Harry Potter and the Unbreakable Link

Harry Potter and the Unbreakable Link

Chapter 10- Exams and Other Duties

Hermione disengaged herself from her friends' arms and beamed at them. "I can't believe we won!"

Neither can I!" said Harry shaking his head. Ginny came up from behind them and cried, "You should have seen your face, Harry, when you realised Malfoy had seen the snitch! You almost fell off your broom in surprise and Pucey had the Quaffle and no-one noticed! He could have shot a hundred goals and no-one would have seen! Where's Pippa? I must tell her... That goal she got across Anderssen...!" Ginny hurried off to find her friend.

Harry, Ron and Hermione stayed on the pitch grinning goofily at each other. "Don't look now, Harry, but I think if you look over there you'll see an interesting sight," Ron whispered as he gestured towards the teachers' block. Harry and Hermione looked immediately over their shoulder to see that Sirius was still kissing Arabella, or maybe she was kissing him, it was impossible to tell. Harry smiled, "About time Sirius found a partner, and I like Arabella. She's my godmother, you know."

"Really?" said Ron in surprise, "That makes it even better. Maybe they'll get married and stop teaching and you can go and live with them after we've left Hogwarts."

Malfoy's sneering voice was suddenly heard behind them, "Well, Potter, not badly won. If that fool of a Beater hadn't missed you I would have won. I'm not sure whether he will be staying on the team much longer, you know. You were really show-boy today, though. You only fell off your broom twice. Can't resist showing off, can you?" Harry gritted his teeth and tried to resist the urge to kill Malfoy on the spot, who merely grinned and waved as he moved off to get changed.

Ron frowned, "I never thought the day would come when I would agree with Draco Malfoy, but how did you manage to almost fall off your broom twice in about five minutes? The first time, OK, if Colin Creevey hadn't bumped into you then you wouldn't have lost your grip. That's all fair and square, but the second time I can't understand it. You can't have just lost your balance because you saw the snitch! What happened? No-one knocked into you, I saw, because you were up near the goal."

Harry frowned, "Would you think I was totally mad if I said I thought someone had told me where the Snitch was in my mind?"

"Yes," Ron answered promptly, "or else it's some trick of You-Know-Who's."

"What do you think, Hermione?" Harry asked, "because- I say! Do you have any books on telepathy? I think I've just worked something out!"

"Telepathy? Yes, I think I've got one out of the library. You can borrow it if you like. I'll go and get it now." Hermione ran off towards the castle.

"What are you on about? What's telepathy?" asked Ron.

Harry looked at him blankly, "You see, I think it was Hermione who was speaking in my mind, and that doesn't make any sense."

"Hermione? Why would she do that? I know, maybe she's found some complicated spell and wants to test it out before she tells us, as a joke."

"Maybe," said Harry, unconvinced, "I don't know though. Why didn't she tell us? I think it's more serious than that. I remember something like that before- What was it?" Suddenly a look of comprehension crossed his face, "Oh Ron! It is serious! Hey, see you soon!" And thrusting his Firebolt into Ron's surprised hands he dashed as fast as he could towards the school building.

Once inside, Harry ran straight up to the library. It was deserted. Even Madame Pinch seemed to have gone to watch the Quidditch. Ignoring the temptation to look in the restricted section, Harry went to straight to the shelves to look under the letter 'T'. Trigonometric ratios in the World of Astronomy; Toxicology- A guide to Magical Poisons; Guide to Magical Creatures- Transilvanian Turtles. How many books had titles beginning with a T? thought Harry as he ran his fingers down the spines. Eventually he found A beginners guide to Telepathy.

Harry pulled it down off the shelf and sat down with it at the nearest table by the door. He had just read the first few pages (the contents pages) when the door of the library opened and Madame Pince entered. She cast her eyes around the room until they landed on Harry.

"POTTER!" she screamed. Harry's eyes jerked up from his book.

"Yes?"

"Now I've really got you! Don't think I didn't know about your wandering about at night, boy."

"What?" asked Harry confused.

