Hour of Grace

HOUR OF GRACE

by Strega Brava

Chapter Nine: Labour of Love

Hermione and Harry slowly walked back to the common room, neither one of them trusting to voice the various doubts and fears that were milling in their minds. Hermione held onto Harry’s hand as if it were the only thing that prevented her from falling into a pit of despair. She felt unusually alert…not sleepy at all. Watchful.

They reached the portrait door entrance and, after telling the Fat Lady the password (Norbert), stepped quietly into the common room, which was thankfully empty.

"I think I am going to sit by the fire for a bit, Harry," Hermione said quietly. "I don’t think that I will be able to sleep just yet…it has been too eventful a night."

Harry did not let go of her hand. "I’ll sit with you. I don’t feel very sleepy right now either and I think you need someone to talk to about all this."

The two friends walked over to one of the squashy sofas by the fireplace and sat down. Harry put an arm around Hermione’s shoulders and she rested her head against him, trying to relax…trying not to think of everything that could go wrong.

"I am scared, Harry," she whispered, not trusting herself to look at him but staring at the flickering flames of the fire.

"I know you are. I am too. But, if there is anything I am sure of, it’s my faith in your witching abilities. If anyone can pull this off, it’s you," he reassured her.

A wan smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "You really are hopeless. You know that, don’t you?"

"True. But I am your friend and you know I will help you all I can. He wasn’t my first choice for you. Heck, he would not have been on the list at all but you care about him and, from what I understand, he cares about you too. Who am I to stand in the way of that?"

"He may not appreciate your help."

"Malfoy is in no position to argue and, from what I have seen and heard, he is doing his damn best to break free from his father’s control. That, in itself, is good enough for me."

"I was thinking about Ron," she said quietly.

Harry was silent for a moment.

"Harry, you know how he feels about Draco. He hates him far worse than you do. With you, it has always been so personal…a rivalry of sorts. With Ron, it is an entire family thing. How am I ever going to make him believe all this?" Hermione asked, finally turning to face Harry.

Harry looked at her and marveled at how much love was shining in her eyes. For a moment, he felt a twinge of jealousy. He had always looked at Hermione as a sort of sister…he felt a little uneasy about this whole falling in love thing. He suddenly felt a sort of empathy for Ron, who doubtlessly was feeling the same thing about Ginny and her relationship with Harry.

"It’ll be okay, Hermione," he said quietly, "Ron will understand."

"Ron will certainly NOT understand!" a voice shouted loudly from behind the sofa, causing Harry and Hermione to practically fall off in shock. There, red-faced, hair tousled from sleep and with his wand drawn, stood Ron.

And he was not pleased to see them.

"I expected better from you, Hermione!" he shouted, waving his wand dangerously. "I expected you to have a level head about this sort of thing…think things through!"

"Ron…half a minute…" Harry got up and started walking towards his friend but stopped short as Ron pointed his wand at his head.

"Stop right there, Harry! Don’t make me hurt you!"

Hermione stood up as well, Ron quickly moved so that he was pointing his wand at her but then, realizing the precarious nature of his situation, began pointing it alternately at one then the other.

"I just can’t believe it!" Ron shouted.

"Quiet," Harry hissed, looking around nervously. "The entire school is going to hear you."

"I don’t bloody care if the entire world hears me, Harry. How could you do this to me? I’m your best friend!"

"It’s not his fault, Ron. He offered to help me…" Hermione started but quickly stopped as the wand flashed in her direction once again.

"Oh, is that what they call it now?" Ron asked sarcastically, causing both Harry and Hermione to gape at him.

"What are you talking about, Ron?" Harry asked, getting a little angry himself.

"Sneaking around at night. Disappearing for hours at a time. No one knows where. I’m not stupid, you know!"

"We never said you were," Hermione said quietly, wary of the wand and the little violet sparks that were starting to appear at its tip.

"I have feelings, you know! The least you could have done was tell me!" Ron screamed. Hermione suddenly noticed that his nightrobe was put on inside out.

