Finding Clarity Amongst The Fandom Noise: Harry Potter And Hermione Granger

         

  Finding Clarity Amongst The Fandom Noise: Harry Potter And Hermione Granger

Hi, I'm Manvitha, a girl who reads books as much as she writes them. You know me; the messy poetess, the young writer. But I really don't want to brag. I've never written something like this before. This is not a story or poem, like I usually write in this blog. It's sort of like---a collection of my experiences and thoughts on.........

Harry Potter.

Yes, you heard it right.

This not a fan fiction. This is rather something about how I got into the Harry Potter series in the first place, what I felt like after being introduced to the Wizarding World after being a Muggle (and also a bookworm) for several years, and whatnot.

But this isn't entirely a summary either. This is a representation of my thoughts of a very specific aspect of Harry Potter: the friendship between two of the most important characters of the series----Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. 

Now---why only these two? Why is it this fictional bond so important that I want to make a blog about it? 

It all started in August, 2025. It was a normal day at school, just another day of regular classes and activities. Or so I thought. 

On one particular day in that month, after the morning assembly, a few grades were asked to stay back in the auditorium , including our grade (at that time); Grade 7. Did any of our teachers want to make an announcement? 

Turns out..it was actually much more interesting than that.

Grades 6 to 10 from The Creek Planet School were being given an opportunity to participate in IIMUN---India's International Movement To Unite Nations. We were excited; this was personally my first impression of an MUN conference, but I genuinely enjoyed the speech given by our fellow chief guest in order to introduce us to IIMUN and the experiences we may have there. What I particularly found captivating was the description of our chief guest's first experience at IIMUN. What I loved about that speech and found somehow relatable was that it was not a flawless, perfect experience of instant confidence and understanding. Our chief guest was really down-to-earth and interactive. His description of his experience at IIMUN wasn't like anything that students like us were usually spoon-fed by adults; by being a good boy, pleasing my elders, and working hard I did well in IIMUN (no offense to anyone).

His description was relatable, honest, and yet taught us something valuable. He did not understand everything right away; it was an MUN conference mistaken for a dressing competition. 

The IIMUN conference contained several committees (you could think of it as groups of people discussing the same topic, I don't know, I'm not an expert). Committees were usually things related to real-world problems in Politics, Sports, and Development across the world, as far as I can remember. Your assigned committee will basically be the topic you will be having a discussion with others in committee about (I'm sorry, I can't put it in words perfectly). 

Now, in IIMUN, there was one special committee which dealt with magical problems of the Wizarding World. It was centered around one of the most beloved series in the world; Harry Potter.

Our chief guest, being around our age at the time, was so excited due to the committee of Harry Potter being there. There was a small misinterpretation made, however. He had thought that it was a dressing competition, and you had to dress up as your assigned portfolio (or rather, your character, in this particular committee). Despite initial confusion (which was quite normal for a teenager experiencing their first ever MUN conference, in my opinion), being a huge fan of Harry Potter, he simply spoke confidently, and won one of the awards for it. 

This showed how passion, enthusiasm, and love for what you do can spark confidence and help you shine. Imagine it, just a teenager who's confused yet excited speaks from the heart due to being a genuine fan of Harry Potter, and his spark makes him shine. 

After all, isn't that something truly compelling? That's why that speech stood out to me so much. I don't think we still live in a world where the path to success is linear, and we walk down the same path as everybody else to live a decent, stable life (this is just my understanding, you don't have to agree, I'm only a 12-year-old girl). When I wrote the two of my books (Inner Potential: An Unexpected Inspiration and The Abandoned Artist), both of them revolved around potential, self-discovery, and transformation, and I prioritize  these values in my daily life. I noticed that whenever I didn't let myself do what I truly wanted due to the fear of appearing different or feeling judged, I was pretty normal....but some part of me felt regret that I blended in with the crowd. When I mustered up the courage to do things I truly wanted to do despite fear (it was as big as writing two books, and as small as dancing during a party/gathering or giving a spontaneous speech or asking the chief guest a question in school), it actually helped me grow and express myself. Judgement and fear of being different didn't seem like a problem anymore. 

Because the truth is, all of us are different. But....what if we considered these differences as strengths and used it to make our ourselves shine and make a positive impact on the world around us? Imagine the amazing the things we could do together! Imagine how we could solve real-world problems and make the world a better place! It may sound a bit dramatic, but I experienced this. It doesn't need to be, "change the world" kind of action. It can be as small as telling your teammates a unique idea of yours during a group project in school instead of thinking that your idea isn't good and discouraging yourself, for instance.

IIMUN had a similar approach, I felt. It was a youth-led organization which encouraged young delegates to shine. And the fact that our chief guest nailed IIMUN despite initial confusion because of being a genuine fan of Harry Potter? I feel like this reflected everything I just said about embracing our differences. 

The more I thought about it, the more relatable this speech seemed to me. I know how it feels to be a fan of something, excited to express yourself, as was shown in the speech. Being a bookworm and fan of multiple TV shows or franchises myself, I knew what the word "fan" actually meant, because that was honestly what I was and what I am still living as, starting from a very young age. I spent hours binging my favorite TV shows and franchises such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, Kung Fu Panda, and True Beauty (though I don't recommend that, it could cost you your eyesight, plus bonus chappal shots from Mummy or Daddy, haha). My first obsession in books was a book called The Kid Who Came From Space. This devoted-fan attitude impacted my music choices as well, causing me to be a hardcore Blink/Blackpink fan. I wrote about Blackpink in The Abandoned Artist, and talked about True Beauty while launching that very book in school. There's a poem about being a fan in Chapter 2 of The Abandoned Artist called "The Fangirl".

Yep. That's why the speech really.....resonated with me. Perhaps that was why I was really interested to participate as a delegate in IIMUN.

But one thing hit me. Most of the committees were for seniors, Harry Potter was one of the few options we had for committees, and I also needed to submit three of my most preferred committees (I think those were called Preferences) before I was assigned one. 

In all my years of being a bookworm and fangirl of multiple TV shows, franchises and a Kpop girl group, I never bothered to read or watch Harry Potter. Maybe I was too preoccupied with being a part of other fandoms, or maybe it just never occurred to me to read or watch Harry Potter despite having a few Potterhead friends. 

There was a broad possibility I would be assigned Harry Potter. I had less choices.

I had to read Harry Potter within a month. Or should I just watch the movies? I didn't know.

A few weeks later I found out that I was actually put in the Harry Potter Committee. My portfolio? Kingsley Shacklebolt. And when did that character appear? In the fifth part (I did manage to cram in details about him by researching, but that's not the point).

I started reading Harry Potter. I knew that the movies would be a faster option....but I honestly don't know. Don't ask me why I read the book instead (I managed to complete only one book before IIMUN haha, but thankfully I did ok and pretty much gained an understanding of everything).

After IIMUN was done, I continued and read the rest of the series. 

Ok.

Tell me why nobody pushed me to read Harry Potter before. Tell me why I was a mere Muggle all these years. Tell me why I didn't get my Hogwarts letter yet!

In other words, I fell in love with the series. It's brilliant, I just couldn't stop reading, my parents used to tell me to take a break from reading Harry Potter. 

But one particular character caught my eye; Hermione Granger. Was it partly because of Emma Watson and her iconicness (I don't think that's a word)? Well....maybe. But I haven't put a lot of emphasis on the movies, personally. The cast is awesome, but there were a few modifications in the movies and the books were more realistic and less influenced by....you know. I just held the books more close to my heart, in other words.

The reason why Hermione caught my eye was because...firstly, she was iconic. I'm talking about book Hermione. I'm talking about "I kidnapped Rita Skeeter" and "There are more important things; friendship and bravery" Hermione. But maybe...there was something else.

Though I am a different person now, I have to admit that there was a point where I was a bit of a bossy know-it-all in my life, when I recently came to India at the age of 9. That was in my dance class. Things were really chaotic and wacky. Not exactly something to talk about in simple terms. I had made a few mistakes and realised later that I can correct mistakes gently and with better communication. 

Did you notice anything? That was almost exactly how Hermione was like initially. Later on, her strengths were recognized and used to help her friends in many ways. But initially....she was misunderstood. But the reason why I liked her wasn't because of her being "an insufferable know-it-all". I actually didn't like when she was depicted or labelled like that. 

But....she was brilliant. She grew with the golden trio. She didn't suppress herself or hide her brilliance when it mattered. It annoyed others, but it mattered. She was helpful. Loyal. And when I say loyal...I mean, incredibly loyal. Perhaps my liking for Hermione increased when she was not-so-nicely spoken to and called a number of rude names..especially by Draco Malfoy, Snape......and even Ron.

However, there were a couple of times where her friends, Harry and Ron, supported her.

So one day, while I was just enjoying my journey through the Wizarding World and the Golden Trio's adventures (trauma, to be exact), I started reading articles about fans' thoughts about the golden trio just for fun. 

I immediately wished I had never read those articles. 

"Hermione in the books was pretty annoying, Emma Watson glorified her."

"Harry doesn't actually like Hermione, she's annoying. But she helps in homework and spells."

"Hermione was just a useful acquaintance to Harry."

"Harry and Hermione is the weakest link in the series."

"Ron and Hermione were a perfect pairing, because Harry never supported Hermione and they didn't even work properly as friends in the books."

Ok, ok. It's not the fans' fault entirely. However, all these different interpretations were confusing me. In fact, it was like everything I thought I knew about Harry and Hermione's friendship was....crushed. Was it true? I mean....that's true, the movies glorified Hermione and in the books she wasn't that likable. Harry was sometimes annoyed by her, maybe that's why Harmony (I strongly ship them because of their bond, in fact, but let’s focus on canon, ok?) didn't make sense. But again, that doesn't mean that their bond is meaningless just because they are opposite-gender besties. Or were they right about Harry not liking Hermione? Was she just a useful acquaintance? Do I like Hermione just because of Emma Watson? That can't be it.. Why did Romione work out when they had much more arguments compared to Harry and Hermione? Why did J. K. Rowling regret pairing Hermione with Ron? Why do people downplay Harry and Hermione just to defend Romione? If Harry and Hermione are considered "siblings" and "platonic soulmates" by many why are other fans exaggerating Harry getting annoyed by Hermione sometimes?

I kept getting torn between all my beliefs, I kept rereading the books and searching up scenes to support different theories and confirm my understanding of the dynamic. It was….I can’t find the words. If I were to describe the confusion during that experience, I would probably have to write a separate blog for it.

Finally…. I came to a conclusion. Not a perfect one, but a real one. And I want to share that with you.

First of all, I realized that all those claims in the articles don’t erase the emotions I’ve felt while actually reading the books. My understanding and interpretation is just as valid as anyone else’s. Large fandoms like Harry Potter, especially when they debate on social media platforms, can be heavily influenced by other sources and even biased, which usually depends on certain personalities of characters, or dislike or strong liking of a certain ship (you know how many there are in Harry Potter, including “Dramione”, like are you kidding me? No offense though, if you like Draco and Hermione, that’s your choice). Some large fandoms downplay other relationships to make the specific relationship that they favor seem better for the sake of proving their point.

This is not at all to say that all Potterheads or all fans of any fandom in general are like that. I’m sure there are many genuine fans of Harry Potter who are not biased in terms of character dynamics, and are honestly just there to savor the magic.

After realizing this, I asked myself, “What do I personally think about Hermione and Harry? What would I believe if such articles were not there to hold me back anymore? What would I believe if I truly found clarity amongst the fandom noise?”

Then it hit me. Loyalty, mutual-respect, and closeness.That’s what describes Harry and Hermione’s relationship. 

This conclusion is not only to make myself happy and free from all the fandom noise, but is also closely linked to J. K. Rowlings own descriptions of their relationship. It is supported by the text from the books. That was the moment when I decided that I stick to this understanding no matter what. If you don’t agree with me I’ll hex you by taking advice from Voldemort himself. Hahaha, just kidding. The point of this blog isn’t to debate or prove my point, it’s to provide you freedom and depict their friendship in the most accurate and unbiased way I can, apart from the fandom noise just in case you are experiencing something similar, because this confusion between Harry and Hermione is really common in the fandom, I think. 

This, my friend, is a list of Harry and Hermione moments from the books which portray their bond as loyal, respectful, and close. I included every little, minute detail from the narration as well, so this will honestly be quite a long list. This list isn’t to debate or prove my point, as I said earlier. It’s about finding clarity amongst the fandom noise. Well…join me on the journey, then!

Note: I personally ship Harry and Hermione and find them a better fit than the canon pairings because I’ve noticed multiple patterns which prove the depth and maturity of their friendship, which are solid foundations for a healthy, loving, romantic, long-term relationship, not just attraction and ‘romantic tension’. Whether you would like to interpret their bond as completely platonic or potentially romantic is completely your choice, But there’s no denying that it’s deep. This list isn’t anything like a shipping war, so just read it and interpret it however you want, as long as you’re not bashing other characters haha. Note: I am not a major Ron and Ginny basher because I don’t hate them as people in general.

                                                                   ************* 

                                          

                    Finding Clarity Amongst The Fandom Noise

-Harry and Hermione moments from the books which depict their bond as loyal, respectful, and close.

                                             

                                         ***Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone***

1. Harry And Hermione Meeting For The First Time And Harry Feeling Dazed As She Read So Much About Him

~‘Harry Potter,’ said Harry. 

‘Are you really?’ said Hermione. ‘I know all about you, of course-I got a few extra books for background reading, and you’re in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century.’

‘Am I?’ said Harry, feeling dazed.

2. Hermione Indirectly Addressing Harry Even Though They Weren’t Close Friends Yet

~Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upwards and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard Hermione whisper, ‘It’s bewitched to look like the sky outside, I read about it in Hogwarts: A History.’

It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all and that the Great Hall didn’t simply open on to the heavens.

3. Harry Realizing That Hermione Was Right Even Though He Was Annoyed 

~ ‘Malfoy tricked you,’ Hermione said to Harry. ‘You realize that, don’t you? He was never going to meet you - Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must tipped him off.’

Harry thought she was probably right, but he wasn’t going to tell her that.

‘ Let’s go.’ 

4. Harry Being Startled To See Hermione Crying Even Though They Weren’t Close Friends Yet

~  Ron was in a very bad temper by the end of the class.

‘It’s no wonder no one can stand her,’ he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor. ‘She’s a nightmare, honestly.’

Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. Harry caught a glimpse of her face- and was startled to see that she was in tears.

‘I think she heard you.’

‘So?’ said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. ‘She must’ve noticed she’s got no friends.’

Hermione didn’t turn up for the next class and wasn’t seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry and Ron overhead Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls’ toilets and wanted to be left alone.

5. Harry Being The Only One To Notice That Hermione Didn’t Know About The Troll And Then Saving Her With Ron 

~ As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry suddenly grabbed Ron’s arm.

‘I’ve just thought- Hermione.’

‘What about her?’ 

‘She doesn’t know about the troll.’

‘Oh, all right.’ he snapped. ‘But Percy’d better not see us.’

Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor and hurried off towards the girls’ toilets.

~ ‘The key’s in the lock,’ Harry muttered. ‘We could lock it in.’

‘Good idea,’ said Ron nervously.

They edged towards the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn’t about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door, and lock it.

‘Yes!’

Flushed with their victory they started to run back up the passage , but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop- a high, petrified scream-and it was coming from the chamber they’d just locked up. 

‘Oh, no,’ said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.

‘It’s the girls’ toilets! Harry gasped.

‘Hermione!’ they said together.

~ Wheeling around they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic- Harry pulled the door open- they ran inside.

Hermione Granger was sinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went. 

‘Confuse it!’ Harry said desperately to Ron, and seizing a tap he threw it as hard as he could against the wall.

~ ‘Come on, run, run!’ Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her towards the door, but she couldn’t move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror.

~ It was Hermione who spoke first.

‘Is it- dead?’

‘I don’t think so,’ said Harry. ‘I think it’s just been knocked out.

6. Hermione Lying To Get Harry And Ron Out Of Trouble And Their Friendship Starting

~ ‘Please, Professor McGonagall- they were looking for me.’

‘Miss Granger!’

Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last.

‘I went looking for the troll because I-I thought I could deal with it on my own- you know, because I’ve read all about them.’

~ ‘If they hadn’t found me, I’d be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn’t have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived.’ 

~ “Well…in that case…’ said Professor McGonagall, staring at the three of them. ‘Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?’

Hermione hung her head. Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets.

~ ‘We should have gotten more than ten points,’ Ron grumbled.

‘Five, you mean, once she’s taken off Hermione’s.’

‘Good of her to get us out of trouble like that,’ Ron admitted. ‘Mind you, we did save her.’

‘She might not have needed saving if we hadn’t locked the thing in with her,’ Harry reminded him.

~ The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said ‘Thanks,’ and hurried off to get plates.

But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.

7. Harry Feeling Lucky To Have Hermione As A Friend

~ It was really lucky that Harry now had Hermione as a friend. He didn’t know how he’d have got through all his homework without her, what with all the last-minute Quidditch practice Wood was making them do. She had also lent him Quidditch Through the Ages, which turned out to be a very interesting read. 

~Hermione had become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since Harry and Ron saved her from the mountain troll and she was much nicer for it.

8. Hermione Trying To Make Harry Eat Breakfast Before His First Quidditch Match

~ The next morning dawned very bright and cold. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a Quidditch match.

‘You’ve got to eat some breakfast.’

‘I don’t want anything.’

‘Just a bit of toast,’ wheedled Hermione.

‘I’m not hungry.’

Harry felt terrible. In a hour’s time he’d be walking down to the pitch.

9. Hermione Supporting Harry During His First Quidditch Match By Performing A Charm On His Surprise Banner

~ Ron and Hermione joined Neville, Seamus and Dean the West Ham fan up the top row. As a surprise for Harry, they had painted a large banner on one of the sheets Scabbers had ruined. It said Potter for President and Dean, who was good at drawing, had done a large Gryffindor lion underneath. Then Hermione had performed a tricky little charm so that the paint flashed different colors.

~ Out of the corner of his eye he saw the fluttering banner high above, flashing Potter for President over the crowd. His heart skipped. He felt braver.

10. Hermione Not Hesitating To Set Fire To Snape’s Robes When She Thought That He Was Jinxing Harry’s Broom And Worrying About Him

~ Harry’s broom had given a wild jerk and Harry swung off it. He was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand.

‘Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?’ Seamus whispered.

‘Can’t have,’ said Hagrid, his voice shaking. ‘Can’t nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark Magic-no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand.’

At these words, Hermione seized Hagrid’s binoculars, but instead of looking up at Harry, she started looking frantically at the crowd.

‘What are you doing?’ moaned Ron, grey-faced.

‘I knew it,’ Hermione gasped. ‘Snape-look.’

Ron grabbed the binoculars. Snape was in the middle of the stands opposite them. He had his eyes fixed on Harry and was muttering non-stop under his breath. 

‘He’s doing something- jinxing the broom,’ said Hermione.

‘What should we do?’

‘Leave it to me.’

Before Ron could say another word, Hermione disappeared.

~ ‘Come on, Hermione,’ Ron muttered desperately. 

Hermione had fought her way across to the stand where Snape stood and was now racing along the row behind him; she didn’t even stop to say sorry as she knocked Professor Quirrell Headfirst into the row in front. Reaching Snape, she crouched down, pulled out her wand, and whispered a few, well chosen words. Bright blue flames shot from her wand on to the hem of Snape’s robes. 

It took perhaps thirty seconds for Snape to realize that he was on fire. A sudden yelp told her she had done her job. Scooping the fire off him into a little far in her pocket she scrambled back along the row- Snape would never know what had happened.

It was enough. Up in the air, Harry was suddenly able to clamber back on to his broom. 

~ ‘Rubbish,’ said Hagrid again. ‘Snape’s a Hogwarts teacher, he’d do nothing of the sort.’ 

‘So why did he just try and kill Harry?’ cried Hermione.

The afternoon’s events seemed to have certainly changed her mind about Snape. 

‘I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I’ve read all about them! You’ve got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn’t blinking at all, I saw him!’    

11. Harry Remembering Hermione When Ron Tells Him To Forget About The Mirror Of Erised

~ ‘Want to play chess, Harry?’ said Ron.

‘No.’

‘Why don’t we go down and visit Hagrid?’ 

‘No…you go..’

‘I know what you’re thinking about, Harry, that mirror. Don’t go back tonight.’

‘Why not?’

‘I dunno- I’ve just got a bad feeling about it- and anyway, you’ve had too many close shaves already. Filch, Snape, and Mrs Norris are wandering around. So what if they can’t see you? What if they walk into you? What if they walk into you? What if you knock something over?’ 

‘You sound like Hermione.’

‘I’m serious, Harry, don’t go.’

12. Hermione Supporting Harry While He Plays Quidditch 

~ ‘Ron!’ said Hermione suddenly. ‘Harry- !’

‘What? Where?’

Harry had suddenly gone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd. Hermione stood up, her crossed fingers in her mouth, as Harry streaked towards the ground like a bullet.

~ ‘Come on, Harry!’ Hermione screamed, leaping on to her seat to watch as Harry sped straight past Snape- she didn’t even notice Malfoy and Ron rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yells coming from the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe and Goyle. 

~ ‘Ron! Ron! Where are you? The game’s over! Harry’s won! We’ve won! Gryffindor are in the lead!’ shrieked Hermione, dancing up and down on her seat and hugging Parvati Patil in the row in the front.

~Harry left the changing room alone some time later, to take his Nimbus Two Thousand back to the broom shed. He couldn’t ever remember feeling happier.

~He walked over the damp grass, reliving the last hour in his head, which was a happy blur: Gryffindors running to lift him on to their shoulders; Ron and Hermione in the distance, jumping up and down, Ron cheering through a heavy nosebleed.

~ ‘Harry, where have you been?’ Hermione squeaked.

13. Harry Beaming at Hermione When She Flatters Hagrid And Makes Him More Likely To Answer Harry’s Questions 

~ ‘So- yeh wanted to ask me somethin’?’

‘Yes,’ said Harry. There was no point beating about the bush. ‘We were wondering if you could tell us what’s guarding the Philosopher’s Stone apart from Fluffy.’

Hagrid frowned at him.