"Don't play the innocent with me! I know all about it. For the last five years you have been coming in here after dark, spread muddy footprints around the floor, taken out books and then not put them back. Let's see that book!" She snatched up his book as the door opened silently behind them, "Look! It's the same book too! Telepathy! Always telepathy, and left open on the table on the pages on the Unbreakable Link for me to put away in the morning! I suppose you think it's funny, don't you? Well, now I've caught you. You can come back tonight to clean up this mess and prepare an essay for me on why we must keep the school facilities in good condition. Make no mistake, this will be going to the Headmaster!"

She stalked off angrily with Harry's book in her hand. Harry stared after her in surprise, what had that been about? He had certainly not been trailing mud about in the night to read about telepathy. How unfair can one get! And now detention and an extra essay to do. He stormed off towards the door and bumped into someone standing by it.

"Watch where you're going!" said Hermione with a blush of surprise.

"Hermione!" said Harry, taken aback, "where were you going?"

"Oh, it turns out I took that book back, so I was going to get it out again for you."

"Thanks, but you don't need to. You can talk to me instead of my reading the book."

"Talk about what?" asked Hermione faintly.

Harry paused, "I wanted to ask you something."

"Well, shall we go back to the common room? Madame Pince won't want to catch you hanging around the library at the moment, will she?"

"No! I mean, let's go in here." Harry grabbed her arm and dragged her into the nearest room. It was a pitch black, dark book storage room. Hermione stared at him in astonishment, "Erm, I hate to interrupt, but wouldn't the common room be more comfortable?" she said as Harry pushed her onto a packing case full of old books.

"It would most certainly not be," replied Harry sitting down on another packing case, "Anyway, I wanted to ask you."

"Yes?" asked Hermione, feeling slightly nervous. What was he going to ask her...! Common sense told her it was about the Quidditch match, but some part was wishing he was going to ask her- that was ridiculous! She was Hermione not Lavender!

"Was it you who was talking to me at the Quidditch match, and who told me where the snitch was?"

"It was me," Hermione replied, letting out her breath in... disappointment?

"OK, I thought it sounded like you and I just had to know. How do you do it?"

Hermione considered for a minute then sighed, "I suppose you would have found out sooner or later. You remember in the summer how you managed to give your invisibility cloak to me and also to warn me about the guards?"

Harry nodded, "I thought it had something to do with that."

"Yes. Anyway, we have this very rare condition- Don't look like that! It's not that bad! It's called the Unbreakable Link, and it means that when you're eighteen as well as I am, we will be able to communicate through our minds, a bit like telepathy."

"Wow! So I never have to say anything to you ever again?"

Hermione laughed, this wasn't such an ordeal as she had expected it would be, "Theoretically you're right. Practically, I'd rather you talked to me than just thought to me."

Harry grinned, "All right, so how do you do it?"

"I can think to you now because I'm already eighteen, and you can hear me. You won't be able to think back to me until July. Well you might, in an emergency if you tried very hard."

"Is that the only thing that we can do?"

"No, we can also pass objects between us if we really need them. That's how you gave me the cloak when I really wanted it in Greece."

"Cool! Is that it?"

"Yes. I mean no," Hermione hesitated.

Harry looked panicky, "What is it? What are the side effects?"

"Oh no. There's no side effect. I just forgot this bit. I've remembered now. If we say the same spell at exactly the same time then the power of the spell is tripled."

"Oh," said Harry blankly. "So I guess you're in on it now."

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione, though she already had an idea of what the answer was going to be.

"You'll have to help me fight Voldemort now. I was probably going to have to fight him again. He wants to kill me as you know. Voldemort's almost immortal and so Avada Kedavra can't kill him. Perhaps Avada Kedavra magnified three times would kill him. Do you see?"

Hermione nodded, "I see. I'd seen that before, I just didn't want to believe it. I have to admit that fighting Voldemort isn't going to be my favourite Sunday afternoon activity, but..."

"I've already done it about five times, so ha!"

"Aw. I've missed out on so much," she replied with mock sadness.