"We didn’t think you would understand!" Harry yelled, wondering why half of Gryffindor house hadn’t come down yet. Then again, rows between Ron and Hermione were practically commonplace.

"Understand!? Of course I don’t understand. How can you expect me to understand this?"

"I’m really sorry about all this. It just…happened," Hermione sat down and put her head in her hands, suddenly too tired to even cry. Harry automatically patted her shoulder.

"It’ll be okay," he murmured.

"No, it won’t be! You are going to march right up to Ginny’s room and tell her why you have been snogging Hermione for the past couple of months. I thought you loved Ginny!" Ron fumed.

Harry turned to his friend in shock. "What?"

"You heard me, Harry. She may just be my little sister but she deserves to know the truth! I haven’t said anything to her…I am going to leave that pleasant bit of business for you."

Hermione looked up at Ron, her face a mixture of amusement and surprise. "You think that Harry and I have been snogging?"

"Oh, is there another explanation?" Ron asked archly, crossing his arms over his chest and tapping his foot impatiently.

"Ron, you had better sit down…we have a lot to tell you…" Harry motioned to an adjacent wing chair.

Ron stubbornly remained standing and looked at them expectantly.

Hermione sighed and looked up at Ron. "I have not been snogging with Harry."

"Really." Ron said in a tone of utter disbelief.

"Really, Ron. I don’t love him. I care about him deeply…much the same as I care about you but I do not love him," she said simply.

Ron did not look overly convinced. "Then what were you and Harry talking about? I only saw the two of you on the couch and heard something about me not understanding. Explain that, will you?"

"She loves someone else…and he is in a lot of trouble," Harry offered hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, somewhat less abrasively.

"The person I love is trapped and needs my help in order to break free. Harry has offered to help me…that’s all," Hermione affirmed.

Ron looked from one to the other. "That’s all?"

"That’s all, Ron," Harry sighed. "I just wish it were as easy as you make it sound."

"Well, who is it then? Honestly, Hermione. You know you could have just asked me for help. Is it Dean? Seamus? Neville?"

"No, he isn’t in Gryffindor," Hermione ventured quietly.

"That seventh year in Ravenclaw that has been watching you the last little while?" Ron asked, looking slightly befuddled.

Hermione looked at Harry and shook her head.

"Ron, I am in love with Draco Malfoy," she stated and waited for the inevitable fireworks.

"Well," Ron started reasonably enough, "as long as you’re not sno….what the bloody hell!! Malfoy!!?! You are in love with…with…Malfoy!?! Have you gone completely insane!?"

"No," Hermione replied mildly, "I haven’t."

Ron stood up and started pacing furiously. "Has he put something in your pumpkin juice?"

"Ron…" Harry started

"Has he been practicing the Imperius Curse on you?" Ron asked shrilly, completely ignoring Harry.

"Ron…" Harry tried again.

"Is he blackmailing you with something…that Time Turner incident back in third year?!?" Ron shrieked.

"Ron…" Harry grabbed his friend’s arm in a desperate attempt to get his attention.

"Harry…geroff me!" Ron sputtered furiously, trying to dislodge Harry’s arm. "Can’t you see what is happening here? Do you see what is going on? Malfoy…Malfoy…"

"Yeah, I know. He loves her," Harry finished for him.

Ron looked at him incredulously.

"You know about this?" the red head asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

"I have known about this for a while," Harry replied.

Ron sank down onto the chair and stared at Hermione as if she had suddenly sprouted wings, a tail and a horn.

"Is…this true?" he asked.

Hermione nodded.

"And does he…"

She nodded again.

"How…how do you know. Hermione, this is Malfoy we are talking about here. Mr. I-am-so-much-better-than-all-of-you-put-together Malfoy. White-ferret Malfoy. Lucius Malfoy’s spawn. Future Death Eater…"

"Not if he can help it," Harry remarked deliberately.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Malfoy is being controlled by Lucius," Harry explained. "It is a really long story. Suffice it to say that we have it on good authority, including Dumbledore himself, that Malfoy himself is not the evil git we have always assumed. Lucius also, in all likelihood, killed Narcissa. If we don’t save Draco…he will be forced to become a Death Eater…"

"And," Hermione continued, "I will lose him forever."