‘O’ course I can’t,’ he said. ‘Number one, I don’t know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn’t tell yeh if I could. That stone’s here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts- I s’ppose yeh’ve worked that out an’ all? Beats me how yeh even know abou’ Fluffy.’

‘Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here,’ said Hermione in a warm, flattering voice. Hagrid’s beard twitched and they could tell he was smiling. ‘We only wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you.’

Hagrid’s chest swelled at these last words. Harry and Ron beamed at Hermione.

‘Well, I don’t s’ppose it could hurt ter tell yeh that…..let’s see..he borrowed Fluffy from me…the some o’ the teachers did enchantments..Professor Sprout- Professor Flitwick- Professor McGonagall-‘ he ticked them off his fingers, ‘Professor Quirell- an’ Dumbledore himself did somethin’, o’ course. Hang on, I’ve forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape.’

14. Harry and Hermione Laughing Together When Malfoy Gets Detention When They Both Go To Give Norbert To Charlie Weasley

~ ‘Nearly there!’ Harry panted and they reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower.

Then a sudden movement ahead of them made them almost drop the crate. Forgetting that they were already invisible, they shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared.

Professor McGonagall, in a tartan dressing gown and a hairnet, had Malfoy by the ear.

‘Detention!’ she shouted. ‘And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you-‘

‘You don’t understand, Professor, Harry Potter’s coming- he’s got a dragon!’ 

‘What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on- I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!’

The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest thing in the world after that. Not until they’d stepped out into the cold night air did they throw off the cloak, glad to be able to breathe properly again. Hermione did a sort of jig. 

‘Malfoy’s got detention! I could sing!’

‘Don’t,’ Harry advised her.

Chuckling about Malfoy, they waited, Norbert thrashing about in his crate. About ten minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness.

~ At last, Norbert was going…going..gone. 

They slipped back down the spiral staircase, their hearts as light as their hands, now that Norbert was off them. No more dragon- Malfoy in detention- what could spoil their happiness? 

The answer to that was waiting at the foot of the stairs. As they stepped into the corridor, Filch’s face loomed suddenly out of the darkness.

‘Well, well, well,’ he whispered, ‘we are in trouble.’

They’d left the Invisibility Cloak on top of the tower.  

15. Harry Just Casually Guessing Hermione’s Reactions 

~ Harry had forgotten they still had detentions to do in the future over in the furors over the points they’d lost. He half expected Hermione to complain that this was a whole night of revision lost, but she didn’t say a word. Like Harry, she felt they deserved what they’d got.

16. Harry and Hermione Looking At Each Other And Enduring Their Detention Together

~ They walked on through the dark, dense trees. Harry kept looking nervously looking over his shoulder. He had the nasty feeling they were being watched. He was very glad he had Hagrid with his crossbow with them. They had just passed a bend in the path when Hermione grabbed Hagrid’s arm. 

‘Hagrid! Look! Red sparks, the others are in trouble!’

‘You two wait here!’ Hagrid shouted. ‘Stay on the path, I’ll come back for yeh!’ 

They heard him crashing away through the undergrowth and stood looking at each other, very scared, until they couldn’t hear anything but the rustling of leaves around them. 

~ ‘You don’t think they’ve been hurt, do you?’ whispered Hermione.

‘I don’t care if Malfoy has, but if something’s got Neville….It’s our fault he’s here in the first place.’

~ ‘Do you mean,’ Harry croaked, ‘that was Vol-‘

‘Harry! Harry, are you all right?’

Hermione was running towards them down the path, Hagrid puffing along behind her.

‘I’m fine,’ said Harry, hardly knowing what he was saying. ‘The unicorn’s dead, Hagrid, it’s in that clearing back there.’

17. Hermione Having A Word Of Comfort For Harry Despite Looking Frightened When Harry Is Scared About Voldemort 

~ ‘So all I’ve got to wait for now is Snape to steal the Stone,’ Harry went on feverishly, ‘then Voldemort will be able to come and finish me off….Well, I suppose Bane’ll be happy.’

Hermione looked very frightened, but she had a word of comfort.

‘Harry, everyone says Dumbledore’s the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of. With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won’t touch you. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor McGonagall says that’s a very imprecise branch of magic.’

18. Hermione Trying To Be Reassuring When Harry Talks About His Worries And Scar Hurting

~ Harry was rubbing his forehead. 

‘I wish I knew what this means!’ he burst out angrily. ‘My scar keeps hurting- it’s happened before, but never as often as this.’ 

‘Go to Madam Pomfrey,’ Hermione suggested.

‘I’m not ill,’ said Harry. ‘I think it’s a warning…it means danger’s coming….’

~Harry nodded, but he couldn’t shake off a lurking feeling that there was something he’d forgotten to do, something important. When he tried to explain this, Hermione said, ‘That’s just the exams. I woke up last night and was halfway through my Transfiguration notes when I’d remembered we’d done that one.’ 

Harry was quite sure the unsettled feeling didn’t have anything to do with work, though.

19. Hermione Agreeing To What Harry Wanted Her To Do Despite Being Annoyed With Ron’s Comment 

~ Out on the stone steps, Harry turned to the others.

‘Right, here’s what we’ve got to do,’ he whispered urgently. ‘One of us has got to keep an eye on Snape- wait outside the staff room and follow him if he leaves it. Hermione, you’d better do that.’

‘Why me?’

‘It’s obvious,’ said Ron. ‘You can pretend to be waiting for Professor Flitwick, you know.’ He put on a high voice, ‘Oh, Professor Flitwick, I’m so worried, I think I got question fourteen b wrong…..’ 

‘Oh, shut up,’ said Hermione, but she agreed to go and watch out for Snape. 

20. Hermione Initially Dissapproving Of Harry’s Idea To Get The Stone, But Immediately Understanding And Willing To Help Harry After He Explains 

~ ‘You can’t!’ said Hermione. ‘After what McGonagall and Snape have said? You’ll be expelled!’

‘SO WHAT?’ Harry shouted. ‘Don’t you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort’s coming back! Haven’t you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won’t be any Hogwarts to be expelled from! He’ll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn’t matter anymore, can’t you see? D’you think he’ll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor win the House Cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I’ll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort to find me there. It’s only dying a bit later than I would have done, because I’m never going over to the Dark Side! I’m going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed me parents, remember?’

He glared at them.

‘You’re right, Harry,’ said Hermione in a small voice. 

‘I’ll use the Invisibility Cloak,’ said Harry. ‘It’s just lucky I got it back.’ 

‘But will it cover all three of us?’ said Ron. 

‘All- all three of us?’

‘Oh, come off it, you don’t think we’d let you go alone?’

‘Of course not,’ said Hermione briskly. ‘How do you think you’d get to the Stone without us? I’d better go and look through my books, there might be something useful….’

‘But if we get caught, you two will be expelled, too.’

‘Not if I can help it,’ said Hermione grimly. ‘Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on his exam. They’re not throwing me out after that!’ 

~ Underneath the Cloak , Harry turned to the other two.

‘If you want to go back, I won’t blame you,’ he said. ‘You can take the Cloak, I don’t need it now.’ 

‘Don’t be stupid,’ said Ron.

‘We’re coming,’ said Hermione.

21. Harry Relying On Hermione During A Crisis

~ ‘Go on, then, try and hit me!’ said Neville, raising his fists. ‘I’m ready!’

Harry turned to Hermione.

‘Do something,’ he said desperately. 

Hermione stepped forward.

‘Neville,’ she said, ‘I’m really, really sorry about this.’

She raised her wand.

‘Petrificus Totalus!’ she cried, pointing it at Neville.

Neville’s arms snapped to his sides. His legs sprang together. His whole body rigid, he swayed where he stood and then fell flat on his face, stiff as a board.

Hermione ran to turn him over. Neville’s jaws were jammed together so he couldn’t speak. Only his eyes were moving, looking at them in horror. 

‘What’ve you done to him?’ Harry whispered.

‘It’s the full Body-bind,’ said Hermione miserably. ‘Oh, Neville, I’m so sorry.’

‘We had to, Neville, no time to explain.’ 

22. Harry Realising That Hermione Paying Attention In Herbology Actually Saved Them

~ Ron followed straight away. He landed sprawl next to Harry. 

‘What’s this stuff?’ were his first words.

‘Dunno, sort of plant thing. I suppose it’s here to break the fall. Come on, Hermione!’

~ ‘Lucky this plant thing’s here, really,’ said Ron.

‘Lucky!’ shrieked Hermione. ‘Look at you both!’

~ ‘Oh, right!’ said Hermione, and she whipped out her wand, waved it, muttered something and sent a jet of the same bluebell flames she had used on Snape at the plant. In a matter of seconds, the two boys felt it loosening its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth. Wriggling and flailing, it unraveled itself from their bodies and they were able to pull free.

‘Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione,’ said Harry as he joined her by the wall, wiping sweat off his face.

23. Hermione Being Calm In The Face Of Fire When Harry Is Anxious

~ Hermione let out a great sigh and Harry, amazed, saw that she was smiling, the very last thing he felt like doing.

‘Brilliant,’ said Hermione. ‘This isn’t magic- it’s logic- a puzzle. A lot of the greatest wizards haven’t got an ounce of logic, they’d be stuck in here forever.’

‘But so will we, won’t we?’

‘Of course not,’ said Hermione. ‘Everything we need is here on this paper. Seven bottles: three are poison; two are wine; one will get us safely through the black fire and one will get us back through the purple.’

‘But how do we know which to drink?’

‘Give me a minute.’

Hermione read the paper several times. Then she walked up and down the line of bottles, muttering to herself and pointing at them. At last, she clapped her hands. 

‘Got it,’ she said. ‘The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire- towards the Stone.’ 

Harry looked at the tiny bottle.

‘There’s only enough for one of us,’ he said. That’s hardly one swallow.’

They at each other.

‘Which one will get you back through the purple flames?’

Hermione pointed at a rounded bottle at the right end of the line.

‘You drink that,’ said Harry. ‘No, listen- get back and get Ron- grab brooms from the flying key room, they’ll get you out of the trapdoor and past Fluffy- go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, we need him. I might be able to hold Snape off for a while, but I’m no match for him, really.’

24. Hermione Being Concerned About Harry And Telling Him He’s A Great Wizard And Harry Returning The Compliment And Concern

‘But Harry- What if You-Know-Who’s with him?’

‘Well- I was lucky once, wasn’t I?’ said Harry, pointing at his scar. ‘I might get lucky again.’

Hermione’s lip trembled and she suddenly dashed at Harry and threw her arms around him.

‘Hermione!’ 

‘Harry- you’re a great wizard, you know.’

‘I’m not as good as you,’ said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him.

‘Me!’ said Hermione. ‘Books! And cleverness! There are more important things- friendship and bravery and- Oh Harry- be careful!’

‘You drink first,’ said Harry. ‘You are sure which is which, aren’t you?’

‘Positive,’ said Hermione. She took a long drink from the round bottle at the end and shuddered.

‘It’s not poison?’ said Harry anxiously.

‘No- but it’s like ice.’ 

‘Quick, go, before it wears off.’

‘Good luck- take care-‘

‘GO!’

Hermione turned and walked straight through the purple fire.

25. Hermione Saving Harry’s Life By Accidentally Knocking Over Quirrell When He Was Jinxing Harry’s Broom During Quidditch 

~ Harry couldn’t take it in. This couldn’t be true, it couldn’t.’

‘But Snape tried to kill me!’

‘No, no, no. I tried to kill you. Your friend Miss Granger accidentally knocked me over as she rushed to set fire to Snape at that Quidditch Match. She broke my eye contact with you. Another few seconds and I’d have got you off that broom. I’d have managed it before then if Snape hadn’t been muttering a counter-curse, trying to save you.’

26. Hermione Showing Concern For Harry After The Stone Was Destroyed

~ ‘Harry!’ 

Hermione looked ready to fling her arms around him again, but Harry was glad she held herself in as his head was still very sore.

‘Oh, Harry, we were sure you going to- Dumbledore was so worried- ‘

~ Harry told them everything: Quirrell; the Mirror; the Stone and Voldemort. Ron and Hermione were a very good audience, the gasped in all the right places and, when Harry told them what was under Quirell’s turban, Hermione screamed out loud.

~ ‘So what happened to you two?’ said Harry.

‘Well, I got back all right,’ said Hermione. ‘I brought Ron round- that took a while- and we were dashing up to the owlery to contact Dumbledore when we met him in the Entrance Hall. He already knew- he just said, “Harry’s gone after him, hasn’t he?” and hurtled off to the third floor.’

‘D’you think he meant you to do it?’ said Ron. ‘Sending you your father’s Cloak and everything?’

‘Well,’ Hermione exploded, ‘if he did- I mean to say- that’s terrible- you could have been killed.’

27. Harry Playing Close Attention To Hermione’s Expressions 

~ ‘Second- to Miss Hermione Granger- for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points.’

Hermione buried her face in her arms; Harry strongly suspected she had burst into tears.

28. Hermione Being Uncertain About Harry’s Holiday Because Of How Unpleasant Vernon Looked

~ ‘Hope you- er- have a good holiday,’ said Hermione, looking uncertainly after Uncle Vernon, shocked that anyone could be so unpleasant.

‘Oh, I will,’ said Harry, and they were surprised at the grin that was spreading all over his face. ‘They don’t know I’m not allowed to use Magic at home. I’m going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer…

                              *******Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets*********

29. Harry Missing Hermione and Ron More Than Anything Else After His First Term Ended

~ More than anything at Hogwarts, even more than playing Quidditch, Harry missed his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. 

30. Harry Praising Hermione In Front Of Dobby and Missing Her So Much That Talking About Her Was Painful 

~ Harry, who was feeling distinctly hot in the face, said, ‘Whatever you’ve heard about my greatness is a load of rubbish. I’m not even top of year at Hogwarts, that’s Hermione, she-‘

But he stopped quickly, because thinking about Hermione was painful. 

30. Harry Recognizing Hermione’s Handwriting From The Letters

~ ‘Friends who don’t even write to Harry Potter?’ said Dobby slyly.

‘I expect they’ve been- hang on,’ said Harry, frowning. ‘How do you know my friends aren’t writing to me?’ 

Dobby shuffled his feet.

‘Harry Potter mustn’t be angry with Dobby- Dobby did it for the best..’ 

‘Have you been stopping my letters?’ 

‘Dobby has them here, sir,’ said the elf. Stepping nimbly out of Harry’s reach, he pulled a thick wad of envelopes from the inside of the pillowcase he was wearing. Harry could make out Hermione’s neat writing, Ron’s untidy scrawl and even a scribble that looked as though it was from the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Hagrid

~ He made a grab for the letters, but Dobby jumped out of reach.

~ ‘No,’ said Harry angrily. ‘Give me my friends’ letters!’

31. Harry Saying ‘Ha’ When Draco Is Insulted By His Father Due To Hermione

~ ‘It’s not my fault,’ retorted Draco. ‘The teachers all have favorites, that Hermione Granger-‘

‘I would have thought you’d be ashamed that a girl of no wizard family beat you in every exam,’ snapped Mr Malfoy.

‘Ha!’ said Harry under his breath, pleased to see Draco looking both abashed and angry.

32. Harry Assuring Hermione That He Hadn’t Been Expelled And Noticing Her Attitude

~ They didn’t know the new year’s password, not having met a Gryffindor Prefect yet, but help came almost immediately; they heard scurrying feet behind them and turned to see Hermione dashing towards them.

‘There you are! Where have you been? The most ridiculous rumors- someone said you’d been expelled for crashing a flying car!’

‘Well, we haven’t been expelled,’ Harry assured her. 

~ ‘Night,’ Harry called back to Hermione, who was wearing a scowl just like Percy’s. 

~ There was a slight stiffness in the way she said ‘Morning’ which told Harry that she was still disapproving the way that had arrived.

~ Harry pushed his porridge away. His insides were burning with guilt.

~Atleast the Howler had done one good thing: Hermione seemed to think that they had now been punished enough and was being perfectly friendly.

34. Harry Communicating With Hermione By Mouthing Words

~ ‘Ask her if she saw anything,’ Harry mouthed at Hermione.

‘What are you whispering?’ said Myrtle, staring at him.

‘Nothing,’ said Harry quickly. ‘We wanted to ask-‘

‘I wish people would stop talking behind my back!’ said Myrtle, in a voice choked with tears. ‘I do have feelings, you know, even if I am dead.’

‘Myrtle, no one wants to upset you,’ said Hermione. ‘Harry only-‘ 

35. Harry Telling Dobby That He Wasn’t Going To Leave Hogwarts Due To The Risk Of Hermione Getting Attacked

~ ‘Dobby can’t sir, Dobby can’t, Dobby mustn’t tell!’ squealed the elf. ‘Go home, Harry Potter, go home!’

‘I’m not going anywhere!’ said Harry fiercely. ‘One of my best friends is Muggle-born! She’ll be first in line if the Chamber really has opened-‘

‘Harry Potter risks his own life for his friends!’ moaned Dobby, in a kind of miserable ecstasy. ‘So noble! So valiant! But he must save himself, he must, Harry Potter must not-‘

36. Hermione Being Concerned About Harry’s Arm

~ ‘It’s me,’ he said, closing the door behind him. There was a clunk, a splash and a gasp within the cubicle and he saw Hermione’s eye peering through the keyhole.

‘Harry!’ she said. ‘You gave us such a fright. Come in- how’s your arm?’

‘Fine,’ said Harry, squeezing into the cubicle. An old cauldron was perched on the toilet, and a cackling from under the rim told Harry they had lit a fire beneath it. Conjuring up portable, waterproof fires was a specialty of Hermione’s. 

37. Harry and Hermione Communicating Wordlessly

~ ‘I think I’d better do the actual stealing,’ Hermione continued, in a matter-of-fact tone. ‘You two will get expelled if you get in any more trouble, and I’ve got a clean record. So all you need to do is cause enough mayhem to keep Snape busy for five minutes or so.’

Harry smiled feebly. Deliberately causing mayhem in Snape’s Potions class was about as safe as poking a sleeping dragon in the eye. 

~ When Snape turned and walked off to bully Neville, Hermione caught Harry’s eye and nodded.

~ Harry ducked swiftly down his cauldron, pulled one of Fred’s Filibuster Fireworks out of his pocket and gave it and gave it a quick prod with his wand.

~ Goyle’s Potion explodes, showering the whole class. People shrieked as splashes of the Swelling Potion hit them. Malfoy got a fateful and his nose began to swell like a balloon; Goyle blundered around, his hands over his eyes, which had expanded to the size of dinner plates, while Snape was trying to restore calm and find out what had happened. Through the confusion, Harry saw Hermione slip quietly out of the door. 

~ As half of the class lumbered up to Snape’s desk, some weighed down with arms like clubs, others unable to talk through gigantic puffed lips, Harry saw Hermione slide back into the dungeon, the front of her robes bulging. 

~ ‘If I ever find out who threw this,’ Snape whispered, ‘I shall make sure that person is expelled.’

Harry arranged his face into what he hoped looked like a puzzled expression. 

38. Harry Automatically Moving Towards Hermione In The Duelling Club 

~ ‘Time to split up the dream team, I think,’ he sneered. ‘Weasley, you can partner Finnigan. Potter-‘

Harry moved automatically towards Hermione.

39. Harry Pulling Millicent Off Hermione When She Was In A Headlock With Her

~ A haze of greenish smoke was hovering over the scene. Both Neville and Justin were lying on the floor, panting; Ron was holding up an ashen-faced Seamus, apologizing for whatever his broken wand had done; but Hermione and Millicent Bulstrode were still moving; Millicent had Hermione in a headlock and Hermione was whimpering in pain. Both their wands lay forgotten on the floor. Harry leapt forward and pulled Millicent off. It was difficult; she was a lot bigger than he was. 

40. Harry Remembering The Risk Of Hermione Being Attacked By The Heir Of Slytherin When Dumbledore Asks If There Is Anything He Would Like To Tell Him

~ ‘I must ask you, Harry, whether there’s anything you’d like to tell me,’ he said gently. ‘Anything at all.’

Harry didn’t know what to say. He thought of Malfoy shouting, ‘You’ll be next, Mudbloods!’ and of the Polyjuice Potion, simmering way in Moaning Myrtle’s Bathroom. 

41. Harry Being Suddenly Wide Awake When He Hears That Hermione Is Done Making Polyjuice Potion

~ ‘Merry Christmas to you, too,’ said Hermione, throwing him his present. ‘I’ve been up for nearly an hour, adding more lacewings to the Potion. It’s ready.’

Harry sat up, suddenly wide awake.

‘Are you sure?’

‘Positive,’ said Hermione, shifting Scabbers the rat so that she could sit down on the end of his four-poster. 

42. Harry Trusting Hermione About Her Polyjuice Potion Plan Despite Being Slightly Skeptical 

~ ‘That could go seriously wrong-‘

But Hermione had a steely glint in her eye not unlike the one Professor McGonagall sometimes had.

‘The Potion will be useless without Crabbe and Goyle’s Hair,’ she said sternly. ‘You do want to investigate Malfoy, don’t you?’ 

‘Oh, all right, all right,’ said Harry. ‘But what about you? Whose hair are you ripping out?’ 

‘I’ve already got mine!’ said Hermione brightly, pulling a tiny bottle out of her pocket and showing them the single hair inside it. 

~ ‘Did you get them?’ Hermione asked breathlessly.

Harry showed her Goyle’s hair. 

‘Good. And I sneaked these spare robes out of laundry,’ Hermione said holding up a small sack.

43. Harry Being Concerned About Hermione When She Plucks The Wrong Hairs For Her Polyjuice Potion

~ Ron, who had been gazing at Harry, said, ‘You don’t know how bizarre it is to see Goyle thinking.’ He banged on Hermione’s door. ‘C’mon, we need to go….’

A high-pitched voice answered him. ‘I- I don’t think I’m going to come after all. You go on without me.’

~ Harry looked at Ron, bewildered.

~ ‘Hermione, are you ok?’ said Harry through the door. 

‘Fine- I’m fine..Go on-‘

~ ‘We’ll meet you back here, all right?’ he said. 

~ ‘Go away!’ Hermione squeaked.