They both burst out into hysterical laughter and for a minute were oblivious to the world. When she had recovered, Hermione felt much better. "I've been winding myself up all year, and that got it all out of my system."

Harry stared at Hermione in surprise, "I didn't know you could laugh like that!"

"Nor did I! Still," she replied setting her face into a solemn expression, "you do know what we are talking about? It's not to be jested at."

"Are you suggesting that famous Harry Potter doesn't know what he's talking about?" Harry's attempt at solemnity was quite ruined by his sneezing violently at the end of his line, causing Hermione to start laughing again.

Harry pushed open the door of the book room and they stumbled out into the bright light, Hermione still clutching her sides. She gave a last hiccup and stared round the deserted corridor slightly bewildered.

"You all right, Hermione?" asked Harry anxiously, who had a cobweb in his hair.

"Yes. Quite all right, thank you. I think we both needed that, though. We've been as tense as a piece of wire all term, we would have cracked anyway sometime. Oh, by the way, you do look funny, covered in mud and dust," she added.

"Seriously though," Harry said ignoring Hermione's last comment about his appearance, and putting his hand on her shoulder, "It will be a lot more comforting to have a companion while I try not to die."

"You won't die, Harry." Hermione said decidedly while trying not to go red and look at his eyes.

"You sound very sure about that," Harry replied grimly releasing her and leaning against the wall.

"I am sure."

Harry looked at her in puzzlement then shrugged his shoulders, "Come on, I need to get changed and everyone will wonder where we've gone. There's supposed to be a party in the common room. That's why I didn't want to go back there."

Harry went of in the direction of the changing rooms and Hermione watched him disappear round the corner of the corridor. She sighed. I might have known, she thought.

Honey, Honey

How he thrills me, aha, honey, honey

Honey, honey

Nearly kills me, aha, honey, honey

I've heard about him before

I wanted to know some more

And now I know what they mean

He's a love machine

(Oh, he makes me dizzy)

"Damn," muttered Hermione as she made her way back to the common room.

*

A large golden owl flew through an open window of the castle. Eagerly Voldemort relieved it of its burden and tore open the letter. A minute later he let out a scream of rage and impatience causing the girl sitting by his chair to flinch a little.

"Beaten! Beaten again by a woman!" screamed Voldemort crushing his letter. "Running on and on about how she wants to see me, and never once telling me what I want to know."

"Do you think," suggested the girl timidly, "she realised that you were wanting her to tell you who her daughter was?"

He wheeled round on her, "We are dealing with the most clever woman in England here, fool. She saw through me I know. Anyway, at least we can find out exactly where she is." He tapped the owl with his wand and said, "Revelio Indrum!"

Nothing happened. Voldemort cursed under his breath, "How dare she conceal her whereabouts? Does she know who she is working against? Lord Voldemort! She'll never win! Never! This does it- if she puts one foot near here then she dies!"

*

"We're leaving for England, Susanna." Estella Green paced the hotel room, her black eyes glinting.

"Is that wise, Signora?" asked her confidant.

"Wise? Wise? I must see her. You don't understand- she is my daughter! You are not a mother. You don't know. I have not seen her for eighteen years. I cannot tell her who I am, cannot tell her who she is. She thinks her name is- Oh Susanna, I need to see her."

Susanna was quiet. She had always thought her leader was cold, with as much emotion as a wet flannel. She was surprised to see her with a strange look in her normally expressionless eyes.

