more he thought about it, the more he felt there was something strange in his friend's behaviour. Was it just an effect of the shock? Or was it something else?

"Why don't we talk about something happier." Ginny's voice brought him back to reality. "You'll be happy to know that I got an owl from Neville last night. He says that he'll probably be able to come back to school by next January and finish the school year. Isn't that wonderful? He's also invited all of us to come over to his house for Christmas. I bet you need a good vacation, more than any of us, don't you think?"

Harry was still lost in his thoughts about Ron. "What were you saying?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I just said that Neville has invited all of us over to his house for Christmas. I've already got some more information. Did you know that the Knight Bus stops right in front of the Longbottoms' manor?"

"That's great!" Harry exclaimed, pretending to actually be impressed by the invitation. With everything that had been was going on lately, the Christmas holiday seemed so far away. He was sure it would have been fantastic to spend Christmas at Longbottom Manor, if only there wasn't the little detail of a magical war going on!

How can Ginny think about a vacation at a time like this? Harry asked himself, shaking his head. Probably should the subject now. "Erm, do you know where Hermione went?"

"Oh, I should have told you before. We were running to the hospital wing when we met Professor McGonagall. She asked Hermione to accompany her to her office."

Harry frowned at Ginny. "Do you know why?"

"Oh... no. I was too worried about Ron. I didn't even think to ask." She appeared genuinely sorry.

"Well, it doesn't matter. It's probably something about her classes," Harry replied, hoping that it really was, and nothing worse.

Students started to fill the corridors. Everyone was slowly heading to the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry and Ginny moved toward the staircases to join them. They had just reached the entrance when he bumped into Professor McGonagall. She wore a grim expression on her face. Knowing her pretty well, Harry knew it didn't mean anything good.

"Mr. Potter, I was looking for you. Miss Weasley, you're here as well."

"Good morning, Professor," they both greeted.

Their teacher sighed deeply, then stared at the two in silence as if she was searching for the right words to say something extremely unpleasant. "I deeply regret to inform you that something particularly sad has just occurred."

Harry's heart stopped for a second. "Hermione? What's happened to her?"

With a very sorry expression, Professor McGonagall slowly handed him an envelope. "You'll find your answer in here."

Harry frowned at the envelope. Whatever was its contents, it was nothing good for him.

"Come on, open it!" Ginny urged.

With a horrible weight in his stomach, Harry opened the envelope. Inside was a small card with Hermione's handwriting on it. It was much more messy and scrawled than normal. It looked as though she'd hurriedly written it on whatever could find at that moment. Here and there, the card was stained by splotches where the ink had bled from small drops of water falling upon it.

My dearest Harry,

You don't know how much I wanted to say goodbye to you in person. Everything has happened so quickly that it's been impossible however. I hope you can forgive me for this.

I've just received terrible news. Last night, a group of Death Eaters attacked my house. They've kidnapped Dad.

Harry lifted his eyes from the letter and stared at Professor McGonagall in disbelief. "Mr. Granger?"

The teacher nodded without adding a word, as Ginny began to feel more and more anxious. "What's going on?" she asked, scared. Harry's eyes turned back to the card.

As soon as I heard the news, my heart broke into a million pieces. Mum was seriously injured, but at least she's still alive. I'm afraid for Dad's life now. As I'm sure you've already guessed, I need to go to my mum immediately. We'll both stay somewhere safer, at least until Professor Dumbledore can tell us where else to go.

"Harry, I'm getting worried!" Ginny shouted. "Professor, please tell me what's happened."

Harry couldn't tear his eyes away from the card. Ginny's voice found its way to his ears like some distant echo, weak and elusive.

Please, Harry, promise that you won't try to look for me. Promise that you'll stay at Hogwarts. Your place is here. Ron and Ginny need your help. Think about me often. I'll think about you every second.

Forever yours,

Hermione

Harry felt as though he'd just been dragged down into Hell. "I... I can't believe it... It's not possible," he stuttered. The pain... the helpless feeling was becoming unbearable for him. He turned on Professor McGonagall with hate in his eyes. "You should have protected them! Hermione trusted you, ALL OF YOU!"

"I understand how you feel, my boy."

"NO, YOU CAN'T!"

"Harry, please." Ginny grasped his arm to admonish him.

"We did all that was possible," McGonagall explained, feeling deeply sorry. "The Aurors who were responsible for protecting Mr. and Mrs. Granger fought with courage. Sadly, many of them even lost their lives."

Her explanations fell on deaf ears. In Harry's mind, each and every wizard in the Order of the Phoenix and every Auror in the Ministry was guilty, responsible for what had happened. "I want to know where Hermione is," he said firmly.

"The location is top secret. Nobody is allowed to..."

"I need to reach her. TELL ME WHERE SHE IS! NOW!"

Professor McGonagall's eyes widened, deeply offended by Harry's tone. She spoke nevertheless without any resentment in her voice. "I'm sorry, but it's impossible. It's for Miss Granger's own safety. Besides, I don't even know where the location is."

"I want to speak with Dumbledore."

"Professor Dumbledore is away from school at the moment." She didn't give Harry a chance to reply. "I'm sorry, but the only thing we can do now is to wait."

The words hit Harry like a heavy bludger. "WAIT?! You all think that I can't do anything else but wait! Hermione needs me now, and I'll find her if it's the last thing I do." Harry was beginning to feel sick; he needed fresh air. Clenching his fist around Hermione's card, he ran off.

"Harry, come back!" Ginny called after him, but it was too late.

Harry was already outside in the snow, running as fast as he could. He wanted to leave that place and those people for good. He would search for Hermione everywhere. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin, Snape... everybody would see what Harry Potter was capable of.

Very quickly, he reached the huge iron gates of the school grounds which were sealed with powerful magic. Panting, he tightened his hands around the cruel bars that were separating him from his beloved one. With all of his strength, he shook the gate several times trying to wrench it open, even though he already knew it was useless.

With growing anger, he took out his wand and pointed it at the gate, casting every different hex and curse that came into to his mind. He quickly realized though that Hogwarts was protected by stronger magic than what he knew.

Wounded and saddened, Harry turned toward the castle. The towers stood out against the grey sky and the snow covered the trees and grounds with a white blanket. From the chimney in Hagrid's hut, a dark column of smoke was rising into...

"Of course! Sirius's motorbike," Harry remembered. He slowly regained hope and desperately ran towards Hagrid's hut. He'd break free of this "prison" at any cost. He was almost there when he suddenly tripped over a rock buried in the snow. He lost his balance and fell down, face-first into the snow.

Harry remained motionless, lying there on the freshly fallen snow. This forced pause gave him a chance to find a moment of calmness and to actually think things over.

"Hermione..." he whispered, reaching out for her but grasping only snow instead. Hermione's words written on the card echoed in his mind. "Please, Harry, promise that you won't try to look for me. Promise that you'll stay at Hogwarts. Your place is here. Ron and Ginny need your help."

He couldn't leave his best friend alone in the condition he was in. And Ginny? She was a brilliant and smart witch, but still so young. Hermione was right: his friends needed him here.

"Hermione..." he whispered again, feeling an unbearable need to cry. In instinct, he grabbed tightly the jade pendant he had always worn around his neck ever since Hermione gave it to him for his seventeenth birthday. "Wait for me. I swear that I'll find you. I swear..."

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