Harry and Ron looked at each other. 

~ They heard the lock slide back and Hermione emerged, sobbing, he robes pulled up over her head.

~ Hermione let her robes fall and Ron backed into the sink.

Her face was covered in black fur. Her eyes had gone yellow and there were long pointed ears poking through her hair.

‘It was a c-cat hair!’ she howled. ‘M-Millicent Bulstrode m-must have a cat! And the P-Potion isn’t supposed to be used for animal transformations!’

~ ‘It’s ok, Hermione,’ said Harry quickly. ‘We’ll take you up to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey never asks too many questions…’ 

~ Harry and Ron went to visit her every evening. When the new term started, they brought her each day’s homework.

44. Harry and Hermione Casually Thinking The Same Thing

~ Hermione left the hospital wing, de-whispered, tail-less and fur-free, at the beginning of February. On her first evening back in Gryffindor Tower, Harry showed her T. M. Riddle’s diary and told her the story of how they had found it.

‘Oooh, it might have hidden powers,’ said Hermione enthusiastically, taking the diary and looking at it closely.

~ But Harry could tell from the arrested look on Hermione’s face that she was thinking what she was thinking.

‘What?’ said Ron, looking from one to the other.

45. Hermione Understanding Something And Harry Being Distracted Because Of It

~ ‘The voice!’ Said Harry, looking over his shoulder. ‘I just heard it again, didn’t you?’ 

Ron shook his head, wide-eyes. Hermione, however, clapped a hand to her forehead.

‘Harry- I just I’ve just understood something! I’ve got to go to the library.’

And she sprinted away, up the stairs. 

‘What does she understand?’ Said Harry distractedly, still looking around, trying to tell where the voice had come from.

‘Loads more than I do,’ said Ron, shaking his head.

‘But why has she got to go the library?’

‘Because that’s what Hermione does,’ said Ron, shrugging. ‘When in doubt, go to the library.’

46. Harry Not Being Able To Get Hermione Out Of His Head After She Is Petrified

~ ‘Percy’s in shock,’ George told Harry. ‘That Ravenclaw girl- Penelope Clearwater- she’s a Prefect. I don’t think he thought the monster would dare attack a Prefect.’ 

But Harry was only half-listening. He didn’t seem to be able to get the picture of Hermione, lying in the bed as though carved out of stone. 

47. Ernie Macmillan Recognizing That Harry Would Never Attack Hermione 

~ Ernie took a deep breath and said, ‘I just want to say, Harry, that I’m sorry I ever suspected you. I know you’d never attack Hermione Granger, and I apologize for all the stuff I said. We’re all in the same boat now, and, well-‘

He held out a pudgy hand, and Harry took it.

48. Hermione Being The First Excuse For Harry To Tell McGonagall To Escape Detention

~ ‘We were- we were-‘ Ron stammered, ‘we were going to- to go and see-‘

‘Hermione,’ said Harry. Ron and Professor McGonagall both looked at him.

‘We haven’t seen her for ages, Professor,’ Harry went on hurriedly, treading on Ron’s foot, ‘and I thought we’d sneak into the hospital wing, you know, and tell her the Mandrakes are nearly ready and, er, not to worry.’

Professor McGonagall was still staring at him, and for a moment, Harry thought she was going to explode, but when she spoke, it was in a strangely croaky voice.

‘Of course,’ she said, and Harry, amazed, saw a tear glistening on her beady eye. ‘Yes, I realize this has been hardest on those who have been….I quite understand. Yes, Potter, of course you may visit Miss Granger. I will inform Professor Binns where you’ve gone. Tell Madam Pomfrey I have given my permission.’

48. Harry Recognizing And Understanding Hermione’s Discovery 

~ But Harry wasn’t looking at Hermione’s face. He was more interested in her right hand. It lay clenched on top of her blankets, and bending closer, he saw that a piece a paper was scrunched in her fist.

~ It was no easy task. Hermione’s hand was clamped so tightly around the paper that Harry was sure he going to tear it. While Ron kept watch he tugged and twisted, and at last, after several tense minutes, the paper came free.

It was a page torn from a very old library book. Harry smoothed it out eagerly and Ron leaned close to read it too. 

Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious and more deadly than the Basilisk, also known as The King Of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size, and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken’s egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are wondrous, aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk flees, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of rooster, which is fatal to it.

And beneath, a single word had been written, in a hand Harry recognized as Hermione’s. Pipes. 

It was as though somebody had just flicked a light on in his brain.

‘Ron,’ he breathed, ‘this is it. This is the answer. The monster is the chamber’s a Basilisk- a giant serpent! That’s why I’ve been hearing that voice all over the place, and nobody else has heard it. It’s because I understand Parseltongue….’ 

Harry looked up at the beds around him.

‘The Basilisk kills people by looking at them. But no one’s died- because no one looked it straight in the eye. Colin saw it through his camera. Justin…Justin must’ve seen the Basilisk through Nearly Headless Nick! Nick got the full blast of it, but he couldn’t die again….and Hermione and that Ravenclaw Prefect were found with a mirror next to them. Hermione had just realized the monster was a Basilisk. I bet you anything she warned the first person she met to look round corners with a mirror first! And that girl pulled out her mirror- and-‘ 

Ron’s jaw had dropped.

49. Tom Riddle Understanding Hermione’s Closeness To Harry

~ Harry stared at him.

‘Imagine how angry I was when the next time my diary was opened, it was Ginny who was writing to me, not you. She saw you with the diary, you see, and panicked. What if you found out how to work it, and I repeated all her secrets all her secrets to you? What if, even worse, I told you who’d been strangling roosters? So the foolish little brat waited until your dormitory was deserted and stole it back But I knew what I must do. It was clear to me that you were on the trail of Slytherin’s Heir. From everything Ginny told me about you,  I knew you would go to any lengths to solve the mystery-particularly if one of your best friends was attacked. And Ginny told me the whole school was buzzing because you could speak Parseltongue….’

50. Hermione Running Towards Harry After She Was Back To Normal After Being Petrified.

~ ‘Right,’ said Harry weakly. ‘Well, I’d better go. There’s a feast, and my friend Hermione should be awake by now…’

~ Harry didn’t know whether the best bit was Hermione running towards him, screaming, ‘You solved it! You solved it!’ or Justin hurrying over from the Hufflepuff to wring his hand and apologize endlessly for suspecting him, or Hagrid turning up at half past three, cuffing Harry and Ron so hard on the shoulders that they were knocked into their plates of trifle, or his and Ron’s four hundred points securing Gryffindor the House Cup for the second year running, or Professor McGonagall standing up to tell them all that the exams had been canceled as a school treat ‘Oh, no!’ Said Hermione), or Dumbledore announcing that, unfortunately, Professor Lockhart would be unable to return next year, owing to the fact that he needed to go away and get his memory back. Quite a few of the teachers in the cheering that greeted this news. 

                               ********Harry Potter and The Prizoner of Askaban*********

51. Harry Feeling That Hermione Had Enough Sense To Use A Telephone

~ Harry’s other best friend from Hogwarts, Hermione Granger, hadn’t been in touch either. Harry suspected that Ron had warned Hermione not to call, which was pity, because Hermione, the cleverest witch in Harry’s year, had Muggle parents, knew perfectly well how to use a telephone, and would probably have had enough sense to not say she went to Hogwarts. 

52. Harry Loving The Gift Hermione Gave Him For His Birthday 

~ He looked at it happily for a few seconds, then picked up the parcel Hedwig had brought. Inside this, too, there was a wrapped present, a card and a letter, this time from Hermione.

Dear Harry, 

Ron wrote to me and told me about his phone call to your Uncle Vernon. I do hope you’re all right.

I’m on holiday in France at the moment and I didn’t know how I was going to send this to you- what if they’d opened it at Customs?- but then Hedwig turned up! I think she wanted to make sure you got something for your birthday for a change. I bought your present by owl order, there was an advertisement in the Daily Prophet (I’ve been getting it delivered, it’s so good to keep up with what’s going on in the Wizarding World). Did you see that picture of Ron and his family a week ago? I bet he’s learning loads, I’m really jealous- the Ancient Egyptian Wizards were fascinating.

There’s some interesting local history of witchcraft here, too. I’ve rewritten my whole History of Magic essay to include some of the things I’ve found out. I hope it’s not too long, it’s too rolls of parchment more than Professor Binns asked for. 

Ron says he’s going to be in the last week of London in the last week of holidays. Can you make it? Will your Aunt and Uncle let you come? I really hope you can. If not, I’ll see you on the Hogwarts Express on September the First!

Love from

Hermione 

~ Harry laughed again as he put Hermione’s letter aside and picked up her present. It was very heavy. Knowing Hermione, he was sure it would be a large book full of very difficult spells- but it wasn’t. His heart gave a huge bound as he ripped back the paper and saw a sleek black leather case with silver words stamped across it: Broomstick Servicing Kit. 

‘Wow, Hermione!’ Harry whispered, unzipping the case to look inside.

There was a large jar of Fleetwood’s High-Finish Handle Polish, a pair of gleaming silver Tail-Twig Clippers- a tiny brass compass to clip onto broom for long journeys, and a Handbook of Do-It-Yourself  Broomcare.

~ Harry, whose thoughts had been upstairs with the Broomstick Servicing Kit, was brought back to earth with an unpleasant bump.

53. Harry Agreeing With Hermione Even About Uncomfortable Things Such As Blowing Up His Aunt

~ ‘Did you really blow up your Aunt, Harry?’ said Hermione in a serious voice. 

‘I didn’t mean to,’ said Harry, while Ron roared with laughter. ‘I just- lost control.’

‘It’s not funny, Ron,’ said Hermione sharply. ‘Honestly, I’m amazed Harry wasn’t expelled.’ 

‘So am I,’ admitted Harry. ‘Forget expelled, I thought I was going to be arrested.’ He looked at Ron. ‘Your dad doesn’t know why Fudge let me off, does he?’ 

54.Hermione Beaming When Harry Gets To Stay At The Leaky Cauldron With Her and Ron

~ Hermione nodded, beaming. ‘Mum and Dad dropped me off this morning with all my Hogwarts things.’ 

‘Excellent!’ Said Harry happily.

55.Harry Teasing Hermione About Taking Too Many Subjects

~ ‘What’s all that, Hermione?’ Harry asked, pointing at not one, but three, bulging bags in the chair next to her. 

‘Well, I’m taking more subjects than you, aren’t you?’ said Hermione. ‘Those are my books for Arithmancy, Care Of Magical Creatures, Divination, Study of Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies-‘

~ ‘Are you planning to eat or sleep at all this year, Hermione?’ asked Harry, as Ron sniggered. 

56.Hermione Being Concerned About Harry After He Explains What Mr. and Mrs. Weasley Said About Sirius Black

~ Harry explained all about Mr and Mrs Weasley’s argument and the warning Mr Weasley had just gave him. When he’d finished, Ron looked thunderstruck, and Hermione had her hands all over her mouth. She finally lowered them to say, ‘Sirius Black escaped to come after you? Oh, Harry…you’ll have to be really, really, careful. Don’t go looking for trouble, Harry….’

‘I don’t go looking for trouble,’ said Harry, nettled. ‘Trouble usually finds me.’ 

~ ‘Ron!’ said Hermione, sharply. ‘I don’t think Harry should be sneaking out of school with Black on the loose-‘ 

‘Yeah, I expect that’s what McGonagall will say when I ask permission,’ said Harry bitterly.

‘But if we’re with him-‘ Ron said spiritedly to Hermione, ‘Black wouldn’t dare-‘

‘Oh, Ron, don’t talk Rubbish,’ Snape’s Hermione. ‘Black’s already murdered a whole bunch of people in the middle of a crowded street. Do you think he’s really going to worry about attacking Harry just because we’re there?’ 

57. Hermione Indirectly Wanting Harry To Come To Hogsmeade With Her and Ron

~ Hermione looked around at Harry.

‘Won’t it be nice to get out of school for a bit and explore Hogsmeade?’

‘ ‘Spect it will,’ said Harry heavily. ‘You’ll have to tell me once you’ve found out.’

58. Hermione Being Concerned About Harry After The Dementors Come In The Train

~ ‘Are you sure you’re ok, Harry?’ said Hermione, watching Harry anxiously. 

59. Hermione Telling Harry To Ignore The Slytherins Who were Mocking Harry

~ When Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the Great Hall for breakfast next day, the first thing they saw was Draco Malfoy, who seemed to be entertaining a large group of Slytherins with a very funny story. As they passed, Malfoy did a ridiculous impression of a swooning fit and there was a roar of laughter.

'Ignore him,' said Hermione, who was right behind Harry. 'Just ignore him, it's not worth it....'

'Hey, Potter!' shrieked Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin girl with a face like a pug. 'Potter! The Dementors are coming, Potter! Woooooooooo!' 

Harry dropped into a seat at the Gryffindor Table, next to George Weasley. 

60. Harry Glancing At Hermione With Ron And Grinning As Books Won't Be Of Much Help In Divination

~ Professor Trelawney delicately rearranged het shawl and continued, 'So you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts. I must warn at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you. Books can only take you so far in this field...'

At these words, both Harry and Ron glanced, grinning, at Hermione, who looked startled at the news that books wouldn't be much help in this subject. 

61. Harry with Ron Staring At Hermione In Amazement And Admiration As She Talks Differently To a Teacher

~ 'The falcon..my dear, you have a deadly enemy.'

'But everyone knows that,' said Hermione in a loud whisper. Professor Trelawney stared at her.

'Well, they do,' said Hermione. 'Everyone knows about Harry and You-Know-Who.'

Harry and Ron stared at her with a mixture of amazement and admiration. They had never seen Hermione speak to a teacher like that before. 

62. Hermione Not Believing That Harry Was To Die 

~ ‘My dear,’ said Professor Trelawney’s eyes opened dramatically. ‘You have the Grim.’

‘The what?’ Said Harry. 

~ Everyone was looking at Harry, everyone except Hermione, who had got up and moved around to the back of Professor Trelawney’s chair. 

‘I don’t think it looks like a Grim.’ She said flatly. 

~ Then Hermione raised her hand.

‘Please, Professor, we’ve just had our first Divination Class, and we were reading the tea leaves, and-‘

‘Ah, of course,’ said Professor McGonagall, suddenly frowning. ‘There is no need to say anymore, Miss Granger. Tell me, which of you will be dying this year?’

Everyone stared at her.

‘Me,’ said Harry, finally.

‘I see,’ said Professor McGonagall, fixing Harry with her beady eyes. ‘Then you should now, Potter, that Sybil Trelawney had predicted the death of one student a year since Che arrived at this school. None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favor way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact that I never speak I’ll of my colleagues-‘ Professor McGonagall broke off, and they saw that her nostrils had gone white. She went on, more calmly, ‘Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very little practice with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney…’

She stopped again, and then said, in a very matter-of-fact tone, you look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don’t let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in.’

Hermione laughed. Harry felt a bit better. It was harder to feel scared of a lump of tea leaves  away from the dim read light and befuddling perfume of Professor Trelawney’s classroom. 

63. Harry Reassuring Hermione When She Asks Whether Draco Is Ok Or Not

~ ‘D’you think he’ll be all right?’ said Hermione nervously.

‘’Course he will, Madam Pomfrey can mend cuts in about a second,’ said Harry, who had had worse injuries mended magically by the matron.

64. Hermione Glancing At Harry As She Is Worried About His Safety

~ ‘I don’t know,’ said Hermione slowly, and Harry saw her glance at him. 

‘I’m allowing to walk across the grounds,’ he said pointedly. ‘Sirius Black hasn’t got past the Demetors here, has he?’

65. Hermione Seeming To Read Harry’s Mind

~ Harry threw himself into a chair beside Ron, his high spirits ebbing away. Hermione seemed to read his mind.

‘Harry, I’m sure you’ll be able to go next time,’ she said. ‘They’re bound to catch Black soon, he’s been sighted once already.’ 

~ On Halloween morning, Harry awoke with the rest and went down to breakfast feeling thoroughly depressed, though doing his best to act normally.

‘We’ll bring you lots of sweets back from Honeydukes,’ said Hermione, looking desperately sorry for  him.

‘Yeah, loads,’ said Ron. He and Hermione had finally had finally forgotten their squabble about Crookshanks in the face of Harry’s disappointment.

‘Don’t worry about me,’ said Harry, in what he hoped was an offhand voice. ‘I’ll see you at the feast. Have a good time.’ 

~ ‘What did you do?’ Said Hermione, looking anxious. ‘Did you get any work done?’

‘No,’ said Harry. 

66. Hermione Grabbing Harry’s Arm When She Is Shocked

~ ‘Oh, my-‘ Hermione exclaimed and grabbed Harry’s arm.

67. Harry and Hermione Talking About Snape Together

~ Harry and Hermione left the room with the rest of the class, who waited until they were well out of earshot, then burst into a furious tirade about Snape.

‘ Snape’s never been like this with any of our Defence Against The Dark Arts teachers, even if he did want the job,’ Harry said to Hermione. ‘Why’s he got it in for Lupin? D’you think this is all because of the Boggart?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Hermione pensively. ‘But I really hope Professor Lupin gets better soon…’

68. Hermione Fixing Harry’s Glasses During Quidditch

~ ‘I’ve got no chance with these on,’ Harry said exasperatedly, waving his glasses.

At that very moment, Hermione appeared at his shoulder, she was holding her cloak over her head and was, inexplicably, beaming.

‘I’ve an idea, Harry! Give me your glasses, quick!’

He handed them to her, and, as the team watched in amazement, Hermione tapped them with her wand and said, ‘Impervius!’ 

‘There!’ She said, handing them back to Harry. ‘They’ll repel water!’

~ Hermione’s spell had done the trick. Harry was still numb with cold, still wetter than he’s ever been in his life, but he could see. Full of fresh determination, he urged his broom through the turbulent air, staring in every direction for the Snitch, avoiding a Bludger, ducking beneath Diggory, who was streaking in the opposite direction…

69. Hermione Being Concerned For Harry After The Quidditch Match With Dementors

~ ‘Harry!’ Said Fred, who looked extremely white underneath the mud. ‘How’re you feeling?’

It was as though Harry’s memory was on fast forward. The lightning…the Grim..the Snitch..the Dementors..

‘What happened?’ He said, sitting up so suddenly they all gasped.

‘You fell off,’ said Fred. ‘Must’ve been-what-fifty feet?’ 

‘We thought you’d died,’ said Alicia, who was shaking.

Hermione made a small, squeaky noise. Her eyes were extremely bloodshot. 

70. Harry Being Grateful That Hermione and Ron Were Staying At Hogwarts To Keep Him Company 

~ Both Ron and Hermione had decided to remain at Hogwarts, and though Ron said it was because he couldn’t stand two weeks with Percy, and Hermione insisted she needed to use the library, Harry wasn’t fooled; they were doing it to keep him company, and he was very grateful. 

71. Hermione Squealing When Harry Appears At Hogsmeade 

~ ‘Urgh, no, Harry won’t want one of those, they’re for Vampires, I expect,’ Hermione was saying.

‘How about these?’ Said Ron, shoving a jar of Cockroach Cluster under Hermione’s nose.

‘Definitely not,’ said Harry.

Ron nearly dropped the jar.

‘Harry!’ squealed Hermione. ‘What are you doing here? How-how did you-?’

72. Harry Indirectly Teasing Hermione In An Amused Way About Her Love For Rules

~ Hermione bit her lip, looking extremely worried.

‘Are you going to report me?’ Harry asked her, grinning.

73. Hermione’s Leg Giving A Nervous Twitch Beside Harry.

~ Harry watched the glittering heels march away and back again. His heart was pounding uncomfortably in his throat.

~ He needed time to sneak back into Honeydukes if he wanted to return to school tonight…Hermione’s leg gave a nervous twitch next to him. 

74. Hermione Being Concerned About Harry’s Safety

~ ‘You really don’t look well, you know,’ Hermione said, peering anxiously into his face.

‘Harry, listen,’ said Hermione, exchanging a look with Ron, ‘you must be really upset about what you heard yesterday. But the thing is, you mustn’t go doing anything stupid.’

~ ‘You won’t, will you, Harry?’ Said Hermione. 

~ ‘Harry, please,’ said Hermione, her eyes now shining with tears, ‘please be sensible, Black did a terrible, terrible thing, but d-don’t put yourself in danger, it’s what Black wants..oh, Harry, you’d be playing right into Black’s hands if you went looking for him. Your mum and dad wouldn’t want you to get hurt, would they? They’d never want you to go looking for Black!’

75. Harry Agreeing With Hermione And Trying To Make Hagrid Feel Better

~ But Harry couldn’t bring himself to do it, not now he saw Hagrid so miserable and scared. 

‘Listen, Hagrid,’ he said, ‘you can’t give up. Hermione’s right, you just need a good defence. You can call us as witnesses-‘

~ Hagrid howled still more loudly. Harry and Hermione looked at Ron to help them. 

‘Er- shall I make a cup of tea?’ Said Ron.

Harry stared at him.

‘It’s what my mom does whenever someone’s upset,’ Ron muttered, shrugging. 

76. Harry Indirectly Wanting Hermione To Come With Him And Ron

~ 'Coming?' Harry said to Hermione.

'No,' Hermione muttered. 'I want a quick word with Professor McGonagall. 

77. Harry Going To His Dormitory And Collecting The 13th Birthday Gift Hermione Had Given Harry

~ Harry went straight up to the dormitory, collected his Firebolt and The Broomstick Servicing Kit Hermione had given him for his birthday, brought them downstairs and tried to do something with the Firebolt; however, there were no bent twigs to clip, and the handle seemed so shiny already it seemed pointless to polish it. 

78. Harry Knowing Hermione Had Meant Well Despite His Anger For Her Reporting The Firebolt To Professor McGonagall 

~ Professor McGonagall turned on her heel and carried the Firebolt out of the portrait hole, which closed behind her. Harry stood staring after her, the tin of High-Finish Polish still clutched in his hand. Ron, however, rounded on Hermione.

~ Harry knew that Hermione had meant well, but that didn't stop him being angry with him. 