"Oh, don't look like that! I won't hurt. I'm only human, I love her. I only wish I could see her and tell her. It was the same me who fell in love with Tom Riddle all those years ago at Hogwarts. He was so handsome and brave! We were perfect for each other in every way; I had the brains to think things through, and he had the nerve and courage to do what I suggested. He loved me too. But all the time I knew it would not last; we were too different. I was only put in Slytherin because I wanted to be with Tom. I fell in love with him on the train. I was a fool. But my life changed when they put me in Slytherin. 'You will find your true friends in Slytherin' they say. I certainly got relative fame and made friends with my hero. But I will never forget what the sorting hat said to me, 'You may wish to be in Slytherin, but a part of you will always remain in Gryffindor.' I always wondered what it meant. Then Trelawney made her prediction and Elvira was born- that glorious Indian summer day! I was so happy until Tom told me of his plan. I hated him then. He had robbed me of all my chances as a person, and now he was going to rob me of my rights as a mother. I was furious with him. I left him that night with Elvira. I wasn't going to comply with his wishes then. I did though. Why? I still ask myself. I think I know though. Tom wouldn't have been able to find me, but with a baby- that's harder. Also, Trelawney's prediction. Tom had remembered the prophecy wrong, and I hope that Elvira has a little of Gryffindor in her blood, a little of me, not just Tom. And Harry Potter. I always longed to know what would happen when Elvira met young Harry. I knew that the prophecy concerned Harry Potter and my daughter. Who else could be the son of Light? With his mother being who I think she was? Though that doesn't make sense. Still... Harry Potter. Without him I would never have given Elvira to those good muggles. They will defeat Tom because Harry will never join the dark side, and Elvira will never join her father. She will never join me either. She will join her Harry Potter and they will fight... and they will win."

She stared at Susanna, who was audibly sniffing. Estella laughed, though a little shakily, "Well, there you have it. My life story. Well, people always said I should have been an actress in Tragedy. Maybe that would have been a better career than trying to take over the world. Anyway, now you know why we are going to England as well as to pick up Fudge. He will supply us with interesting information about Elvira and Harry Potter. I am worried for him... In his letter Tom said Harry was in the palm of his hand... I must warn the boy. We cannot have Potter caught. Then Tom will be back in power for real and I can do nothing to stop him. I cannot kill him... I loved him once. I only hope Harry and Elvira will do it for me. Then I can start to take control. I wonder," she added with a laugh, "what Tom thought when he got my letter. He must have been mad! I only hope Elvira knows who she is though, what her destiny is, who it concerns. She will if she's any daughter of mine."

There was silence- almost a reverential silence like in a church. Then Susanna stood up and started to pack the bags for England.

*

A scream pierced the night. A light flashed on, and Jane Sullivan crawled out of bed. She groaned as another light was switched on and Abby Pentium sat up in her bed. The only light that was not on now belonged to Mia Grann, and it was Mia who had screamed. Jane and Abby looked at each and Abby gave a large shrug as if to say, "There's nothing we can do." Jane walked over to Mia's bed and looked down at the sleeping girl. Mia looked very 'sweet' when she was asleep. Her long, wavy golden-brown hair was spread across the pillow making her look, as Jane and Abby often thought, like Sleeping Beauty. The thing was, Jane and Abby were very often awake when Mia was sleeping. Mia screamed in the night quite a lot. No-one knew why. Now it had gone too far. Jane shook her roommate awake.

Mia woke up groggily and the first thing her eyes fixed on was Jane's picture of Shane Westlife on the noticeboard by the door.

"Where's the fire?" Mia asked yawning.

"Nowhere, you silly. You screamed so we woke you up because we can't stand another night of your waking us up in the middle of it. It upsets our sleep pattern," said Abby directly.

"We'll have to ask Miss Fairfax to move you into another room if you do it again," added Jane.

Mia stared at her friends in shock, "I wake you up by screaming? Every night?"

"Not quite that often," reassured Abby.

"Oh dear. It must be my dream."

"Your dream?" prompted Jane.

"Yes, I never told you because I didn't... didn't want to discuss it. I think it was about the night I was left here."

Her friends were silent. Like everyone else in the orphanage Mia had no parents. Or rather, she didn't think she had. She had been 'found' by the Principle of the establishment, Miss Fairfax on the front step of the building one morning about seventeen years ago when Mia had only been one year old. With it was a letter explaining that the name of the baby was Mia Grann and giving her date of birth. It gave nothing else away. Miss Fairfax had had to take Mia in. Mia had been eleven when Miss Fairfax told her exactly what happened. Before, she had thought her parents had been killed in a car crash when she had been very little. Everyone seems to die in car crashes, Mia had thought. Many of the children who had mysteries surrounding their arrival at the orphanage were told that their parents had died in a car crash.