Ron looked at his friends with disbelief but no longer with anger.

"Even if what you tell me is true, and I can’t say that I believe this just yet. Even if all this is true, what makes you think you can just pluck Malfoy out of the Slytherin common room and tell Lucius to bugger off?" Ron was massaging his temples fiercely in an effort to listen…but more likely, to not bite Hermione’s head off for fraternizing with the enemy.

"I have to perform the Omniapurgalis on him," Hermione explained.

Ron’s face lost all its colour. "Hermione, do you realize what that is?"

Hermione, impressed that Ron knew a spell she did not, nodded.

"That is one of the most powerful purifying spells in the wizarding world. If it is not performed perfectly…if there is one impurity in the potion…a wrong gesture in the incantation…"

"She or Malfoy could die or be rendered insane. We already know that," Harry said grimly.

"And you are willing to take that chance…for him?" Ron asked Hermione pointedly.

"Yes," Hermione responded clearly, although her voice shook somewhat.

"Blimey, Hermione, "Ron leaned back, "I never would have guessed…I mean…Malfoy. Malfoy has never…said anything…done anything to indicate that he…cared."

"Like I said, Lucius has been controlling him. It’s really a rather awful story and we will tell you the whole thing tomorrow. Right now, we are both exhausted and we need some rest. We are meeting up with Professor Snape tomorrow night to start collecting ingredients for the potion," Harry started walking towards the dormitory entrance.

"Snape is helping you?" Ron asked, rolling his eyes. "Of course. Why didn’t I think of that? Next, you’ll be telling me that he is Malfoy’s real father."

"Ron, please," Hermione pleaded.

Ron looked at his friend. He saw that she was scared and needed not accusations or remonstrations but, rather, compassion and support. He did not approve of her choice of a…significant other…but…well…she was still his friend.

"I don’t like this, Hermione," he got up and walked over to stand in front of her. "I really don’t like this. Not by a long shot. I’ll help you because you are my friend but I will have one hand on my wand when he is around."

Hermione stood up and hugged Ron, who hugged her back rather awkwardly. "You don’t have to get all mushy on me," he complained as Harry chuckled.

"Thanks, Ron," she murmured as she held him close, thankful that he had not turned away from her.

"So," he said when he had managed to disentangle himself, "when do we meet with Snape."

Hermione and Harry looked at one another and smiled.

***************The next evening in Professor Snape’s laboratory********

Professor Snape was reading from a particularly decrepit-looking volume when Hermione, Harry and Ron came into the laboratory. The older man looked up and smirked good-naturedly when he noticed Ron.

"And then there were three," he said rather enigmatically, motioning for them to join him around his desk which they did, dragging stools that were piled along one wall.

"We told Ron last night, and we thought that an extra hand might be very helpful," Harry replied.

"Well, while it will be helpful in the preparation of the various ingredients, I am afraid that it must be the hands of Miss Granger that creates the potion," Professor Snape pointed to a section of the open book. "You see, one of the requirements of the Omniapurgalis is that the person who casts the spell must also brew the potion."

"That makes sense. The entire incantation is a direct link between the two people involved…isn’t that right, Professor?" Ron asked, somewhat surprised at his own daring in facing his most detested instructor.

"Correct, Mr. Weasley," Professor Snape nodded approvingly, nearly causing Ron to fall off his stool in shock. "This is why the Omniapurgalis is so powerful and…why it is so dangerous…to both parties."

"I need to know." Hermione said with determination gleaming in her eyes, "I need to know all the risks. I need to know everything about this spell."

Professor Snape looked at her for a moment and sighed deeply, turning the page and pointing to a section of the book where, Harry saw with horror, there was depicted a corpse and a wizard in familiar white restraints.