78. Harry Being Concerned About Hermione's Workload And Talking To Her 

~ Harry had just one night a week to do all his homework. He wasn't showing the strain nearly as much as Hermione, though whose immense workload finally seemed to be getting to her. Every night, without fail, Hermione was to be seen in the corner of the Common Room, several tables spread with books, Arithmancy charts, Rune dictionaries, diagrams of Muggles lifting heavy objects, and file upon file of extensive motes; she barely spoke to anybody, and snapped when she was interrupted. 

~ Harry looked up. Hermione was barely visible behind a pile of tottering books. 

~ 'Can I sit down, then?' Harry asked Hermione.

'I suppose so, said Hermione, moving a great stack of parchment off a chair. 

Harry looked around at the large cluttered table, at the long Arithmany essay on which the ink was still glistening, at the even longer Muggle Studies essay ('Explain Why Muggles Need Electricity') and at the Rune translation Hermione was now poring over.

'How are you getting through all this stuff?' Harry asked her.

'Oh, well-you know- working hard,' said Hermione. Close to, Harry saw that she looked almost as tired as Lupin.

'Why don't you just drop a couple of subjects?' Harry asked, watching her lift books as she searched for her Rune Dictionary.

'I couldn't do that!' said Hermione, looking scandalised. 

'Arithmancy looks terrible,' said Harry, picking a very complicated-looking number chart.

'Oh, no, it's wonderful!' said Hermione earnestly. 'It's my favourite subject! It's-'

~ But nobody had as much to do as Hermione. Even without Divination, she was taking more subjects than anyone else. She was usually last to leave the Common Room at night, first to arrive at the library next morning; she had shadows like Lupin's under her eyes, and seemed constantly close to tears. 

79. Harry's First Instinct Being To Make Up With Hermione After Getting His Firebolt Back

~ Speechless, Harry carried the Firebolt back upstairs towards Gryffindor tower. As he turned a corner, he saw Ron dashing towards him, grinning from ear to ear.

'She gave it to you? Excellent! Listen, can I still have a go on it? Tomorrow?'

'Yeah...anything...' said Harry, his heart lighter than it had been in a month. 'You know what- we should make it up with Hermione. She was only trying to help....'

~ 'I got it back,' said Harry, grinning at her and holding up the Firebolt.

'See, Hermione? There wasn't anything wrong with it!' said Ron.

' Well- there might have been!' said Hermione. 'I mean, at least you know that it's safe!'

'Yeah, I suppose so,' said Harry.

80. Harry Breaking Away From His Party To Talk To Hermione Who Sitting Alone Due Her fight With Ron

~ Only one person wasn't joining in the festivities. Hermione, incredibly, was sitting in a corner, attempting to read a book entitled Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles. Harry broke away from the table where Fred and George had started juggling Butterbeer bottles, and went over to her.

'Did you even come to the match?' he asked her.

'Of course I did,' said Hermione, in a strangely high-pitched voice, not looking up. 'And I'm very glad we won, and I think you did very well, but I need to read this by Monday.'

'Come on, Hermione, come and have some food,' Harry said, looking over at Ron and wondering whether he was in a good enough mood to bury the hatchet.

'I can't, Harry, I've still got four hundred and twenty pages to read!' said Hermione, now sounding slightly hysterical. 

81. Harry Telling Ron To Give Hermione A Break When Rushes Off Crying Due To Him

~ 'Anyway...' she glanced over at Ron, too, 'he doesn't want me to join in.' 

There was no arguing about this, as Ron chose that moment to say loudly, 'If Scabbers hadn't just been eaten, he could have had some of these Fudge Flies, he really used to like them-'

Hermione burst into tears. Before Harry could say or do anything, she had tucked the enormous book under her arm, and, still sobbing, run towards the staircase to the Girls' Dormitory and out of sight.

'Can't you give her a break,' Harry asked Ron quietly. 

82. Hagrid Not Blaming Harry And Knowing The Fight Is About Ron And Hermione When He Tells Him And Harry Off About Hermione

~ 'What?' said Harry.

'Hermione' said Hagrid.

~ 'Hagrid-we should have helped as well - sorry' Harry began akwardly. 

'I'm not blamin' yeh!' said Hagrid, waving Harry's apology aside. 'Gawd knows you've had enough ter to gettin' on with, I've seen yeh practicing Quidditch ev'ry hour o' the day an' night- but I gotta tell yeh, I thought you two'd value yer friend more'n broomsticks or rats. Tha's all.' 

Harry and Ron exchanged uncomfortable looks. 

83. Hermione Telling Harry To Beat Slytherin In Quidditch When She Hit Malfoy

~ Harry and Ron both made furious moves towards Malfoy, but Hermione got there first- SMACK!

~ ' Harry, you'd better beat him in the Quidditch Final!' Hermione said shrilly. 'You'd just better had, because I can't stand it if Slytherin win!'

84. Harry Noticing The Weirdness Of Hermione Disappearing When She Was Next To Him A Moment Ago

~ 'Where's Hermione gone?'

Harry looked around, too. Hermione hadn't entered the classroom, yet Harry knew she had been right next to him when he had opened the door. 

'That's weird,' said Harry, staring at Ron. 'Maybe- maybe she went to the bathroom or something?'

But Hermione didn't turn up all lesson. 

~ Hermione wasn't at lunch, either. By the time they had finished their apple-pie, the after-effects of the Cheering Char were wearing off, and Harry and Ron started to get slightly worried.

~ Hermione was sitting at a table, fast asleep, her head resting on an open Arithmancy book. They went to sit down either side of her. Harry prodded her awake.

'Wh-what?' said Hermione, waking with a start, and staring wildly around. 'Is it time to go? W-which lesson have we got now?'

'Divination, but it's not for another twenty minutes,' said Harry. 'Hermione, why didn't you come to Charms?'

'What? Oh no!' Hermione squeaked. 'I forgot to go to Charms!'

'But how could you forget?' said Harry. 'You were with us till we were right outside the classroom!'

85. Professor Trelawney Saying That Harry and Hermione Laughing Would Disturb The Clairvoyant Vibrations

~ 'I don't need help,' Ron whispered. 'It's obvious what this means. There's going to be loads of fog tonight.'

Both Harry and Hermione burst out laughing.

'Now, really!' said Professor Trelawney, as everyone's head turned in their direction. Parvati and Lavender were looking scandalized. 'You are disturbing the clairvoyant vibrations!'

~ 'My dear...' Professor Trelawney breathed, gazing up at Harry. 'It is here, plainer than ever before...y dear, stalking towards you, growing ever close...the Gr-'

'Oh, for goodness sake!' said Hermione loudly. 'Not that ridiculous Grim again!' 

~ And to the whole class's amazement, Hermione strode over to the trapdoor, kicked it open, and climbed down the ladder out of sight.

~ 'Someday Hermione's having, eh?' Ron muttered to Harry, looked awed.

'Yeah..'

86. Hermione Trying To Reassure Harry Even When She's Scared Herself

~ Harry was sitting with Ron and Hermione, removed from the centre of things trying not to think about the next day, because everytime he did, he had the horrible sensation that something very large was trying to get out of his stomach.

'You're going to be fine,' Hermione told him, though she looked positively terrified. 

87. Hermione And Ron Being Lost For Words When Harry Plays Well In Quidditch As Gryffindor Wins The Cup

~ Professor McGonagall was sobbing harder even than Wood, wiping her eyes with an enormous Gryffindor Flag; and there, fighting their way towards Harry, were Ron and Hermione, lost for words. They simply beamed, as Harry was borne towards the stands, where Dumbledore stood waiting with the enormous Quidditch Cup. 

88. Harry Asking Hermione About Her Mysterious Time table

~ 'Is there any point asking how you're going to sit two exams at once?' said Harry.

'No,' said Hermione shortly. 

89. Harry Trying To Stop Himself From Hitting Malfoy Like Hermione Did

~ From sneering comments Harry overheard, Malfoy was certain Buckbeak was going to be killed, and seemed thoroughly pleased with himself on bringing it about. It was all Harry could do to stop himself imitating Hermione and hitting Malfoy on these occasions. 

90. Harry Understanding Things About Hermione Without Her Needing To Say Anything

~ 'As long as Hagrid keeps his head this time, and argues his case properly, they can't possibly execute Buckbeak..'

But Harry could tell Hermione didn't really believe what she was saying. 

91. Hermione Rushing To Get Invisibility's Cloak Without Him Even Completing His Sentence

~ Harry sank his head into his hands, thinking.

'If only we had the Invisibilty Cloak...'

'Where is it?' said Hermione

Harry told her about leaving it in the passageway under the one-eyed witch. 

'if Snape sees me anywhere near there again, I'm in serious trouble,' he finished.

'That's true,' said Hermione, getting to her feet. 'If he sees you...how do you open the witch's hump again?' 

'You- you tap it and say, "Dissendium",' said Harry. 'But-'

Hermione didn't wait for the rest of his sentence; she strode across the room, pushed the Fat Lady's portrait open and vanished from sight.

'She hasn't gone to get it?' Ron said, staring after her.

She had. Hermione returned quarter of an hour later with the silvery cloak folded carefully under her robes. 

92. Harry and Hermione Showing Their Solidarity When Buckbeak Was Executed

~ 'Isn't there anything we can do, Hagrid' Harry asked fiercely, sitting down next to him. 'Dumbledore-'

~ Hermione, who had been rummaging in Hagrid's cupboard for another milk jug, let out a small, quickly stifled sob. she straightened up with the new jug in hands, fighting back tears.

'We'll stay with you too, Hagrid,' she began, but Hagrid shook his shaggy head.

~ Harry glanced at Ron, who looked back hopelessly.

~ They walked forwards; Harry, like Hermione, was trying not to listen to the rumble of voices behind them. 

~ Hermione swayed on the spot.

'They did it!' she whispered to Harry. 'I d-don't believe it- they did it!'

Harry’s mind had gone blank with shock.

93. Harry and Hermione Communicating Through Looks and Holding On To Each Other During A Crisis

~ ‘Ron!’ Hermione moaned.

She and Harry looked at each other, then followed at a sprint; it was impossible to run full out under the Cloak; they pulled it off and it streamed behind them like a banner as they hurtled after Ron, they could hear his feet thundering along ahead, and his shouts at Crookshanks. 

~ Then, out of nowhere, something hit Harry hit so hard across the face he was knocked off his feet again. He heard Hermione shriek and fall with pain, too. Harry groped for his wand, blinking blood out of his eyes-

‘Lumos!’ He whispered. 

~ ‘If that dog can get in, we can,’ Harry panted, darting here and there, trying to find a way through the vicious, swishing branches, but he couldn’t get an inch nearer to the tree roots without being in range of the tree’s blows.

~ ‘Crookshanks!’ Hermione whispered uncertainly. She now grasped Harry’s arm pain full hard. ‘How did he know-?’

‘He’s friends with that dog,’ Harry said grimly. ‘I’ve seen them together. Come on- and keep your wand out-‘

They covered the distance to the trunk in seconds, but they had reached the gap in the roots, Crookshanks had slid into it with a flick of his bottle-brush tail. Harry went next; he crawled forwards, head first, and slid down an earthy slope to the bottom of a very low tunnel. Crookshanks was a little way along, his eyes flashing in the light from Harry’s wand. Seconds later, Hermione slithered down beside him.

‘Where’s Ron?’ She whispered in a terrified voice.

‘This way,’ said Harry’s mind, setting off, bent-backed, after Crookshanks. 

~ He and Hermione paused, gasping for breath, edging forwards. Both raised their wands to se what lay beyond.

~ Harry glanced at Hermione, who looked very frightened, but nodded.

~ Hermione suddenly grabbed Harry’s arm again. Her wide eyes were traveling along the boarded windows. 

‘Harry,’ she whispered. ‘I think we’re in the Shrieking Shack.’

~ ‘Ghosts didn’t do that,’ he said slowly.

~ Both of them looked up at the ceiling. Hermione’s grip on Harry’s arm was so tight he was losing feeling in his fingers. He raised his eyebrows at her; she nodded again and let go. 

Quietly as they could, they crept out of the hall, and up the crumbling staircase.

~ They reached the dark landing.

~ ‘Nox,’ they whispered together, and the lights at the ends of their wands went out. 

~ They exchanged a last look, a last nod.

~ ‘No, Harry!’ Hermione gasped in a petrified whisper; Ron, however, however, spoke to Black.

~ ‘Harry!’ Hermione whimpered. ‘Be quiet!’

~ Hermione was screaming; Ron was yelling; there was a blinding flash as the wands in Black’s hand sent into the air a jet of sparks which missed Harry’s face by inches; Harry felt the shrunken under his fingers twisting madly, but he clung on, his other hand punching every part of Black he could find.

~ The fingers tightened, Harry choked, his glasses askew. Then he saw Hermione’s foot clung out of nowhere. Black let go of Harry with a grunt of pain.

~ ‘Get out of the way!’ He shouted at Ron and Hermione.

They didn’t need telling twice. Hermione, gasping for breath, her lip bleeding, scrambled aside, snatching up her and Ron’s wands. 

~ He turned his ugly, squashed face to Harry, and looked at him with great yellow eyes. To his right, Hermione gave a dry sob. 

~ ‘I DON’T BELIEVE IT!’ Hermione screamed.

~ Harry could feel himself shaking, not with fear, but with a fresh wave of fury. 

‘I trusted you,’ he shouted at Lupin, his voice wavered out of control. ‘And all the time you’ve been his friend!’

~ ‘NO!’ Hermione screamed, ‘Harry, don’t trust him, he’s been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too- he’s a werewolf!’ 

~ Harry and Hermione brought up the rear. 

~ Sirius saw Snape up through the hole, then stood back for Harry and Hermione to pass. 

~ He flung out an arm to make Harry and Hermione stop.

~ Harry set off at a run, Hermione right behind him.

94. Harry Marveling At The Effort Hermione Puts Into Her Homework

~ ‘Because…because people would know if Peter Pettigrew was an Animagus. We had Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And looked them up when I did my homework- the Ministry keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there’s a register showing what animal they become, and their markings and things…I went an looked Professor McGonagall on the register, and there have only been seven Animagi this century, and Peter Pettigrew’s name wasn’t on the list-‘

Harry barely had time to marvel inwardly at the effort Hermione had put into her homework, when Lupin started to laugh.

95. Hermione’s Scream Being What Alerted Harry

~ Harry stood, transfixed by the sight; too intent upon the battle to notice anything else. It was Hermione’s scream that alerted him-

96. Harry Trying To Save Hermione From The Dementors 

~ ‘Hermione, think of something happy!’ Harry yelled, raising his wand, blinking furiously to try and clear his vision, shaking his head to rid it of the faint screaming that had started inside it-

~ ‘Expecto Patronum! Hermione, help me! Expecto Patronum!’ 

‘Expecto-‘ Hermione whispered, ‘Expecto- Expecto-‘ 

But she couldn’t do it. The dementors were closing in, barely ten feet from them. They formed a solid wall around Harry and Hermione, they were getting closer..

‘EXPECTO PATRONUM!’ Harry yelled, trying to blot the screaming from his ears. ‘EXPECTO PATRONUM!’

A thin wisp of silver escaped his wand and hovered like a mist before him. At the same moment, Harry felt Hermione collapse next to him.

~ ‘Expecto- Expecto Patronum-‘

~ With a huge effort, he fought to remember- Sirius was innocent- innocent- we’ll be ok- I’m going to live with him- 

97. Harry And Hermione Showing Their Solidarity In A Crisis

~ Harry moved his head over on the pillow. In the bed to his right lay Hermione. Moonlight was falling across her bed. Her eyes were open, too. She looked petrified, and when she saw that Harry was awake, pressed a finger to her lips, then pointed to the hospital-wing door.

~ ‘How’s Ron?’ Said Harry and Hermione together.

~ ‘WHAT?’

Harry jumped up out of his bed; Hermione had done the same. 

~ ‘Minister, listen!’ Said Harry. ‘Sirius Black’s innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can’t let the Dementors do that thing to Sirius, he’s-‘

~ ‘YOU HAVEN’T!’ Harry yelled. ‘YOU’VE GOT THE WRONG MAN!’ 

‘Minister, listen, please,’ Hermione said; she had hurried to Harry’s side and was gazing imploringly into Fudge’s face. 

‘I saw him, too. It was Ron’s rat, he’s an Animagus, Pettigrew, I mean, and-‘

~ ‘WE’RE NOT CONFUNDED!’ Harry roared. 

~ It closed behind them and Dumbledore turned to Harry and Hermione. They both burst into speech at the same time.

‘Professor, Black’s telling the truth- we saw Pettigrew-‘

‘- he escaped when Professor Lupin turned into a werewolf-‘

‘-he’s a rat-‘

‘-Pettigrew’s front paw, I mean, finger, he cut it off-‘

‘- Pettigrew attacked Ron, it wasn’t Sirius-‘

98. Harry and Hermione Working Well As A Team Despite Harry Being Initially Clueless

~ Harry didn’t a clue what was going on.

~ ‘Good luck?’ Harry repeated, as the door closed behind Dumbledore. ‘ Three turns? What’s he talking about? What are we supposed to do?’

But Hermione was fumbling with the neck of her robes, pulling from beneath them and very long, very fine gold chain.

‘Harry, come here,’ she said urgently. ‘Quick!’ 

Harry moved towards her, completely bewildered.

~ ‘Here-‘

She had thrown the chain around his neck, too.

‘Ready?’ She said breathlessly.

‘What are we doing?’ Harry said, completely lost.

~ He was standing next to Hermione in the deserted Entrance Hall and a stream of golden sunlight was falling across the paved floor from the open front doors. He looked wildly around at Hermione, the chain of the hourglass cutting into his neck.

‘Hermione, what- ?’

‘In here!’ Hermione seized Harry’s arm and dragged him across the hall to the door of a broom cupboard ; she opened it, pushed him inside amongst the buckets and mops, followed him in, then slammed the door behind them. 

‘What-how- Hermione, what happened?’

‘We’ve gone back in time,’ Hermione whispered, lifting the chain off Harry’s neck in the darkness. ‘Three hours back…’

~ ‘But-‘

‘Shh! Listen! Someone’s coming! I think- I think it might be us!’

~ ‘Are you telling me,’ Harry whispered, ‘that’s we’re here in this cupboard and we’re out there too?’

~ Hermione sat down on an upturned bucket, looking desperately anxious. Harry wanted a few questions asked.

‘Where did you get that hourglass thing?’ 

‘It’s called a Time-Turner,’ Hermione whispered, ‘and I got it from Professor McGonagall on our first day back. I’ve been using it all year to get to all my lessons. Professor McGonagall made me swear I wouldn’t tell anyone. She had to write all sorts of letter to the Ministry of Magic so I could have one. She had to tell them I was a model student, and that I’d never, ever use it for anything except my studies…I’ve been turning it back so I could do hours over again, that’s how I’ve been doing several lessons at once, see? But…

Harry, I don’t understand what Dumbledore wants us to do. Why did he tell us to go back three hours? How’s that going to help Sirius?’ 

Harry stared at her shadowy face. 

‘There must be something that happened around now he wants us to change,’ he said slowly. ‘What happened? We were walking down to Hagrid’s three hours ago..’

‘This is three hours ago, and we are walking down to Hagrid’s,’ said Hermione. 

~ ‘Dumbledore just said- just said we save more than one innocent life…’ And then it hit him. ‘Hermione, we’re going to save Buckbeak!’

‘But- how will that help Sirius?’

‘Dumbledore just said- he told us where the window is- the window of Flitwick’s office! Where they’ve got Sirius locked up! We’ve got to fly Buckbeak up to the window and rescue Sirius! Sirius can escape on Buckbeak- they can escape together!’

From what Harry could see of Hermione’s face, she looked terrified.

‘If we manage that without being seen, it’ll be a miracle!’

‘Well, we’ve got to try, haven’t we?’ Said Harry. He stood up and pressed his own ear against the door.

'Doesn't sound like anyone's there..come on, let's go...'

~ 'If anyone's looking out of the window-' Hermione squeaked, looking up at the castle behind them.

'We'll run for it,' said Harry determinedly. 'Straight into the Forest, all right? We'll have to hide behind a tree or something and keep a lookout-'

'Ok, but we'll go round by the greenhouses!' said Hermione breathlessly. 'We need to keep out of sight of Hagrid's, or we'll see us! We ust be nearly at Hagrid's by now!'

Still working out what she meant, Harry set off at a sprint, Hermione behind him. 

~ Safe in the shadows of the trees, Harry turned round; seconds later, Hermione arrived beside him, panting. 

'Right,' she gasped. 'we need to sneak over to Hagrid's. Keep out of sight, Harry...'

~ But Hermione nudged him, and pointed towards the castle. 

~ Harry watched Hermione in the pumpkin patch throw throw the Invisibility Cloak over himself and Ron. 

~ 'Wait here,' Harry whispered to Hermione. 'I'll do it,'

~ Hermione's white face was sticking out from behind a tree,

'Harry, hurry!' she mouthed.

~ 'Quick, quick!' Hermione moaned, darting out fro behind her tree, seizing the rope too and adding her weight to make Buckbeak move faster.

~ 'Stop!' he whispered to Hermione. 'They might hear us-'

~ Harry and Hermione tightened their grip  and dug their heels into the Forest Floor to stop him. 

~ Harry and Hermione listened closely.

~ 'Now what?' whispered harry, looking around.

'We'll have to hide in here,' said Hermione, who looked very shaken. 

~ 'We're going to have to move,' said Harry, thinking hard.

~ 'Ok,' said Hermione, getting a firmer grip on Buckbeak's rope. 'But we've got to keep out of sight, Harry remember..'

~ Harry watched himself and Hermione chasing after Ron. 

~ 'Hermione!' said Harry suddenly. 'We've got to move!'

'We mustn't, I keep telling you-'

'Not to interfere! But Lupin's going to run into the Forest, right at us!'

Hermione gasped.

~ 'That was really close!' she said to Harry.

'Yeah...'

~ 'Right, it's nearly time..' said Hermione tensely, looking at her watch. 'We've got about forty-five minutes until Dumbledore locks the door to the hospital wing. We've got to rescue Sirius and get back into the ward before anybody realizes we're missing. 