Nearly every night Mia had the same dream, and the more she had it the less it made sense to her. It now seemed as though she screamed when she had it. Mia was actually quite glad to talk to someone about it. Maybe Jane or Abby would know what to do about it. Mia cleared her throat and started.

"When the dream starts I see a modern house somewhere and on the lawn a man and a woman are playing with a baby. I know that that baby is me. I just know it. We're so happy! Then, suddenly, I can see this woman in a long black cape and a bundle in her arms. She appears on the lawn from nowhere and my parents jump up and my mother and this strange woman, who I think looks creepy, start talking. My parents look really scared. Then the woman takes a short wooden stick out of her cloak and points it at my parents who start screaming, and my mother puts herself in front of me. The woman talks some more then says something weird like, 'Impervious!' You know, that stuff raincoats are made of, or something. Then my parents go into a dreamy state. The woman says something- it's really weird, I can't hear any of the dialogue. Just, the main words as it were. My mother gives her the baby."

"No!" cried Jane.

"Yes. And the woman puts me on the grass, and she picks up the bundle she had been carrying and says something to it then gives it to my mother. Then she points the stick at the bundle and yells something that sounded like, "Transformation!" and then different parts of the body and some words in Latin I think, then there is a flash of red light coming from nowhere and the bundle screams-"

"Aww, it must be a baby!" cooed Abby.

"I think it must have been. The bundle screams and I scream, and that must be when you hear me. Normally if you hadn't woken me I would have continued dreaming. When the red light had gone, the bundle continued wailing and my parents were still looking dazed. Then the lady in black pointed the stick at my parents and shouted, 'Obliviate!' They went even more dazed and dreamy, then looked at the bundle and started playing with it like they had done with me before. Then the lady picked me up, and I don't remember any more. But we were so happy!"

Mia was crying now.

Jane put an arm round her friend, "Oh, cheer up, Mia. I'll get you some Westlife tickets!"

Mia managed a watery smile.

Abby frowned, "I think you should tell Miss Fairfax, Mia, you never know she might-"

The door opened, "What might I know?" In the doorway, a purple hairnet round her red bob stood Miss Fairfax herself.

The three girls gulped and Mia choked a bit. Miss Fairfax seemed to notice that she was crying and she said, "What's wrong, Mia?"

"She had a nightmare," said Abby swiftly.

"Oh dear. Are you all right now? Do you want to tell me what it was about?"

Mia nodded and told Miss Fairfax what she had just told Jane and Abby. At the end, Miss Fairfax threw her hands in the air and said, "Goodness. Not another one obsessed with cloaks and magic wands!"

"Magic wands!?" cried Mia, Jane and Abby.

"Yes. That stick was probably supposed to be a magic wand. I wonder if you are possibly related to the other boy we had here..."

"Which boy?" asked Jane, always eager to hear about a boy.

"Oh, it was a long time ago. A boy, what was his name, Thomas something, came here. Got a funny letter when he was eleven and went away to a supposed magic school. Load of nonsense if you ask me. He just wanted to get away from here. He came back here at the end of his education all dressed in a black cloak like you described with a stick like that as well, and he was simply evil! He killed one of the pupils with it. Dreadful commotion. Then he laughed. I think he was mad. We never saw him again."

"I should say he was mad," cried Abby warmly, "To kill someone like that!"

"I should hate to think I am in anyway connected with that boy," said Mia with a shudder. "Anyway, I don't believe in magic."

*

Far away, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were preparing for their very final exams, the NEWTs (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests).

There was only one week away until the first exam and Harry, Ron and Hermione were finding that the work was being more than piled on.

"According to Fred and George," Ron said hopefully as he highlighted his Care of Magical Creatures notes, "after the NEWTs you don't do anything all summer term."