Hermione glanced at the text and looked up at the older man expectantly.

"It is written in a language few would understand, even someone with the witching abilities you have demonstrated, Miss Granger," Professor Snape replied. "The potion is extremely difficult to fashion and there are a number of ingredients you must collect. Your friends can help you there. The brewing process takes a few weeks…not unlike Polyjuice Potion although we have not covered that yet in class."

The three friends tried not to look guilty and avoided each other’s gazes.

"Once the potion is ready, it must be administered to the person while they are in contact with the object that is the source of the Deservio Obligato. It is rather unpleasant tasting although Wolfsbane Potion is much more foul, in my opinion."

Harry shuddered as he remembered watching Professor Lupin drinking the smoking goblet many times…the very smell of it was awful enough.

"What about the spell?" Ron asked. "I have only heard a bit about it…very difficult incantation from what Percy told me once."

Professor Snape nodded again. "A very difficult incantation, Mister Weasley. One must block out all other thoughts and focus their entire attention on the person they are endeavouring to cure. They recite a chant and touch their wand to the person’s chest…somewhere in the vicinity of the heart. I am uncertain as to what happens exactly but I do know that the spell takes ten minutes. Not more. Not less."

"And what if something happens during those ten minutes?" Hermione asked. "What if the spell is broken by an interruption of some sort? Can it be restarted?"

"No," Professor Snape replied quietly. "The effect of the spell is so arduous on both parties that, if it is broken prematurely, the result could be catastrophic. Think of it as a link…a lifeline between yourself and Draco. If the lifeline is untimely severed…before you are both freed from the spell, you will either die or be driven totally mad. There is no cure should you fail, Miss Granger."

Hermione sat there silently, thinking about what Professor Snape had told her. She thought about the pleading expression in Draco’s eyes. She thought about her nightmares. She thought about the kiss and she knew, without a doubt, that she had to try to save him. She had to try to bring him back to the light. The risks involved were inconsequential in comparison to the horror of what would certainly be a fate even worse than death.

"I cannot let this happen," she stated firmly. "I will not let this happen. Whatever the risk, I am willing to face it."

"I am glad to see that the reputation for Gryffindor bravery is not misplaced," Professor Snape said, his black eyes glittering as he closed the book and stood up.

"What do we do?" Harry asked.

"I have taken the liberty of preparing a list of ingredients for yourself and Mister Weasley. These are items that I do not have in my own stores. Madame Pomfrey and Professor Sprout will be able to help you with them. Miss Granger," Professor Snape turned to her with an unreadable look. "I will be instructing you on the proper preparation of an infusion of dragon heartstring essence which forms the base of the potion. It is a complicated procedure but not out of your league."

"When should we get together to start this?" Ron wondered, looking over the list of ingredients in Harry’s hand.

"The sooner, the better," Professor Snape replied. "The more time passes, the more contamination in Draco’s body and the more effort required to purge him of all the darkness. Of course, you will require some time to gather the ingredients…"

"These aren’t that hard to find," Ron interrupted. "It won’t take long, Professor."

Harry looked at his friend with pride. This was not an easy thing for either of them to undertake but they were both willing to do it for Hermione’s sake.

"Your enthusiasm is gratifying, Mister Weasley. I am impressed with both you and Mister Potter for assisting someone who, I have to admit, has been a veritable nemesis for the past six years," Professor Snape remarked.

"Well, it’s not like I am going to go all out and become his best friend or anything like that, "Ron replied, blushing somewhat. "I just don’t like the idea of someone being so cruel to their own son and if I can stick it to Lucius Malfoy, who has always hated my entire family…well, I am all for it."

"Thankfully, Draco took after Narcissa, despite his father’s best efforts. She paid the ultimate price for that and I do not intend to allow her to have died in vain," Professor Snape said harshly and then, surprisingly, chuckled. "Although, even I must admit, that the thought of "sticking it to Lucius" as you so eloquently phrased it, Mister Weasley, is a most worthwhile enterprise in itself."