~ ‘D’you reckon he’s up there yet?’ Said Harry, checking his watch. 

~ ‘Look!’ Hermione whispered. ‘Who’s that? Someone’s coming back out of the castle!’

~ ‘Macnair!’ Said Harry. ‘The executioner! He’s gone to get the Dementors! This is it, Hermione-‘

~ ‘Stand back!’ Hermione called to him, and she took out her wand, still gripping the back of Harry’s robes with her left hand.

‘Alohomora!’ 

The window sprang open.

‘How- how-?’ Said Black weakly, staring at the Hippogriff. ‘Get on- there’s not much time,’ said Harry, gripping Buckbeak firmly on either side of his sleek neck to hold him steady. ‘You’ve got to get out of her- the Dementors are coming. Macnair’s gone to get them.’

Black placed a hand on either side of the window-frame and heaved his head and shoulders out of it. It was very lucky he was so thin. In seconds, he had managed to fling one leg over Buckbeak’s back, and pull himself onto the Hippogriff behind Hermione.

‘Ok, Buckbeak, up!’ Said Harry, shaking the rope. ‘Up to the tower- come on!’ 

The Hippogriff gave one sweep of its mighty wings and they were soaring upwards again, high as the top of the West Tower. Buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements and Harry and Hermione slid off him at once.

‘Sirius, you’d better go quick,’ Harry panted. ‘They’ll reach Flitwick’s office any moment, they’ll find out you’ve gone.’

Buckbeak pawed the ground, tossing his sharp head.

‘What happened to the other boy? Ron?’ Said Sirius urgently.

‘He’s going to be ok- he’s still out of it, but Madam Pomfrey says she’ll be able to make him better. Quick-go!’

But Black was still staring down at Harry.

‘How can I ever thank-‘

‘GO!’ Harry and Hermione shouted together.

~ Harry and Hermione jumped back as the enormous wings rose once more..the Hippogriff took off into the air..he and his rider became smaller and smaller as Harry gazed after them..then a cloud drifted across the moon..they were gone. 

‘Harry!’

Hermione was tugging at his sleeve, staring at her watch. ‘We’ve got exactly ten minutes to get back down to the hospital wing without anyobody seeing us- before Dumbledore locks the door-‘

‘Ok,’ said Harry, wrenching his gaze from his the sky, ‘let’s go…’

~ ‘Peeves!’ Harry muttered, grabbing Hermione’s wrist. ‘In here!’ 

They tore into a deserted classroom to their left just in time. Peeves seemed to be bouncing along the corridor in tearing spirits, laughing his head off.

‘Oh, he’s horrible,’ whispered Hermione, her ear to the door. ‘I bet he’s all excited because the Dementors are going to finish Sirius..’ She checked her watch. ‘Three minutes, Harry!’

~ ‘Hermione- what’ll happen- if we don’t get back inside - before Dumbledore locks the door?’ Harry panted.

‘I don’t want to think about it!’ Hermione moaned, checking her watch again. ‘One minute!’

They had reached the end of the corridor with the hospital wing entrance. ‘Ok- I can hear Dumbledore,’ said Hermione tensely. ‘Come on, Harry!’ 

~ Panicking, Harry and Hermione ran forwards. Dumbledore looked up, and a wide smile appeared under the long silver mustache. ‘Well?’ He said quietly.

‘We did it!’ Said Harry breathlessly. ‘Sirius has gone, on Buckbeak…’

Dumbledore beamed at them.

‘Well done. I think-‘ he listened intently for any sound within the hospital wing. ‘Yes, I think you’ve gone too. Get inside- I’ll lock you in-‘

Harry and Hermione slipped back inside the dormitory.

99. Harry Describing The Weirdness Of The Situation To Hermione Even During A Crisis

~ 'Looks even worse from here, doesn't it? said Harry, watching the dog pulling Ron into the roots. 'Ouch-look, I just got walloped by the tree- and so did you- this is weird-'

~ 'That was Crookshanks pressing the knot,' said Hermione.

'And there we go...' Harry muttered. 'We're in.'

100. Harry Making Bets With Hermione Even During A Crisis

~ 'Right after we'd gone down into the passage!' said Hermione. 'If only Dumbledore had come with us..' 

'Macnair and Fudge would've come, too,' said Harry bitterly. 'I bet you anything Fudge would've told Macnair to murder Sirius on the spot..'

100. Hermione Seizing Harry's Robes To Stop Him From Doing Something Stupid

~ 'How can you stand this?' he asked Hermione fiercely. 'Just standing here and watching it happen?' He hesitated. 'I'm going to grab the Cloak!'

'Harry, no!' 

Hermione seized the back of Harry's robes not a moment too soon. 

101. Harry And Hermione Chatting About Dementors While Waiting During Their Time-Turner Adveture

~  'So that it's,' said Hermione quietly. 'We're all down there...and now I've just got to wait until we come back up again..'

She took the end of Buckbeak's rope and tied it securely around the nearest tree, then sat down on the dry ground, arms around her knees.

'Harry, there's something I don't understand..why didn't the Dementors get Sirius? I remember them coming, and then I passed out...'

Harry sat down, too. he explained what he'd seen; how, as the nearest Dememtor had lowered it's mouth to Harry's, a large silver something had come galloping across the lake and forced the Dementors to retreat. 

~ Harry stood there, hand still outstretched. Then, with a great leap of his heart, he heard hooves behind him- he whirled around and saw Hermione dashing towards him, dragging Buckbeak behind her.

'What did you do?' she said fiercely. 'You said you were only going to keep a lookout!'

'I just saved all our lives..' said Harry. 'Get behind here- behind this bush- I'll explain,'

Hermione just listened to what had happened with her mouth open yet again.

'Did anyone see you?'

'Yes, haven't you been listening? I saw me but I thought I was my dad! It's ok!'

102. Hermione Speaking As Though She Knew Exactly What Harry Was Thinking

~ 'Harry,' Hermione muttered, as though she knew exactly what he was thinking. 'we've got to stay put. We mustn't be seen. There's nothing we can do..'

'So we're just going to let Pettigrew escape all over again...' said Harry quietly.

103. Hermione Telling Harry To Be Careful During Their Adventure

~ 'Well..ok, then..I'll wait here with Buckbeak...but Harry, be careful- there's a werewolf out there- and the Dementors-'

104. Hermione Praising Harry When Conjures Up Patronuses

~ 'Harry, I can't believe it- you conjured up  a Patronus that drove away all those Dementors! That's very, very advanced magic...' 

'I knew I could do it this time,' said Harry, 'because I'd already done it.....Does that make sense?'

105. Hermione Holding On To Harry While Riding Buckbeak

~ Hermione out her hands on Buckbeak’s back and Harry gave her a leg up. Then he placed his foot on one of the lower branches of the bush and climbed up in front of her. He pulled Buckbeak’s rope back over his neck and tied it to the other side of his collar like reins.

‘Ready?’ He whispered Hermione. ‘You’d better hold on to me-‘

He nudged Buckbeak’s sides with his heels.

Buckbeak’s soared straight into the dark air. Harry gripped his flanks with his knees, feeling the great wings rising powerfully beneath them. Hermione was holding Harry very tightly around the waist; he could hear her muttering, ‘Oh, no- I don’t like this- Oh, I really don’t like this-‘ 

~ ‘Whoa!’ He said, pulling backwards as hard as he could. 

~ ‘Stand back!’ Hermione called to him, and she took out her wand, still gripping the back of Harry’s robes with her left hand.

107. Harry and Hermione Being The Ones That Understood Their Time-Turner Adventure Best

~ She was in very bad mood. Harry and Hermione thought it best to accept their chocolate quietly. Madam Pomfrey stood over him, making sure they ate it. But Harry could hardly swallow. He and Hermione were waiting, listening, their nerves jangling…and then, as they took a fourth piece of chocolate from Madam Pomfrey, they heard a distant roar of fury echoing from somewhere above them…

~ ‘Hagrid would like that,’ said Dumbledore, with a swift smile at Harry and Hermione.

~ ‘What-What happened?’ He groaned. ‘Harry? Why are we in here? Where’s Sirius? Where’s Lupin? What’s going on?’

Harry and Hermione looked at each other.

‘You explain,’ said Harry, helping himself to some more chocolate.

108. Harry Noticing When Harry Is Gloomy And Harry Reassuring Her

~ She looked around at Harry, who was watching Hogwarts disappear from view behind a mountain. Two whole months before he’d see it again..

‘Oh, cheer up, Harry!’ Said Hermione sadly.

‘I’m ok,’ said Harry quickly. ‘Just thinking about the holidays,’

109. Harry Playing Exploding Snap With Hermione And Ron

~ Feeling considerably more cheerful, Harry joined Ron and Hermione in several games of Exploding Snap, and when the witch with the tea trolley arrived, he bought himself a very large lunch, though nothing with chocolate in it.

110. Hermione Noticing Harry’s Letter

~ But it was late in the afternoon before the thing that made him truly happy turned up…

‘Harry,’ said Hermione suddenly, peering over his shoulder. ‘What’s that thing outside your window?’

~ Harry picked up the letter. It was addressed to him. He ripped open the letter and shouted, ‘It’s from Sirius!’

‘What?’ Said Ron and Hermione excitedly. ‘Read it aloud!’

~ ‘Ha!’ Said Hermione triumphantly. ‘See! I told you it was from him!’ 

~ He looked closely at the owl for a moment, then, to Harry’s and Hermione’s great surpris, he held him out for Crookshanks to sniff,

                                **********Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire**********

111. Hermione’s Voice Filling Harry’s Head When His Scar Hurts

~ He looked hopelessly around his room again, and his eye paused the birthday cards his two best friends had written him had the end of July. What would they say if he wrote to them and told them about his scar hurting?

At once, Hermione Granger’s voice filled his head, shrill and panicky.

‘Your scar hurting? Harry, that’s really serious…Write to Professor Dumbledore…And I’ll go and check Common Magical Ailments and Afflictions…Maybe there’s something in there about curse scars…

Yes, that would be Hermione’s advice: go straight to the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and in the meantime, consult a book. Harry stared out of the window at the inky, blue-black sky. He doubted very much whether a book could help him now. As far as he knew, he was the only living person to have survived a curse like Voldemort’s; it was highly unlikely, therefore, that he would find his symptoms listed in Common Magical Ailments and Afflictions. As for informing the Headmaster, Harry had no idea where Dumbledore went during Summer Holidays. He amused himself for a moment, picturing Dumbledore, with lis long silver beard, full-length Wizard’s robes and a pointed hat, stretched out on a beach somewhere, rubbing suntan lotion into his long crooked nose. Wherever Dumbledore was, though, Harry was sure that Hedwig would be able to find him; Harry’s owl had never yet failed to deliver a letter to anyone, even without an address. But what would he write? 

Dear Professor Dumbledore, Sorry to bother you, but my scar hurting this morning. Yours Sincerely, Harry Potter. 

Even inside his head the words sounded stupid. 

112. Harry Regarding Mrs. Weasley's Fussing As Worse Than Hermione's, Considering Hermione Always Worries About Him

~ Mrs Weasley would fuss worse than Hermione, and Fred and George, Ron's sixteen-year-old twin brothers, might think Harry was losing his nerve.

113. Hermione Sending Harry Sweets And Cakes Over The Summer

~ The moment he had got wind of the fact that he was to survive the summer on carrot sticks, Harry had sent Hedwig to his friends with pleas for help, and they had risen to the occasion magnificently. Hedwig had returned from Hermione's house with a large box stuffed with sugar-free snacks (Hermione's parents were dentists).

~ And then on Harry's birthday (which the Dursley's completely ignored) he had received four superb birthday cakes, one each from Ron, Hermione, Hagrid and Sirius. 

114. Harry Grinning At Hermione And Ginny When He Sees Them

~ Then two girl appear in the kitchen doorway beside Mrs Weasley. One, with very bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth, was Harry and Ron's friend, Hermione Granger. The other, who was small and red-haired, was Ron's younger sister, Ginny. Both of them smiled at Harry, who grinned back, which made Ginny go scarlet- she had been very taken with Harry ever since his first visit to the Burrow.

115. Hermione Wanting To Show Harry To His Room And Spend Time

~ 'Why don't you show Harry where he's sleeping, Ron?' said Hermione from the doorway.

'He knows where he's sleeping,' said Ron. 'In my room, he slept there last-'

'We can all go,' said Hermione, pointedly.

'Oh,' said Ron, cottoning on. 'Right.'

~ 'Where's Crookshanks?' Harry asked Hermione now.

'Out in the garden, I expect,' she said. 'He likes chasing gnomes, he's never seen any before.'

~ 'Have you had a good summer, Harry?' said Hermione. 'Did you get our food parcels and everything?'

'Yeah, thanks a lot,' said Harry. 'They saved my life, those cakes.'

116. Harry and Hermione Thinking Along The Same Lines Without Needing Direct Words 

~ 'And have you heard from-' Ron began, but at a look from Hermione he fell silent. Harry knew Ron had been about to ask about Sirius. Ron and Hermione had been so deeply involved in helping Sirius escape from the Ministry of Magic that they were almost as concerned about Harry's godfather as he was. However, discussing him in front of Ginny was a bad idea. Nobody but themselves in Professor Dumbledore knew about how Sirius had escaped, or believed in his innocence.

'I think they've stopped arguing,' said Hermione, trying to cover the awkward moment, because Ginny was looking curiously from Ron to Harry. 'Shall we go down and help your mum with dinner?'

~ Ron looked carefully up the table to check that the rest of the family were all busy talking, then he said very quietly to Harry, 'So- have you heard from Sirius lately?'

Hermione turned round, listening closely.

'Yeah,' said Harry softly. 'twice. He sounds ok. I wrote to him the day before yesterday. He ight write back while I'm here.'

He suddenly remembered the reason he had written to Sirius, and, for a moment, he was on the verge of telling Ron and Hermione about his scar hurting again, and about the dream which had awoken him...but he really didn't want to worry them just now, not when he himself was feeling so happy and peaceful. 

117. Harry Feeling Hermione and Ron's Shoulders Banging Into His While Traveling Through Portkey

~ He looked around at Harry and Hermione. 'You just need to touch the Portkey, that's all, a finger will do-'

~ It happened immediately: Harry felt as though a hook just behind his navel had been suddenly jerked irresistibly forwards. His feet had left the ground; he could feel Ron and Hermione on either side of him, their shoulders banging in his; they were all speeding forwards in a howl of wind and swirling color; his forefinger was stuck to the boot as though it was pulling him magnetically onwards and then-

118. Harry And Hermione Working Together To Put Up A Tent And Hermione Communicating Wordlessly To Harry About A Problem

~ However, he and Hermione worked out where most of the poles and pegs should go, and though Mr Weasley was more of a hindrance than a help, because he got thoroughly over-excited when it came to using the mallet, they finally managed to erect a pair of shabby two-man tents.

All of them stood back to admire their handiwork. Nobody looking at these tents would guess they belonged to wizards, Harry thought, but the trouble was that once Bill, Charlie and Percy arrived, they would be a party of ten. Hermione seemed to have spotted this problem, too; she gave Harry a quizzical look as Mr Weasley dropped to his hands and knees and entered the first tent.

119. Harry Glancing At Hermione When He Is Presented With New Information, Expecting That She Already Knows

~ Harry laughed, but didn't voice the amazement he felt at hearing about other Wizarding schools. He supposed, now he saw so many representatives of different nationalities in the campsite, that he had been stupid never to realize that Hogwarts couldn't be the only one. He glanced at Hermione, who looked utterly unsurprised by the information. No doubt she had run across the news of other Wizarding schools in some book or the other. 

120. Mr Weasley Talking About The Ministry Of Magic As Harry And Hermione Enjoyed It

~ Mr Weasley kept up a running commentary, mainly for Harry and Hermione benefit; his own children knew too much to be greatly interested. 

121. Harry Buying Omnioculars For Hermione and Ron, Much To Hermione's Delight

~ 'Three pairs,' Harry said firmly to the Wizard.

~ 'You won't be getting anything for Christmas,' Harry told him, thrusting Omnioculars into his and Hermione's hands.

~ 'Oooh, thanks, Harry,' said Hermione. 'And I'll get us some programmes, look-'

122. Harry Understanding Why Hermione Was Being Misteated

~ Mr Malfoy's eyes had returned to Hermione, who went slightly pink, but stared determinedly back at him. Harry knew exactly what was making Mr Malfoy's lip curl. The Malfoys prided themselves in being Purebloods; in other words, they considered anyone of Muggle-descent, like Hermione, second-class. However, under the gaze of the Minister for Magic, Mr Malfoy didn't dare say anything. 

123. Hermione Stopping Harry From Doing Stupid Things

~ He wanted to do something very impressive, right now. Jumping from the box into the stadium seemed a good idea. But would it be good enough?

'Harry, what are you doing?' came Hermione's from a long way off. 

The music stopped. Harry blinked. He was standing up, and one his legs was resting on the wall of the box. 

~ Hermione made a loud tutting noise. She reached up and pulled Harry back into his seat. 'Honestly!' she said. 

~ 'TROY SCORES!' roared Bagman,  and the stadium shuddered with a roar of applause and cheers. 'Ten-Zero to Ireland!'

'What?' Harry yelled, looking wildly around through his Omnioculars. 'But Levski's got the Quaffle!'

'Harry, if you’re not going to watch at normal speed, you're going to miss things!' shouted Hermione, who was dancing up and down, waving her arms in the air while Troy did a lap of honor of the pitch. Harry looked quickly over the top of his Omnioculars, and saw that the leprechauns watching from the sidelines has all risen into the air again, and formed the great, glittering shamrock. Across the pitch, the Veela were watching them sulkily.

Furious with himself, Harry spun his speed dial back to normal as play resumed. 

124. Hermione Tugging At Harry's Arm To Show Him Something Funny

~ As one, the Weasley boys and Harry stuffed their fingers into their ears, but Hermione, who hadn't bothered was soon tugging on Harry's arm. He turned to look at her, and she pulled his fingers impatiently out of his ears. 

'Look at the referee!' she said, giggling. 

Harry looked down at the pitch. Hassan Mostafa had landed right in front of the dancing Veela, and was acting very oddly indeed. 

125. Harry And Hermione Staying Together, Defending And Protecting Each Other On The Night When The Dark Mark Appears'

~ 'What happened?' said Hermione anxiously, stopping so abruptly that Harry walked into her. 

~ 'Language, Weasley,' said Malfoy, his pale eyes glittering. 'Hadn't you better be hurrying along now? You wouldn't like her spotted, would you?' 

~ 'What's that supposed to mean?' said Hermione defiantly. 

'Granger, they're after Muggles,' said Malfoy. 'D'you want to be showing off your knickers in mid-air? Because if you do, hang around.....they're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh.'

'Hermione's a witch,' Harry snarled.

'Have it your own way, Potter,' said Malfoy, grinning maliciously. 'If you think they can't spot a Mudblood, stay where you are.'

~ Malfoy chuckled softly. 'Scare easily don't they?' he said lazily. 'I suppose your daddy told you all to hide? What's he up to- trying to rescue the Muggles?'

'Where're your parents?' said Harry his temper rising. 'Out there wearing masks, are they?' 

~ 'Oh, come on,' said Hermione, with a disgusted look at Malfoy. 'let's go and find the others.'

~ 'Come on,' Hermione repeated, and she pulled Harry and Ron off up the path again. 

~ 'Beauxbatons,' muttered Hermione.

'Sorry?' said Harry.

'They must go to Beauxbatons,' said Hermione. 'You know.....Beauxbatons Academy of Magic...I read about it in An Appraisal of Magical Education In Europe.'

'Oh...yeah...right,' said Harry. 

~ 'Ah, no, I don’t believe..I've lost my wand!'

~ 'Maybe it fell out of your pocket while you were running?' Hermione suggested anxiously. 

'Yeah,' said Harry. 'Maybe...'

~ Perhaps there was truth in what Malfoy said; perhaps Hermione was in more danger than they were.

~ 'Honestly!' said Hermione again, and she and Harry grabbed Ron firmly by the arms, wheeled him around and marched him away. 

~ But she broke off abruptly and looked over her shoulder. Harry and Ron looked quickly around, too.

~ 'Harry, come on, move!' Hermione had seized the back of his jacket, and was tugging him backwards. 

'What's the matter?' Harry said, startled to see her face so white and terrified.

'It's the Dark Mark, Harry!' Hermione moaned, pulling him as hard she could. 'You-Know-Who's sign!'

'Voldemort's-?'

'Harry, come on!' 

~ Without pausing to think, he yelled, 'DUCK!' he seized the other two and pulled them onto the ground. 

~ 'It wasn't her!' said Hermione. She looked very nervous, speaking up in front of all these Ministry Wizards, yet determined all the same. 'Winky's got a squeaky little voice and the voice we heard doing the incantation was much deeper!' She looked round at Harry and Ron, appealing for their support. 'It didn't sound anything like Winky, did it?'

'No' said Harry, shaking his head. 'It definitely didn't sound like an elf.'

~ Harry heard Hermione gasp, horrified, as a giant serpent-tongued skull erupted from the point where the two wands met, but it looked as though it was made of thick grey smoke: the ghost of a spell.

126. Harry Wordlessly Communicating With Hermione And Ron

~ Ron and Hermione looked curiously at Harry.

With a meaningful look at both of them he said, 'All right if I go and dump my stuff in you room Ron?'

~ 'Hermione?'

'Yes, she said quickly, and the three of them marched out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

127. Harry Knowing Hermione So Well That His Imagination Of Hermione's Reaction To His Scar Hurting Was Clearly Accurate

~ Ron and Hermione's reactions were almost exactly as Harry imagined the back in his bedroom at Privet Drive. Hermione gasped and started making suggestions at once, mentioning a number of reference books, and everybody from Albus Dumbledore to Madam Pomfrey, the Hogwarts matron. 

128. Harry Stopping Himself From Saying The Truth Because He Couldn't Bring Himself To Make Hermione More Worried

~ He teetered for a moment on the verge of saying, 'me', but couldn't bring himself to make Hermione look any more horrified than she already did. 