"What?" cried Hermione, "Scandalous! What is the point in not teaching us all through one term? They should sent us home early if they're going to do that!"

"You've given me an idea!" said Ron with a grin. "Anyway, Snape and McGonagall keep us going until the end."

"Good! I should think so too!" said Hermione.

Harry had told Ron all about the Unbreakable Link and how he had it with Hermione. Ron was absolutely astonished, and a bit angry that Harry had not told him about his dream that summer. Harry felt a bit guilty about that too. However, both had grown up enough not to fight over it, much to Hermione's relief. He had not told Ron about how Hermione was now going to have to fight Voldemort. He didn't want to add to Ron's present worries.

Harry had tried to persuade Hermione to help him cheat in the exams, by telling him all the answers through his mind, but Hermione refused. ("How low can you stoop?! Honestly!")

Harry, Ron and Hermione had all discussed the magical intruder to the library that had given Harry detention. Neither of them could think who it could be.

The days ticked by, the hours magically disappeared, the minutes trickled away and then-

"Please come in."

It was Professor McGonagall opening the door to the Great Hall to beckon the long line of nervous seventh years into the exam room for their first exam, Charms. It reminded Harry of his first day of Hogwarts when they had queued up to be sorted.

Neville had gone white and was clutching a strange amulet as a good luck charm. Lavender was crying and Parvati had spent the whole morning hugging everyone and saying, 'Good Luck' to them. Hermione looked pale and nervous, but strangely calm. Harry's mind seemed to have gone completely blank, and Ron was repeating spells which he knew perfectly well over and over again as if his brain had got stuck in a groove. Even Draco Malfoy looked quite uncomfortable and Pansy Parkinson was rumoured to have fainted earlier in the lavatories.

As they trooped into the Great Hall Professor McGonagall, who was chief adjudicator, took each of their wands and quills and bewitched them with anti-cheating spells.

The Great Hall was completely transformed. Instead of the five large tables, there was row upon row of desks and chairs, one per person. At the front of the room the teacher's table had piles of papers on it and a massive clock in the middle. Standing in front of the table were Professor Black, Professor Figg and Professor Snape. They were each holding a thick pile of what looked horribly like the exam papers. Harry was starting to feel sick.

Soon everyone was seated in register order. (Harry was near the back but not far enough away to avoid the luminous dial of the clock.) He was sitting behind a fair-haired Ravenclaw girl he didn't know. He couldn't see Ron or Hermione.

Professor McGonagall was speaking again, "The desks are bewitched so that you cannot talk to your next door neighbour and also so that you can't pass notes. There isn't any way you could possibly cheat."

Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared. Harry grinned, Oh yes there is, he thought.

She continued, "The exam lasts for four hours including your practical test which will take place in the room by Professor Figg." Arabella, looking unusually serious, stepped back to reveal a door with 'Practical Exams' written on it.

"There, Professor Flitwick will set you a task to perform and he will be the examiner. Professor Dumbledore is a co-examiner of the practical. When you hear your name please get up quietly with your paper and wand and go into that room. You will give your paper to me; I will stay here all the time. You can get it back when you have finished the practical. Professors Snape, Black and Figg will be patrolling the aisles to check up on you. I want total silence from now on. Anyone who isn't will be disqualified."

She paused ominously, and Harry noticed that Snape looked particularly pleased at this point and that Sirius and Arabella looked particularly grave. Arabella nodded her head a few times as if to emphasise McGonagall's point.

Snape, Sirius and Arabella gave out the papers. On the front cover was a blank space for your name, house, date of birth and school. There was a box already filled in with the date of the exam. In the centre of the page was a large title saying:

NEWTs EXAMINATION IN CHARMS

Below that a slightly smaller sized font read:

THEORY PAPER- 4 HRs

At the bottom of the page in an even smaller font it said:

PLEASE DO NOT TURN OVER

Harry looked up, at the giant clock, it was thirty seconds until nine o'clock. Time seemed to stop. Then Professor McGonagall's voice said, as if from very far away, "No talking please. Good luck, you may start."