129. Hermione Caring For Harry's Well-being Even If If Goes Unnoticed

~ 'Ron,' said Hermione in an I-don't-think-you're-being-very-sensitive sort of voice, 'Harry doesn't want to play Quidditch right now..he's worried, and he's tired..we all need to go to bed...'

'Yeah, I want to play Quidditch,' said Harry suddenly. 'Hang on, I'll get my Firebolt.'

Hermione left the room, muttering something which sounded very much like, 'Boys.'

130. Harry Clearly Cherishing His 13th Birthday Gift From Hermione

~ Harry was polishing his Firebolt, The Broomstick Servicing Kit Herione had given him for his thirteenth birthday open at his feet.

~ Harry repacked his Broomstick Servicing Kit, put his Firebolt over his shoulder and went back upstairs with Ron. 

131. Harry And Hermione Validating Each Others' Sentences

~ 'Thanks for having to stay, Mrs Weasley,' said Hermione, as they climbed on board, closed the door and leant out of the window to talk to her.

'Yeah, thanks for everything, Mrs Weasley,' said Harry.

132. Hermione Standing Up To Malfoy When He Mocks Harry

~ 'Are you going to enter?' Malfoy repeated. 'I suppose you will, Potter? You never miss a chance to show off, do you?'

'Either explain what you’re on about, or go away, Malfoy,' said Hermione testily, over the top of the Standard Book Of Spells, Grade 4. 

133. Hermione Suggesting Harry To Give Up On Divination And Harry Realizing His Dislike For The Subject Later

~ 'Double Divination this afternoon,' Harry groaned, looking down. Divination was his least favourite subject, apart from Potions. Professor Trelawney kept predicting Harry's death, which he found extremely annoying.

'You should of given it up like me, shouldn't you?' said Hermione briskly, buttering herself some toast. 'Then you'd be doing something sensible like Arithmancy.'

~ Hermione was right, Harry thought irritably, Professor Trelawney really was an old fraud. He wasn't dreading anything at the moment at all......well, unless you counted his fears that Sirius had been caught....but what Professor Trelawney know? He had long since come to the conclusion that her brand of fortune-telling was really no more than lucky guesswork and a spooky manner. 

134. Harry And Hermione Showing Solidarity 

~ 'You know your mother, Malfoy?' said Harry- both he and Herione had grabbed the back of Ron's robes to stop him launching himself at Malfoy- 'That expression she's got, like she's got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?'

~ Harry and Hermione both laughed, and Hermione began doling beef casserole into each of their plates.

~ They were talking about the lesson, Harry thought, as though it had been some sort of spectacular show, but he hadn't found it entertaining- and nor it seemed, had Hermione.

135. Harry Realizing That Hermione Was Probably Going To The Library When He Watched Her Eat So Fast And Then Finishing Her Sentence

~ Hermione made an impatient noise and began to eat at top speed again.

'Don't tell me you're going back to the library this evening?' said Harry, watching her.

'Got to,' said Hermione thickly. 'Loads to do.'

'But you told us Professor Vector-'

'It's not schoolwork,' she said. Within five minutes, she had cleared her plate and departed.

~ 'Been in the-'

'-library,' Harry finished the sentence for her. 'C'mon, quick, or we won't get decent seats.' 

136. Harry Paying Attention To Hermione And Her Reactions, And How Others Reminded Him Of Her As Well

~ 'Stop it!' said Hermione shrilly.

Harry looking around at her. But she was looking, not at the spider, but at Neville, and Harry, following gaze, said that Neville's hands were clenched upon the desk in front of him, his knuckles white, his eyes wide and horrified. 

~ Crookshanks wandered over to them, leapt lightly into an empty chair, and stared inscrutably at Harry rather as Hermione might look if she knew they weren't doing their homework properly. 

137. Hermione Trying To Remind Harry Of The Truth Harry Even If It Goes Unnoticed

~ 'Harry,' Hermione began, in a pacifying sort of voice.

'I'm going to bed,' said Harry shortly. 'See you in the morning.'

~ 'That was a lie, Harry,' said Hermione sharply over breakfast, when he told her and Ron what he had done. 'You didn't imagine your scar hurting and you know it.'

'So what?' said Harry. 'He's not going back to Askaban because of me.'

'Drop it,' Ron said sharply to Hermione, as she opened her mouth to argue some more, and for once, Hermione heeded him, and fell silent.

138. Harry Paying Attention To Hermione and Grinning With Ron

~ Harry and Ron grinned at each other. They knew Hermione would rather eat Bubotuber pus than miss such an important lesson. 

139. Harry Paying Close Attention To Hermione And Being Right About His Assumptions

~ 'Who are the judges?' Harry asked.

'Well, the Heads of the participating schools are always on the panel,' said Hermione, and everyone looked around at her, rather surprised, 'because all three of them were injured during the Tournament of 1792, when a cockatrice the champions were supposed to be catching went on the rampage.'

She noticed them all looking at her and said, with her usual air of impatience that nobody had read all the books she had, 'It's all in Hogwarts: A History. Though, of course, that book's not entirely reliable. "A Revised History Of Hogwarts" would be a more accurate title. Or "A Highly Biased or Selective History of Hogwarts, Which Glosses over The Nastier Aspects Of The School."'

'What are you on about?' said Ron, though Harry thought he knew what was coming.

'House-elves!' said Hermione loudly and proving Harry right.

~ Harry shook his head, and applied himself to his scrambled eggs. 

140. Hermione Citing Harry's Deed As An Example For The Benefits Of SPEW

~ 'But Harry set Dobby free, and he was over the moon about it!' said Hermione. 'And we heard he's asking for wages now!' 

141. Harry Paying Close Attention To Hermione's Words

~ 'Oh, look, they're all disappointed' said Hermione over the noise, nodding towards the remainder of the Beauxbatons party. 'Disappointed' was a bit of an understatement, Harry thought. Two of the girls who had not been selected had dissolved into tears, and were sobbing with their heads on their arms. 

142. Hermione Being The Only To Believe Harry, Encouraging Him To Go Because It Wasn't His Fault,  And Knowing Exactly What He Needed

~ 'I didn't put my name in,' Harry said blankly. 'You know I didn't.'

~ 'Harry Potter!' he called again. 'Harry! Up here, if you please!'

'Go on,' Hermione whispered, giving Harry a slight push. 

~ He wanted more than anything to find Ron and Hermione, to find a bit of sanity, but neither of them seemed to be in the common room. 

~ He walked resolutely over to the portrait hole, pushed it open, climbed out of it, and found himself face-to-face with Hermione.

'Hello,' she said, holding up a stack of toast. 'I brought you this...want to go for a walk?'

'Good idea,' said Harry, gratefully.

143. Harry And Hermione Spending Lots Of Time Together After Ron And Harry Had a Fight

~They went downstairs, crossed the Entrance Hall quickly without looking in at the Great Hall, and were soon striding across the lawn towards the lake, where the Durmstrang ship was moored, reflected blackly in the water. It was a chilly morning, and they kept moving, munching their toast, as Harry told Hermione exactly what had happened after he had left the Gryffindor table the night before. 

~'It's really not that difficult, Harry,' Hermione tried to reassure him, as they left Flitwick's class- she had been making objects zoom across the room to her all lesson, as though she was some sort of weird magnet for board dusters, wastepaper baskets and Lunascopes. 

~He had already struggled through one Friday's worth, with Hermione sitting next to him, intoning 'Ignore them, ignore them, ignore them' under her breath, but he couldn't see why today should be any better. 

~When he and Hermione arrived after Snape's dungeon after lunch, they found the Slytherins waiting outside, each and every one of them wearing a large badge on the front of his or her robes.

~ Harry went down to dinner. Hermione wasn’t there- he supposed she still in the hospital wing having her teeth fixed.

~ Harry wrote back to Sirius, saying that he would be beside the common room fire at the time Sirius had suggested, and he and Hermione spent a long time going over plans for forcing any stragglers out of the common room on the night in question. If the worst came to the worst, they were going to drop a bag of Dungbombs, but they hoped they wouldn’t have to retort to that- Filch would skin them alive.

~ Harry still hasn’t mastered Summoning Charms, he seemed to have developed something of a block about them, and Hermione insisted that learning the theory would help. They consequently spent a lot of time poring over books during their lunchtimes. 

~ So Harry put on his Invisibility Cloak in the dormitory, went back downstairs, and together he and Hermione set off for Hogsmeade. 

~ Feeling too queasy to eat, Harry waited until Hermione swallowed her last spoonful of porridge, then dragged her out into the grounds for another walk. There, he told her all about the dragons, and about everything Sirius had said, while they took another long walk around the lake.

~ They walked three times around the lake, trying all the way to think of a simple spell that would subdue a dragon. Nothing Whatsoever occurred to them, so they retired to the library instead. Here, Harry pulled down every book he could find on dragons, and both of them set to work searching through the large pile.

~  ‘Come on, Harry…we’ll go back to the Common Room…his fan club will be here in a moment, twittering away….’

And sure enough, as they left the library, a gang of girls tiptoed past them in the library, one of them wearing a Bulgaria scarf tied around her waist.

~ As so they practiced. They didn’t have lunch, but headed for a free classroom, where Harry tried with all his might to various objects fly across the room towards him.

~ ‘Hermione, I’ll see you in the greenhouses,’ Harry said, coming to his decision as he watched Cedric leaving the Hall. 

~ He forced down some dinner after Divination, then returned to the empty classroom with Hermione, using an Invisibility Cloak to avoid the teachers. They kept practicing until past midnight. They would have stayed longer, but Peeves turned up, and, pretending to think that Harry wanted things thrown at him,  starting chucking chairs across the room. Harry and Hermione left in a hurry before the noise attracted Filch, and went back to the Gryffindor Common Room, which was now mercifully empty. 

At two’s clock in the morning, Harry stood near the Fireplace, surrounded by heaps of objects- books, quills, several upturned chairs, an old set of Gobstones and Neville’s toad, Trevor. Only in the last hour had Harry really got the hang of the Summoning Charm. 

144. Hermione Accepting Harry's Story Without Question

~To his immense relief, Hermione accepted his story without question.

'Well, of course, I knew you hadn't entered yourself,' she said, when he'd finished telling her about the scene in the chamber off the Hall. 'The look on your face when Dumbledore read out your name! But the question is, who did put it in? Because Moody's right, Harry...I don't think any student could have done it...they'd never be able to fool the Goblet, or get over Dumbledore's-'

145. Hermione Hesistating About Telling Harry About Ron Because He Might Get Hurt, And Telling Him Patiently That It Wasn't His Fault

~ 'Have you seen Ron?' Harry interrupted.

Hermione hesitated.

'Erm...yes...he was at breakfast,' she said.

'Does he think I entered myself?'

'Well..no, I don't think so...not really,' said Hermione akwardly.

'What's that supposed to mean, not really?'  

'Oh, Harry isn't it obvious?' said Hermione despairingly. 'He's jealous!'

'Jealous?' said Harry incredulously. 'Jealous of what? He wants to make a prat of himself in front of the whole school, does he?'

'Look,' said Hermione patiently, 'it's always you who gets all the attention, you it is. I know it's not your fault,' she added quickly, seeing Harry open his mouth furiously, 'I know you don't ask for it..but -well- you know, Ron's got all those brothers to compete against at home, and you're his best friend, and you're really famous- he's always shunted to one side when people see you, and he puts up with it, and he never mentions it, but I suppose this is just one time too many...'

'Great,' said Harry bitterly. 'Really great. Tell him from me I'll swap anytime he wants. Tell him from me he's welcome to it...people gawping at my forehead everywhere I go...'

146. Hermione Being Anxious Harry's Safety And Asking Him To Write To Sirius While Harry Vents About Ron

~ 'I'm not telling him anything,' said Hermione shortly. 'Tell him yourself, it's the only way to sort this out.'

'I'm not running around after him trying to make him grow up!' Harry said, so loudly that several owls in a nearby tree took flight in alarm. 'Maybe he'll believe I'm not enjoying myself once I've got my neck broken or-'

'That's not funny,' said Hermione quietly. 'That's not funny at all.' She looked extremely anxious. 'Harry, I've been thinking- you know what we've got to do, don't you? Straight away, the moment we get to back to the castle?'

'Yeah, give Ron a good kick up in the-'

'Write to Sirius. You've got to tell him what's happened. He asked you to keep him posted on everything that's going on at Hogwarts...it's almost like he expected something like this to happen. I brought some parchment and quill out with me-'

'Come off it,' said Harry, looking around to check that they couldn't be overheard; but the grounds were quite deserted. 'He came back to the country just because my scar twinged. He'll probably come bursting right into the castle if I tell him someone's entered me for the Triwizard Tournament-'

'He'd want you to tell him,' said Hermione sternly. 'He's going to find out anyway-'

'How?'

'Harry this isn't going to be kept quiet,' said Hermione, very seriously. 'This Tournament's famous, and you're famous, I'll be really surprised if there isn't anything in the Daily Prophet about you competing ...you're already in half the books about You-Know-Who, you know....and Sirius would rather hear it from you, I know he would.'

'Ok, Ok, I'll write to him,' said Harry, throwing his last piece of toast into the lake. They both stood and watched it floating there for a moment, before a large tentacle flew out of the water and scooped it beneath the surface. Then they returned to the castle. 

'Whose owl am I going to use?' Harry said, as they climbed the stairs. 'He told me not to use Hedwig again.'

'Ask Ron if you can borrow-'

'I'm not asking Ron anything,' Harry said flatly.

'Well, borrow one of the school owls, then, anyone can use them,' said Hermione.

They went up to the Owlery. Hermione gave Harry a piece of parchment, a quill and a bottle of ink, then strolled along the long lines of perches, looking at all the different owls, while Harry sat down against a wall and wrote his letter.

~ 'Finished,' he told Hermione, getting to his feet and brushing straw off his robes. 

~ Harry didn't answer. Yes, everything did seem to happen to him...that was more or less what Hermione had said as they walked around the lake, and that was the reason, according to her, that Ron was no longer talking to him.

147. Harry Being Sarcastic With Hermione Even During His Worst Week Yet At Hogwarts, While Hermione Tried To Reassure Him

~ 'It's really not that difficult, Harry,' Hermione tried to reassure him, as they left Flitwick's class- she had been making objects zoom across the room to her all lesson, as though she was some sort of weird magnet for board dusters, wastepaper baskets and Lunascopes. 'You just weren't concentrating properly-'

'Wonder why that was?' said Harry darkly, as Cedric Diggory walked past, surrounded by a large group of simpering girls, all of whom looked at Harry as though he was a particularly large Blast-Ended Skrewt. 'Still- never mind, eh? Double Potions to look forward to this afternoon...'

~ He had already struggled through one Friday's worth, with Hermione sitting next to him, intoning 'Ignore them, ignore them, ignore them' under her breath, but he couldn't see why today should be any better. 

148. Harry Seeing Badges and Instinctively Thinking They Were SPEW, But Realizing What They Were While Hermione Was Being Sarcastic So That It Wouldn't Get To Harry

~ When he and Hermione arrived after Snape's dungeon after lunch, they found the Slytherins waiting outside, each and every one of them wearing a large badge on the front of his or her robes. For one wild moment Harry thought they were S.P.E.W badges- then he saw that they all bore the same message, in luminous red letters that burnt brightly in the dimly lit underground passsage:

~ 'Like them, Potter?' said Malfoy loudly, as Harry approached.

~ The Slytherins howled with laughter. Each of them pressed their badges, too, until the message POTTER STINKS was shining brightly all around Harry. He felt the heat rise in his face and neck.

'Oh, very funny,' said Hermione sarcastically to Pansy Parkinson and her gang of Slytherin girls, who were laughed harder than anyone, 'really witty.' 

149. Harry Instinctively Attacking Malfoy When He Calls Hermione And Shouting At Snape When He Treats Her Unfairly 

~ 'Want one, Granger?' said Malfoy, holding out a badge to Hermione. 'I've got loads. But don't touch my hand, now. I've just washed it, you see, don't want a Mudblood sliming it up.'

Some of the anger Harry had been feeling for days and days seemed to burst through a dam in his chest. He reached for his wand before he'd thought what he was doing. .

~ 'Harry!' Hermione said warningly.

~ 'Furnunculus!' Harry yelled.

'Densaugeo!' screamed Malfoy. 

~ 'Hermione!' Ron had hurried forwards to see what was wrong with her.

Harry turned and saw Ron dragging Hermione's hand away from her face. It wasn't a pretty sight. Hermione's front teeth- already larger than average- were now growing at an alarming rate; she was looking more and more like a beaver as her teeth elongated, past her bottom lip, towards her chin- panic-stricken, she felt them, and let out a terrified cry. 

~ Snape looked coldly at Hermione, then said, ‘I see no difference.’

Hermione let out a whimper; her eyes filled with tears, she turned on her heel and ran, ran all the way up the corridor and out of sight.

It was lucky, perhaps, that both Harry and Ron started shouting at Snape at the same time; lucky their voices echoes so much in the stone corridor, for in the confused din, it was impossible for him to hear exactly what they were calling them. He got the gist, however.

‘Let’s see,’ he said, in his silkiest voice. ‘Fifty points from Gryffindor and a detention each for Potter and Weasley. Now get inside, or it’ll be a week worth of detentions.’

Harry’s ears were ringing. The injustice of him made him want to curse Snape into a thousand slimy pieces. He passed Snape, walked with Ron to the back of the dungeon, and slammed his bag down the table.

~ Harry sat there staring at Snape as the lesson, picturing horrific things happening to him….if only he knew how to do the Cruciatus Curse….he’d have Snape flat on his back like that spider, jerking and twitching…

~ Harry imagined picking up his cauldron, and sprinting up to the front of the class, and bringing it down on Snape’s greasy head- 

150. Harry and Hermione Spending A Long Time Making Plans Together

~ Harry wrote back to Sirius, saying that he would be beside the common room fire at the time Sirius had suggested, and he and Hermione spent a long time going over plans for forcing any stragglers out of the common room on the night in question. If the worst came to the worst, they were going to drop a bag of Dungbombs, but they hoped they wouldn’t have to retort to that- Filch would skin them alive.

~ ‘Why does he want me to meet him at midnight?’ Harry said, very surprised. 

‘Does he?’ Said Hermione, looking startled. ‘I don’t know if you should go, Harry….’ She looked nervously around, and hissed, ‘It might make you late for Sirius.’

It was true that going down to Hagrid’s at midnight would mean cutting his meeting with Sirius very fine indeed; Hermione suggested sending Hedwig down to Hagrid’s to tell him he couldn’t go- always assuming she would consent to take the note, of course- Harry, however, thought it better just to be quick at whatever Hagrid wanted him for.

~ At half past eleven that evening, Harry, who had pretended to go up to bed early, pulled the Invisibility Cloak back over himself and crept back downstairs through the Common Room.

~ Harry crept past them to the portrait hole and waited for a minute or so, keeping an eye on his watch. Then Hermione opened the Fat Lady for him from outside as they had planned. He slipped past her with a whispered, ‘Thanks!’ And set off through the castle.

~ The Common Room was deserted, and, judging by the fact that it smelled quite normal, Hermione had not needed to set off  any Dungbombs to ensure he and Sirius got privacy. 

151. Colin Creevey Assuming That Harry and Hermione Were In Love, And Harry Admiring Hermione For How He Was Handling The Situation, And Being Unable To Ignore Rude Comments Made On Hermione

~ Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely seen out the company of one Hermione Granger, a stunningly pretty Muggle-born girl, who, like Harry, is one of the top students in school.

~ Hermione had come in for her share of unpleasantness, too, but she hadn’t yet started shouting at the innocent bystanders; in fact, Harry was full of admiration for the way she was handling the situation.

‘Stunningly Pretty? Her?’ Pansy Parkinson’s had shrieked, the first she had come face-to-face with Hermione after Rita’s article had appeared. ‘What was she judging against- a chipmunk?’

‘Ignore it,’ Hermione said in a dignified voice, holding her head in the air and stalking past the sniggering Slytherin girls as though she couldn’t hear them. ‘Just ignore it, Harry.’

But Harry couldn’t ignore it. 

152. Hermione Knowing Harry’s Feelings Exactly, And Harry Liking Hermione Very Much Despite Missing Ron A Lot

~ ‘I didn’t start this,’ Harry said stubbornly. ‘It’s his problem.’

‘You miss him!’ Hermione said impatiently. ‘And I know he misses you-‘ 

‘Miss him?’ Said Harry. ‘I don’t miss him….’ 

 

But this was a downright lie. Harry liked Hermione very much, but she just wasn’t the same as Ron. There was much less laughter, and a lot more hanging around in the library when Hermione was your best friend. 

153. Harry And Hermione Spending A Lot Of Time In The Library Learning The Summoning Charm

~ Harry still hasn’t mastered Summoning Charms, he seemed to have developed something of a block about them, and Hermione insisted that learning the theory would help. They consequently spent a lot of time poring over books during their lunchtimes. 

154. Hermione Ranting About Viktor Krum To Harry

~ Viktor Krum was in the library an awful lot, too, and Harry wondered what he was up to. Was he studying, or was he looking for things to help him through the first task? Hermione often complained about Krum being there- not that he ever bothered them, but because groups of giggling girls often turned up to spy on him from behind bookshelves, and Hermione found the noise distracting.

‘He’s not even good looking!’ She muttered angrily, glaring at Krum’s sharp profile. ‘They only like him because he’s famous! They wouldn’t look twice at him if he couldn’t do that Wonki Faint thing-‘

‘Wronksi Feint,’ said Harry through gritted teeth. Quite apart from liking to get Quidditch terms correct, it caused him another pang to imagine Ron’s expression if he could have heard Hermione talking about Wonky Feints. 

155. Hermione Not Liking To Talk To Harry Without Looking At Him When They Go To Hogsmeade Together

~ In the Saturday before the first task, all students in the third year and above were permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade. Hermione told Harry that it would do him good to get away from the castle for a bit, and Harry didn’t need much persuasion.

‘What about Ron, though?’ He said. ‘Don’t you want to go with him?’ 

‘Oh…well…’ Hermione went slightly pink. ‘I thought we might meet up with him in the Three Broomsticks…’

‘No,’ said Harry flatly.

‘I’ll come, but I’m not meeting Ron, and I’m wearing my Invisibility Cloak.’

‘Oh, all right, then…’ Hermione snapped, ‘but I hate talking to you in that Cloak, I never know if I’m looking at you or not.’ 

So Harry put on his Invisibility Cloak in the dormitory, went back downstairs, and together he and Hermione set off for Hogsmeade. 

~ ‘Come on, please just take off your Cloak for a bit. No one’s going to bother you here.’ 

‘Oh, yeah?’ said Harry. ‘Look behind you.’ 

156. Hermione Correctly Interpreting Harry’s Silence 

~ When they were gone, Harry said, ‘She’s staying in the village. I bet she’s coming to watch the first task.’

As he said it, his stomach flooded with a wave of molten panic. He didn’t mention this; he and Hermione hadn’t discussed what was coming in the first task much; he had the feeling she didn’t want to think about it. 

‘ She’s gone,’ said Hermione, looking right through Harry towards the end of High Street. ‘Why don’t we go and have a Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks? It’s a bit cold, isn’t it? You don’t have to talk to Ron!’ She added irritably, correctly interpreting his silence. 

157. Harry Asking Hermione When She’s Going To Give Up On SPEW, and Instinctively Thinking That Moody Was Looking At The S. P. E. W. Notebook

~ ‘You know, maybe I should get some of the villagers involved in S. P. E. W.,’ said Hermione thoughtfully, looking around the pub.

‘Yeah, right,’ said Harry. He took a swig of Butterbeer under his Cloak. ‘Hermione, when are you going to give on up on this S. P. E. W. Stuff?’

‘When house-elves have decent wages and working conditions!’ She hissed back. ‘You know, I starting to think it’s time for more direct action. I wonder how you get into the school kitchens?’

‘No idea, ask Fred and George,’ said Harry

~ Moody limped around the table and bent down; Harry thought he was reading the S. P. E. W. Notebook, until he muttered, ‘Nice Cloak, Potter.’ 

158. Harry Literally Dragging Hermione To Go On A Walk And Both Of Them Spending Lots Of Time Together Talking, Researching, Reading, and Ranting While Hermione Was Concerned For Harry

~ When he’d finally got all his clothes on the right parts of his body, he hurried off to find Hermione, locating her at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, where she was eating breakfast with Ginny. Feeling too queasy to eat, Harry waited until Hermione swallowed her last spoonful of porridge, then dragged her out into the grounds for another walk. There, he told her all about the dragons, and about everything Sirius had said, while they took another long walk around the lake.

Alarmed as she was by Sirius’ warnings about Karkaroff, Hermione still thought the dragons were the more pressing problem.

‘Let’s just try and keep you alive until Tuesday evening,’ she said desperately, ‘and then we can worry about Karkaroff.’

They walked three times around the lake, trying all the way to think of a simple spell that would subdue a dragon. Nothing whatsoever occurred to them, so they retired to the library instead. Here, Harry pulled down every book he could find on dragons, and both of them set to work searching through the large pile.

‘Talon-clipping by charms…treating scale rot….this is no good, this for nutters like Hagrid who want to keep them healthy…’ 

‘Dragons are extended hard to slay, owing to the ancient magic that involves their thick hides, which none but the most powerful spells can penetrate…but Sirius said a simple one would do it…’

‘ Let’s try some simple spellbooks, then,’ said Harry, throwing aside Men Who Love Dragons Too Much. 

He returned to the table with a pile of spellbooks, set them down and began to flick through each in turn, Hermione whispering non-stop at his elbow. ‘Well, there are Switching Spells….but what’s the point of Switching it? Unless you swapped it’s fangs for wine gums or something, that would make it less dangerous…the trouble is, like that book said, not much is going to get through a dragon’s hide….I’d transfigure it, but something that big, you really haven’t hit a hope, I doubt even Professor McGonagall…unless your supposed to put the spell on yourself? Maybe to give yourself extra powers? But they’re not simple spells…, I mean, we haven’t done any of those in class, I only know about them because I’ve been doing O. W. L. practice papers…’

‘Hermione,’ Harry said, through gritted teeth, ‘will you shut up for a bit, please? I’m trying to concentrate.’ 

But all that happened, when Hermione fell silent, was that Harry’s brain filled with a sort of blank buzzing, which didn’t seem to allow space for concentration. 

~ ‘Oh, no, he’s back again, why can’t he read on his stupid ship?’ Said Hermione irritably, as Viktor Krum slouched in, cast a surly look over at the pair of them, and settled himself in a distant corner with a pile of books. ‘Come on, Harry…we’ll go back to the Common Room…his fan club will be here in a moment, twittering away….’

And sure enough, as they left the library, a gang of girls tiptoed past them in the library, one of them wearing a Bulgaria scarf tied around her waist.

~ ‘Hermione, I’ll see you in the greenhouses,’ Harry said, coming to his decision as he watched Cedric leaving the Hall. ‘Go on, I’ll catch you up.’

‘Harry, you’ll be late, the bell’s about to ring-‘

‘I’ll catch you up, ok?’

~ ‘Er- Professor, I’m supposed to be in Herbology-‘

159. Hermione Being Anxious About Harry While She Helps Him  Practice Summoning Charms, And Being Delighted When He Gets It

~ ‘Hermione,’ Harry whispered, when he had sped into the greenhouse three ten minutes later, uttering a hurried apology to Professor Sprout as he passed her, ‘Hermione- I need you to help me.’

‘What d’you think I’ve been trying to do, Harry?’ She whispered back, her eyes round with anxiety over the top of the quivering Flutterby Bush she was pruning.

‘Hermione, I need to learn how to do a Summoning Charm properly by tomorrow afternoon.’

As so they practiced. They didn’t have lunch, but headed for a free classroom, where Harry tried with all his might to various objects fly across the room towards him. He was still having problems. The books and quills kept losing heart halfway across the room and dropping like stones to the floor.

‘Concentrate, Harry, concentrate…..’ 

‘What d’you think I’m trying to do?’ Said Harry angrily. ‘A filthy great dragon keeps popping up in my head, for some reason…OK, try again….’

He wanted to skip Divination to keep practicing, but Hermione refused point-blank to skive off Arithmancy, and there was no point staying without her. 

~ He forced down some dinner after Divination, then returned to the empty classroom with Hermione, using an Invisibility Cloak to avoid the teachers. They kept practicing until past midnight. They would have stayed longer, but Peeves turned up, and, pretending to think that Harry wanted things thrown at him,  starting chucking chairs across the room. Harry and Hermione left in a hurry before the noise attracted Filch, and went back to the Gryffindor Common Room, which was now mercifully empty. 

At two’s clock in the morning, Harry stood near the Fireplace, surrounded by heaps of objects- books, quills, several upturned chairs, an old set of Gobstones and Neville’s toad, Trevor. Only in the last hour had Harry really got the hang of the Summoning Charm. 

'That’s better, Harry, that’s loads better,’ Hermione said, looking exhausted, but very pleased.

‘Well, now we know what to do next time I can’t manage a spell,’ Harry said, throwing a Rune Dictionary back to Hermione, so he could try again, ‘threaten me with a dragon. Right……’ he raised his wand once more. ‘Accio Dictionary!’ 

The heavy book soared out of Hermione’s hand, flew across the room, and Harry caught it.

‘Harry, I really think you’ve got it!’ Said Hermione, delightedly.

‘Just as long as it works tomorrow,’ Harry said. ‘That Firebolt’s going to be much further way than the stuff in here, it’s going to be in the castle, and I’m going to be out there in the grounds…’

‘That doesn’t matter,’ said Hermione firmly. ‘Just as long as you’re concentrating really, really hard on it, it’ll come. Harry, we’d better get some sleep, you’re going to need it.’ 

Harry had been focusing so hard on learning the Summoning Charm that evening that some of his blind panic had left him. 

160. Hermione Encouraging Harry And Being Concerned For Him During The First Task

~ ‘Good luck, Harry,’ Hermione whispered. ‘You’ll be fine!’

~ She didn’t seem herself either; in fact, she looked nearly as anxious as Hermione. 

~ ‘I’ve got a plan worked out, I-‘ 

~ ‘Harry, you were brilliant!’ Hermione said squeakily. There were fingernail marks in her face where she had been clutching in fear. ‘You were amazing! You really were!’

~ ‘He's supposed to work out the clue on his own,’ Hermione said swiftly. ‘It’s in the Tournament rules….’ 

‘I was supposed to work out how to get past the dragon on my own, too,’ Harry muttered, so only Hermione could hear him, and she grinned rather guiltily.

161. Hermione Getting Emotional And Hugging Harry and Ron When They Made Up

~ Hermione burst into tears.

‘There’s nothing to cry about!’ Harry told her, bewildered.

‘You two are so stupid!’ She shouted, stamping her foot on the ground, tearing splashing down on her front. Then, before either of them could stop her, she had given both of them a hug, and dashed way, now positively howling. 

162. Hermione Thinking Along The Same Lines As Harry And Stepping On His Foot To Wordlessly Signal Something, And Later Talking About It And Sharing Looks 

~ Harry noticed a dull red flush rising up out of Hagrid’s wild black beard, and his heart sank. Where had Hagrid got the Skrewts from?

Hermione, who seemed to be thinking along the same lines, said quickly, ‘They’re very interesting, aren’t they? Aren’t they, Harry?’

‘What? Oh, yeah…ouch..interesting,’ said Harry, as she stepped on his foot. 

~ ‘She’ll twist everything he says,’ Harry said under his breath.

‘Just as long as he didn’t import those Skrewts illegally or anything,’ said Hermione desperately. They looked at each other- it was exactly the sort of thing Hagrid might do. 

~ Harry and Hermione laughed, and, feeling slightly more cheerful, went off for lunch. 

163. Hermione Pulling Harry To Visit The Kitchens, While Harry Is Quick To Identify What It’s About 

~ But Hermione wasn’t at dinner, and nor was she at the library when they went to look for her afterwards.

~ But the Fat Lady had barely begun to swing forwards, when the sound of racing of feet behind them announced Hermione’s arrival.

‘Harry!’ She panted, skidding to a halt beside him (the Fat Lady stared at her, eyebrows raised). ‘Harry, you’ve got to come- you’ve got to come, the most amazing thing’s happened- please-‘ 

She seized Harry’s arm and started to try and drag him back along the corridor.

‘What’s the matter?’ Harry said.

‘I’ll show you when we get there- oh, come on, quick-‘

~ ‘Ok,’ Harry said, starting off back down the corridor with Hermione, Ron hurrying to keep up.

‘Oh, don’t mind me!’ The Fat Lady called irritably after them. ‘Don’t apologize for bothering me! I’ll just hang here, wide open, until you get back, shall I?’

~ ‘Hermione, where are we going?’ Harry asked, after she had led them down through six floors, and started down the marble staircase into the Entrance Hall. 

‘You’ll see, you’ll see in a minute!’ Hermione said excitedly.

~ ‘Oh, hang on….’ Said Harry slowly, halfway down the corridor. 

‘Wait a minute, Hermione…’

‘What?’ She turned round to look at him, anticipation all over her face.

‘I know what this is about,’ said Harry. 

~ ‘Hermione!’ Said Ron, cottoning on. 

~ ‘I’m not asking you to!’ Said Hermione impatiently. ‘I came down here just now, to talk to them all, and I found- oh, come on, Harry, I want to show you!’ 

She seized his arm again, pulled him in the front of the picture of the giant fruit bowl, stretched out her forefinger and tickled the huge green pear.

~ Hermione seized it, pulled the door open, and pushed Harry hard in the back, forcing him inside. 

~ ‘I think this is the best thing that could have happened to those elves, you know,’ said Hermione, leading the way back up the marble staircase. ‘Dobby coming to work here, I mean. The other elves will see how happy he his, being free, and slowly it’ll dawn on them that they want that, too!’

‘Let’s hope they don’t look too closely at Winky,’ said Harry. 

164. Harry Thinking About Things Hermione Told Him Out Of Nowhere 

~ Hermione’s words about Krum kept coming back to him. ‘They only like him because he’s famous!’ Harry doubted very much if any of the girls who had asked to be his partner so far would have wanted to go to the ball with him if he hadn’t been School Champion. 

165. Hermione Laughing At Harry’s Joke 

~ ‘She should’ve interviewed Snape,’ said Harry grimly. ‘He’d give her the goods on me any day. Potter has been crossing lines ever since he first arrived at this school….’ 

‘Said that, did he?’ Said Hagrid, while Ron and Hermione Laughed. 

166. Harry’s Summoning Charm Practice With Hermione Paying So Well That Professor Flitwick Talked To Him About It

~ Some of the teachers, like little Professor Flitwick, gave up trying to teach them when their minds were obviously elsewhere; he allowed them to play games on his lesson on Wednesday, and spent most of it talking to Harry about the perfect Summoning Charm he had used during the first Task of the Triwizard Tournament. 

166. Hermione Giving Reasonable Advice To Harry Even If It Goes Unnoticed 

~ ‘Mmmmmm…you’re not exactly straining yourself, though, are you?' Said Hermione, looking at him over the top of her Potions notes.

~ ‘It’s Christmas, Hermione,’ said Harry lazily; he was rereading Flying with the Cannons for the tenth time in an armchair near the fire.

Hermione looked severely over him, too. ‘I’d have thought you’d doing something constructive, Harry, even if  you don’t want to learn your antidotes!’

‘Like what?’ Harry said, as he watched Joey Jenkins of the Cannons belt a Bludger towards a Ballycastke Bats Chaser.

‘That egg!’ Hermione hissed.

‘Come on, Hermione, I’ve got ‘til February the twenty-fourth,’ Harry said.

~ ‘It might take weeks to work it out!’ Said Hermione. ‘You’re going to look a real idiot if everyone else knows what the next task is and you don’t!’ 

167. Harry Being Distracted From His Trauma By Hearing About Who Asked Hermione To The Yule Ball

~ ‘This is mad,’ said Ron. ‘We’re the only ones left who haven’t got anyone- well, except Neville. Hey- guess who he asked? Hermione!’ 

‘What?’ Said Harry, completely distracted by this startling news. 

168. Harry Whipping Around When Malfoy Calls Hermione A Mudblood, The Laughing When Hermione Mocks Malfoy About Becoming A Ferret

 ~ ‘You’re joking, Weasley?’ Said Malfoy, behind them. ‘You’re not telling me someone’s asked that to the ball? Not the long-molared Mudblood?’

Harry and Ron both whipped around, but Hermione said loudly, waving to somebody over Malfoy’s shoulder, ‘Hello, Professor Moody!’

~ ‘Twitchy little ferret, aren’t you Malfoy?’ Said Hermione scathingly, as she, Harry and Ron went up the marble staircase laughing heartily. 

169. Harry Noticing That Hermione’s Mischievous Smile Was Different From The One He Remembered 

~ Hermione suddenly smiled very mischievously, and Harry noticed it too; it was a very different smile to the one he remembered.

170. Harry Paying Attention To Hermione’s Facial Expressions, Understanding Them and Responding

~ ‘Yeah, ok,’ said Harry. Then, spotting the look on Hermione’s face, he said, ‘Come on, how’m I supposed to concentrate with all this noise going on? I won’t even be able to hear the egg over this lot.’

‘Oh, I suppose not,’ she sighed, and she sat down to watch their chess match, which culminated in an exciting checkmate of Ron’s, involving a couple of recklessly brave pawns and very violent bishop. 

171. Hermione Understanding Harry’s Love For Quidditch And Gifting Him A Book It

~ Harry’s other presents were much more satisfactory than Dobby’s odd socks- with the obvious exception of the Dursley’s, which consisted of a single tissue, an all-time low- Harry supposed they, too, were remembering the Ton-Tongue Toffee. Hermione had given Harry a book called Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland; Ron, a bulging bag of Dungbombs; Sirius, a handy penknife with attachments to unlock any lock and undo any knot; and Hagrid, a vast box of sweets including all of Harry’s favorites- Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum and Fizzing Whizzbees. 

172. Harry’s Jaw Dropping Due To Hermione’s Beauty At The Yule Ball

~ Krum was at the front of the party, accompanied by a pretty girl in blue robes Harry didn’t know.

~ Cedric and Cho were close to Harry, too; he looked away from them so he wouldn’t have to talk to them. His eyes fell instead on the girl next to Krum. His jaw dropped.

It was Hermione.

But she didn’t look like Hermione at all. She had done something with her hair; it was no longer bushy, but sleek and shiny, and twisted up into an elegant knot at the back of her head. She was wearing robes made of floaty, periwinkle-blue material, and she was holding herself differently, or perhaps it was merely the absence of the twenty or so books she usually had slung over her back. She was also smiling- rather nervously, it true- but the reduction in the size of her front teeth was more noticeable than ever. Harry couldn’t understand how he hadn’t spotted it before. 

‘Hi, Harry!’ She said. 

173. Harry Glancing About Hermione And Thinking About How She Would Feel About A New Method Of Dining Which Meant More Work For House-elves

~ Harry glanced up at Hermione to see how she felt about this new and more complicated method of dining - surely it meant plenty of extra work for the house-elves?

174. Hermione Catching Harry’s Eye And Grinning When She Taught Krum How To Pronounce Her Name

~ ‘Close enough,’ she said, catching Harry’s eye and grinning. 

175. Harry Supporting Hermione In Her Argument With Ron

~ Hermione came over and sat down in Parvati’s empty chair. She was a bit pink in the face from dancing.

‘Hi,’ said Harry. 

~ Hermione stared at him, then at Harry, who shrugged. 

~ ‘I’d never help him work out that egg!’ Said Hermione, looking outraged. ‘Never. How could you say something like that- I want Harry to win the Tournament. Harry knows that, don’t you Harry?’ 

~ ‘Ron,’ said Harry quietly, ‘I haven’t got a problem with Hermione coming with Krum-‘

~ Harry didn’t say anything. He like being back on speaking terms with Ron too much to speak his mind right now- but somehow he thought that Hermione had got the point much better than Ron had. 

176. Hermione Confiding In Harry What She Used For Her Hair At The Yule Ball

~ Hermione’s hair was bushy again; she confessed to Harry that she had used liberal amounts of Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion on it for the Ball, ‘but it’s way too much bother to do it everyday,’ she said matter-of-factly, scratching a purring Crookshanks behind the ears.

177. Harry Being Keen To Tell Hermione What He And Ron Saw In The Daily Prophet, And Hermione Was His Facial Expressions Meant Her To Say

~ 'That was a really good lesson,' said Hermione, as they entered the Great Hall. 'I didn't know half the things Professor Grubbly-Plank told us about uni-'

'Look at this!' Harry snarled, and he shoved the Daily Prophet under Hermione's nose.

Hermione's mouth fell open as she read. Her reaction was exactly the same as Ron's. 'How did that horrible Skeeter woman find out? You don't think Hagrid told her?'

'No,' said Harry, leading the way to the Gryffindor Table and throwing himself into a chair, furious. 'He never even told us, did he? I reckon she was so mad he couldn't give her loads of horrible stuff about me, she went ferreting around to get back at him.'

'Maybe she heard him telling Madame Maxime at the ball,' said Hermione quietly.

~ 'We've got to go and see him,' said Harry. 'This evening, after Divination. Tell him we want him back...you do want him back?' he shot at Hermione.

'I- well, I'm not going to pretend it didn't make a nice change, having a proper Care of Magical Creatures lesson for once- but I do want Hagrid back, of course I do!' Hermione added hastily, quaillng under Harry's furious stare. 

178. Harry Feeling Guilty When Lying To Hermione

~ There was a Hogsmeade visit halfway through January. Hermione was very surprised that Harry was planning to go.

'I just though you'd want to take advantage of the Common Room being quiet,' she said. 'Really get to work on that egg.'

'Oh, I-I reckon I've got a pretty good idea what it's about now,' Harry lied.

'Have you really?' said Hermione looking impressed. 'Well done!'

Harry's insides gave a guilty squirm, he ignored them.

~ 'He offered me help with the Golden Egg,' said Harry.

'He shouldn't be doing that!' said Hermione, looking very shocked. 'He's one of the judges! And anyway, you've already working it out- haven't you?'

'Er...nearly,' said Harry.

'Well, I don't think Dumbledore would like it if knew Bagman was trying to persuade you to cheat!' said Hermione, still looking deeply disapproving. 'I hope he's trying to help Cedric as much!'

'He's not. I asked,' said Harry. 

~ Why hadn't he got to work on the egg's clue sooner?

179. Harry Paying Attention To Hermione's Observations

~ 'Doesn't he ever go into the office?' Hermione whispered suddenly. 'Look!' 

She pointed into the mirror behind the bar, and Harry saw Ludo Bagman reflected there, sitting in a shadowy corner with a bunch of Goblins.

~ It was indeed odd, Harry thought, that Bagman was here at the Three Broomsticks on a weekend when there was no Triwizard Event, and therefore no judging to be done. He watched Bagman in the mirror. 

180. Harry Feeling That Taking Advice From Hermione And Others Didn't Feel As Bad As Taking Advice From Bagman

~ He wasn't entirely sure why he was refusing Bagman's help, except that Bagman was almost a stranger to him, and accepting his assistance would feel somehow much more like cheating than asking advice from Ron, Hermione or Sirius. 

181. Harry And Hermione Showing Their Solidarity Regarding Their Reactions To Articles About Hagrid, While Harry Thinks About Hermione's Rage Due To Rita Writing Foul Articles About Harry First, Then Hagrid

~ 'Who cares if he's half-giant?' Harry shouted. 'There's nothing wrong with him!' 

~ 'How about giving me an interview about the Hagrid you know, Harry? The man behind the muscles? Your unlikely friendship and the reasons behind it. Would you call him a father substitute?'

Hermione stood up very abruptly, her Butterbeer clutched in her hand as though it was a grenade. 

'You horrible woman,' she said through gritted teeth, 'you don't care, do you, anything for a story, and anyone will do, won't they? Even Ludo Bagman-'

~ 'Let's go,' said Hermione. 'C'mon, Harry- Ron..'

~ Harry glanced backwards as they left the door. Rita Skeeter's Quick Notes Quill was out; it was zooming backwards and forwards over a piece of parchment on the table. 

~ 'Let her try!' said Hermione shrilly; she was shaking with rage. 'I'll show her! Silly little girl, am I? Oh, I'll get her back for this, first Harry, then Hagrid..'

~ The last time Harry had seen Hermione in a rage like this, she had hit Draco Malfoy around the face. 

~ 'Hagrid!' Hermione shouted, pounding on his front door.

~ 'Hi, Hagrid.' Said Harry.

~ 'Of course we still want to know you!' Harry said, staring at Hagrid. 

~ 'Come back and teach, Hagrid,' said Hermione quietly. 'please come back, we really miss you.' 

182. Harry Remembering The Time When Hermione Turned Into A Cat When Myrtle Looked So Cheerful

~ He had never seen Moaning Myrtle so cheerful, apart from the day when Hermione's dose of Polyjuice Potion had given her a hairy face and the tail of a cat. 

183. Hermione Giving Harry Her Quill To Write To Sirius

~ 'Weekend after next,' whispered Hermione, who had read the note over Harry's shoulder. 'Here- take my quill and send this owl back straight away.'

184. Hermione Becoming Tired From Helping Harry Figure Out How To Get Through The Second Task But Still Refusing To Give Up

~ 'There must be something,' Hermione muttered, moving a candle closer to her. Her eyes were so tired she was poring over the tiny print of Olde And Forgotten Bewitchment And Charms with her nose about an inch from the page. 

184. Hermione Cutely Not Understanding Harry's Joke

~ 'I know what I should have done,' said Harry, resting, face down, on Saucy Tricks For Tricky Sorts. I should've learnt to be an Animagus like Sirius.'

~ 'It takes years to become an Animagus, and then you have to register yourself and everything,' said vaguely, now squinting down the index of Weird Wizarding Dilemmas and Their Solutions. 'Professor McGonagall told us, remember...you've got to register yourself with the Improper Use of Magic Office...what animal you become, and your markings, so you can't abuse it..'

'Hermione, I was joking,' said Harry wearily. 'I know I haven't got a chance of turning into a frog by tomorrow morning....'

185. Harry Being Anxious About The Possibilty That Hermione And Ron Were Going To Be Told off

~ Ron and Hermione stared at Harry, who felt his stomach drop. Was Professor McGonagall about to tell Ron and Hermione off? Perhaps she'd noticed how much they were helping him, when he ought to be working out to do the task alone? 

'We'll meet you back in the common room,' Hermione told Harry, and she got up with Ron- both of them looked very anxious. 'Bring as many books as you can, ok?'

'Right,' said Harry uneasily. 

185. Harry Trying To Save Hermione In The Second Task

~ He turned back to Hermione, raised the jagged rock and began to hack and her bindings, too-

At once, several pairs of strong grey hands seized him. Half a dozen mermen were pulling him away from Hermione, shaking their green-haired heads and laughing.

'You take your own hostage,' one of them said to him. 'Leave the others...'

'No way!' said Harry furiously- but only two large bubbles came out.

'Your task is to retrieve your own friend...leave the others..'

'She's my friend, too!' Harry yelled, gesturing towards Hermione, an enormous silver bubble emerging soundlessly from his lips. 

~ Harry struggled to fight off the mermen, but they laughed harder than ever, holding him back. Harry looking wildly around. Where were the other champions? Would we have time to take Ron to the surface, and come back down for Hermione and the others? Would he be able to find them again? 

~ The shark-man swam straight to Hermione and began snapping and biting at her ropes: the trouble was that Krum's new teeth were positioned very awkwardly for biting anything smaller than a dolphin, and Harry was quite sure that if Krum wasn't careful, he was going to rip Hermione in half. Darting forwards, Harry hit Krum hard on the shoulder, and held up the jagged stone. 

186. Hermione Being Concerned And Cheering For Only Harry After the Second Task Even Though Krum Saved Her

~ 'Harry, well done!' Hermione cried. 'You did it, you found out how, all by yourself!'

'Well-' said Harry. He would have told her about Dobby, but he had just noticed that Karkaroff was listening.

~ 'You haff a water-beetle in your hair, Herm-own-ninny,' said Krum.

Harry had the impression that Krum was drawing her attention back onto himself; perhaps to remind her that he had just rescued her from the lake, but Hermione brushed the beetle away impatiently and said, 'You're well outside the time-limit, though, Harry..Did it take you ages to find us?'

'No...I found you ok...'

~ 'Mr Harry Potter used Gillyweed to great effect,' Bagman continued. 'He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftaness informs us that Mr Potter was first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to hid determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own.'

Ron and Hermione both gave Harry half-exasperated, half-commiserating looks.

'Most of the judges'- and here, Bagman gave Karkaroff a very nasty look- 'feel that this shows moral fibre and merits full marks. However..Mr Potter's score is forty-five points.'

~ Ron and Hermione, caught by surprise, stared at Harry, then laughed and started applauding with the rest of the crowd.

~ Fleur was clapping very hard, too, but Krum didn't look happy at all. He attempted to engage Hermione in conversation in conversation again, but she was too busy cheering Harry to listen. 

187. Hermione Being Sarcastic When The Article About the Harry-Hermione-Krum Love Triangle came Out

~                                     HARRY POTTER'S SECRET HEARTACHE

A boy like no other, perhaps- yet a boy suffering all the usual pangs of adolescence, writes Rita Skeeter. Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his parents, fourteen-year-old Harry thought he had found solace in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-born Hermione Granger. Little did he know that he would shortly be suffering yet another emotional blow in a life already littered with personal loss.

Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for famous wizards that Harry alone cannot satisfy. Since the arrival at Hogwarts of Viktor Krum, Bulgaria Seeker and hero of the last World Quidditch Cup, Miss Granger has been toying with both boys' affection. Krum, who is opening smitten to the devious Miss Granger, has already invited her to visit him in Bulgaria over the summer holidays, and insists that he has 'never felt this way about any other girl'. 

However, it might not be Miss Grangers doubtful natural charms which have captured these unfortunate boys' interests.

'She's really ugly,' says Pansy Parkinson, a pretty and vivacious fourth-year student, 'but she'd be well up to making a Love Potion, she's quite brainy. I think that's how she's doing it.'

Love Potions are of course banned at Hogwarts, and no doubt Albus Dumbledore will want to investigate these claims. In the meantime, Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart upon a worthier candidate. 

~ She looked over at the Slytherins, who were all watching her and Harry closely across the room to see if they had been upset by the article. Hermione gave them a sarcastic smile and a wave, and she, Harry and Ron started unpacking the ingredients they would need for their Wit-sharpening Potion.

188. Ron Suspecting That Hermione Really Used Love Potions On Harry and Krum

~ 'Known what?' said Ron quickly. 'You haven't been mixing up Love Potions, have you?' 

189. Hermione Blushing So Hard About Krum That Harry Could Feel The Heat From Her

~ 'And he did say he never felt the same way about anyone else,' Hermione went on, going so red now that Harry could almost feel the heat coming from her, 'but how could Rita Skeeter have heard him? She wasn't there..or was she? Maybe she has got an Invisibility Cloak, maybe she sneaked into the grounds to watch the second task....'

~ 'Well, I was too busy seeing whether you and Harry were ok to-'

'Fascinating though your social life undoubtedly is, Miss Granger,' said an icy voice behind them, 'I must ask you not to discuss it in my class. Ten points from Gryffindor.'

190. Snape Seperating Harry and Hermione After Reading Rita's Article

~ The article sounded ten times worse when read by Snape.

~ '...Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart upon a worthier candidate. How very touching.' sneered Snape, rolling up the magazine to continued gales of laughter from the Slytherins.

~ 'Well, I think I had better separate the three of you, so you can keep your mind on Potions rather than your tangled love lives. Weasley, you stay here. Miss Granger, over there, beside Miss Parkinson. Potter- that table in front of my desk. Move. Now.'

Furious, Harry threw his ingredients and his bag into his cauldron, and dragged it up to the front of the dungeon to the empty table.

~ Determined to not look at Snape, Harry resumed the mashing of his scarab beetles, imagining each of to have Snape's face. 

191. Harry Worrying About Getting Hermione In Trouble Regarding Her Stealing From Snape's Private Stores If He Took Veritaserum

~ Hermione had taken the Boomslang skin in their second year- they had needed it for the Polyjuice Potion- and while Snape had suspected Harry at the time, he had never been able to prove it. 

~ 'I don't know what you're talking about,' Harry lied coldly. 

~ He repressed a shudder at the thought of what might come spilling out of his mouth if Snape did...quite apart from landing a whole lot of people in trouble- Hermione and Dobby, for a start- there were all the other things he was concealing..like the fact that he was in contact with Sirius..and- his insides squirmed at the thought- how he felt about Cho..

192. Harry Running Away At Top Speed To Tell Hermione and Ron Something He just Saw

~ Not wanting to remain alone with an exceptionally angry Snape, Harry threw his books and ingredients back into his bag, and left at top speed to tell Ron and Hermione what he had just witnessed. 

193. Harry Paying Attention To Hermione’s Words Instinctively 

~ ‘Oh dear, said Hermione, as she spotted Winky. 

Harry looked over at the fireplace, too.

193. Hermione Citing Harry’s Deed As An Example To Prove The Significance of SPEW Yet Again

~ ‘Oh, for heaven’s sake!’ Said Hermione angrily. ‘Listen to me, all of you! You’ve got just as much rights as wizards to be unhappy! You’ve got the right to wages and holidays and proper clothes, you don’t have to do everything you’re told- look at Dobby!’

194. Harry Telling Hermione That It Was Good Thinking To A Subscription To The Daily Prophet

~ ‘No, it’s not that,’ said Hermione. ‘I’ve taken out a new subscription to the Daily Prophet, I’m getting sick of finding everything out from the Slytherins.’ 

‘Good thinking!’ Said Harry, also looking up at the owls. ‘Hey, Hermione, I think you’re in luck-‘

195. Harry Taking Hermione’s Goblet To Prevent It Getting Knocked Over By Owls

~ ‘How many subscriptions did you take out?’ Said Harry, seizing Hermione’s goblet before it was knocked over by the cluster of owls, all of whom were jostling close to her, trying to deliver their letter first.

196. Harry Telling Hermione That She Should Go To The Hospital Wing When She Gets Hate Mail

~ She thrust the letter at Harry, who saw that it was not handwriting, but composed from pasted letters that seemed be cut out of the Daily Prophet. 

~ She had opened the last envelope, and yellowish green liquid smelling strongly of petrol gushed over her hands, which began to erupt in large, yellow boils. 

‘Ow!’ Said Hermione, tears starting in her eyes as she tried to rub it off her hands with a napkin, but her fingers were now so thickly covered in painful sores it looked as though she was wearing a pair of thick, knobbly gloves.

~ ‘You’d better get up to the hospital wing,’ said Harry, as the owls around Hermione took flight, ‘well tell Professor Sprout where you’ve gone…’ 

197. Harry Not Wanting To Talk About Hermione’s Hate Mail In Front Of Pansy Parkinson To Protect Her Dignity

~ Catching sight of Harry, Pansy called, ‘Potter, have you split up with your girlfriend? Why was she so upset at breakfast?’

Harry ignored her; he didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing how much trouble the Witch Weekly article had caused. 

~ ‘Hang on,’ said Hagrid, looking down into the crate. ‘There’s a spare Niffler here…who’s missin’? Where’s Hermione?’

~ ‘We’ll explain later,’ Harry muttered; Pansy Parkinson was listening. 

198. Harry Telling Hermione That She Missed A Good Lesson After She Returns From The Hospital Wing

~ ‘You missed a really good lesson,’ Harry told Hermione, as they headed back towards the castle. 

199. Harry and Hermione Looking At Each When They Both Don’t Know What To Say To Ron 

~ Harry and Hermione looked at each other. Neither of them really knew what to say. 

200. Harry Trying To Reassure Hermione That The Chaos Caused By Rita’s Article Would Die Down

~ Harry was getting sick of telling people that Hermione wasn’t his girlfriend.

‘It’ll die down, though,’ he told Hermione, ‘if we just ignore…people got bored with that stuff she wrote about me last time-‘

201. Hermione Removing Harry’s Hand From His Ear So He Could Listen To Her

~ Harry had such a bad case of Twitchy ears, he had to hold his hands clamped over them as he walked away from class.

‘Well, Rita’s definitely not using an Invisibility Cloak!’ Hermione panted five minutes later, catching up with Harry and Ron in the Entrance Hall and pulling Harry’s hand away from one of his wiggling ears so he could hear.

202. Harry Guessing That Hermione Was Going To The Library When She Stormed Away, And Marveling At Her Efforts To Try And Get Back At Rita Skeeter

~ She marched back up the marble staircase without a backward glance. Harry was quite sure she was going to the library. 

~ Harry frankly marveled at the fact that Hermione could research Magical Methods of eavesdropping as well as everything else they had to do.

203. Harry Hastily Changing The Subject So That Hermione Wouldn’t Be Sad About Mrs Weasley’s Cold Treatment Of Her

~ Hermione looked sadly at her tiny egg.

‘Don’t you want to see what Percy’s written?’ Harry asked her hastily.

204. Krum Suspecting Harry and Hermione’s Relationship Status As Friends, Mentioning That Hermione Talks About Him A Lot, While Harry Understands That’s What Usually Does For Him As A Friend 

~ ‘I can’t to know,’ he said, glowering, ‘vot is between you and Hermy-own-ninny.’

Harry, who from Krum’s secretive manner had expected something much more serious than this, stared up at Krum in amazement. 

‘Nothing,’ he said. But Krum glowered at him, and Harry, somehow struck anew by how tall Krum was, elaborated. ‘We’re friends. She’s not my girlfriend and she never has been. It’s just that Skeeter Woman making things up.’

‘Hermy-own-ninny talks about you very often,’ said Krum, looking suspiciously at Harry.

‘Yeah,’ said Harry, ‘because we’re friends.’ 

He couldn’t quite believe he was having this conversation with Viktor Krum, the famous International Quidditch player. It was as though the eighteen-year-old Krum thought he, Harry, was an equal- a real rival-

‘You haff never…you haff not…’

‘No,’ said Harry, very firmly.

Krum looked slightly happier. 

205. Hagrid Wanting To Talk To Hermione Due To What Happened After The Conversation About Her Harry Had With Krum

~ ‘He wasn’t trying to jinx me, he just wanted to talk about Hermione-‘

‘I’ll be having a few words with her, an’ all,’ said Hagrid grimly, stomping up the stairs. ‘The less you lot ‘ave to do with these foreigners, the happier yeh’ll be. Yeh can’t trust any of ‘em.’

206. Harry and Hermione Talking About What Happened To Mr Crouch With Ron Late Into The Night

~ All three of them were puffy-eyed and pale, because they had been talking late into the night about Mr Crouch.

‘Just go through it again, Harry,’ said Hermione. ‘What did Mr Crouch actually say?’

‘I’ve told you, he wasn’t making much sense,’ said Harry. ‘He said he wanted to warn Dumbledore about something. He definitely mentioned Bertha Jorkins, and he seemed to think she was dead. He kept saying stuff was his fault…he mentioned his son.’

‘Well, that was his fault,’ said Hermione testily. 

‘He was out of his mind,’ said Harry. ‘Half the time he seemed to think his wife and son were still alive, and he kept talking to Percy about work and giving him instructions.’ 

~ ‘You don’t think they know something about all this, do you?’ Hermione whispered. ‘About Crouch and everything?’

‘No,’ said Harry. ‘If it was something that serious, they’d tell Dumbledore.’ 

~ ‘D’you think it’s too early to go and see Professor Moody?’ Hermione said, as they went down the spiral staircase.

‘Yes,’ said Harry. ‘He’d probably blast us through the door if we wake him at the crack of dawn, he’ll think we’re trying to attack him while he’s asleep. Let’s give it ‘til break.’ 

207. Hermione Being Concerned For Harry’s Safety

~ ‘He’s worried about you!’ Said Hermione sharply. ‘Just like Moody and Hagrid! So listen to them!’

‘No one’s tried to attack me all year,’ said Harry. ‘No one’s done anything to me at all-‘

‘Except put your name in the Goblet of Fire,’ said Hermione. ‘And they must’ve done that for a reason, Harry. Snuffles is right. Maybe they’ve been biding their time. Maybe this is the task they’re going to get you.’

‘Look,’ said Harry impatiently, ‘ let’s say Snuffles is right, and someone stunned Krum to kidnap Crouch. Well, they wouldn’t been in the trees near us, wouldn’t they? But they waited ‘til I was out of the way until they acted, didn’t they? So that doesn’t look like I’m their target, does it?’

‘They couldn’t have made it look like an accident if they’d murdered you in the Forest!’ Said Hermione. ‘But if you die during a task-‘

‘They didn’t care about attacking Krum, did they?’ Said Harry. ‘Why didn’t they just polish me off at the same time? They could’ve made it look like Krum and I had a duel or something.’ 

‘Harry, I don’t understand it either,’ said Hermione desperately. ‘I just know that there are a lot of odds things going on, and I don’t like it…Moody’s right- Snuffles is right-  you’ve got to get in training for the third task, straight away. And you make sure you write back to Snuffles and promise him you’re not going to go sneaking off alone again.

208. Hermione Helping Harry Prepare For The Third Task And Telling Ron That They Didn’t Need To Worry About Disarming Become Harry’s Got It Well

~ For the next few days he spent all his free time either in the library with Hermione and Ron, looking up hexes, or else in empty classrooms, which they sneaked into to practice. 

~ ‘Well, I think Harry’s got it now, anyway,’ said Hermione hastily. ‘And we don’t have to worry about Disarming, because he’s been able to do that for ages…I think we ought to start on some of these hexes this evening.’

‘She looked down at the list they had made in the library.

‘I like the look of the one,’ she said. ‘This Impediment Jinx. Should slow down anything that’s trying to attack you, Harry. We’ll start with that one.’ 

209. Harry Observing Hermione And Thinking She Could’ve Used A Pensieve

~ Hermione  had not spoken for ten minutes. She was sitting with her forehead in her hands, staring at her knees. Harry thought she, too, looked as though she could have done with a Pensieve. 

210. Hermione Telling Harry To Get Some Sleep

~ ‘We haven’t done any practicing!’ She said, looking shocked. ‘We were going to do the Impediment jinx! Come on, Harry, you need to get some sleep.’

211. Hermione Telling Harry Not To Worry When He Told Her And Ron That He Didn’t Mind Practicing On His Own

~ Ron and Hermione were supposed to be revising for their exams, which would finish on the day of the third task, but they were putting most of their efforts into helping Harry prepare.

‘Don’t worry about it,’ Hermione said shortly, when Harry pointed this out to them, and he didn’t mind practicing on his own for a while. ‘At least we’ll get top marks in Defense Against The Dark Arts, we’d never have found out about all these hexes in class.’ 

212. Hermione Discovering A Useful Spell To Help Harry In The Third Task

~ He had soon mastered the Impediments Jinx, a spell to slow down and obstruct attackers, the Reductor curse, which would enable him to blast solid objects out of his way, and the Four-point spell, a useful discovery of Hermione’s which would make his wand point due North, therefore enabling him to check whether he was going in the right direction within the maze. 

213. Hermione Looking Up A Counter-Jinx To Help Harry Out Of The Jelly-Legs Jinx

~ He was still having trouble with the Shield Charm, though. This was supposed to cast a temporary, invisible walk around himself that deflected minor curses; Hermione managed to shatter it with a well-placed Jelly-Legs Jinx. Harry wobbled around the room for ten minutes afterwards before she had looked up the counter-jinx. 

214. Hermione Encouraging Harry While Practicing For The Third Task

~ ‘You’re still doing really well, though,’ Hermione said encouragingly, looking down on her list, and crossing off those spells they had already learnt. ‘Some of these are bound to come in handy.’ 

215. Hermione Thinking That It Best To Focus On Harry Getting Through The Third Task For Now

~ Sirius was calling daily owls now. Like Hermione, he seemed to want to concentrate on Harry getting through the last task, before they concerned themselves with anything else. 

216. Harry Being Confident With His Preparation For The Third Task 

~ Harry’s nerves mounted as June the twenty-fourth drew closer, but they were not as bad as those he had had before the first and second task. For one thing, he was confident that, this time, he had done everything in his power to prepare for the task. 

~ ‘I’m ok,’ said Harry. It was sort of true, he was nervous, but he kept running over all the hexes and spells he had been practicing in his mind as he walked, and the knowledge that he could remember them all made him feel better. 

~ Harry could just make out Mrs Weasley, Bill, Ron and Hermione applauding Fleur politely, halfway up the stands. He waved up at them, and they waved back, beaming at him. 

217. Hermione Hiding Foul Articles About Harry from Harry, And Harry Later Being Interested In What She Found Out About Rita Skeeter

~ She unfolded the paper, glanced at the front page, and spat out a mouthful of Pumpkin juice all over it.

‘What?’ Said Harry said Ron together, staring at her.

‘Nothing,’ said Hermione quickly, trying to shove the paper out of sight, but Ron grabbed it. 

~ ‘You were at the Top of the North Tower!’ Hermione said. ‘Your voice couldn’t have carried all the way to the grounds!’

‘Well, you’re the one who’s supposed to be researching magical methods of bugging!’ Said Harry. ‘You tell me how she did it!’

‘I’ve been trying!’ Said Hermione. ‘But I..but…’

~ Harry and Ron stared at each other. 

~ Fred, George and Ginny came to sit next to them, too, and Harry was having such a good time he felt almost as though he was back at the Burrow; he had forgotten to worry about that evening’s task, and not until Hermione turned up, halfway through lunch, did he remember that she had had a brainwave about Rita Skeeter.

‘Are you going to tell us-‘

Hermione shook her head warningly, and glanced at Mrs Weasley. 

218. Harry Telling Mrs Weasley That Hermione Wasn’t His Girlfriend So That She Would Treat Her Better

~ ‘Hello, Hermione,’ said Mrs Weasley, much more stiffly than usual.

‘Hello,’ said Hermione, her smile faltering at the clod expression on Mrs Weasley’s face.

Harry looked between them, then said, ‘Mrs Weasley, you didn’t believe that rubbish Ruta Skeeter wrote in Witch Weekly, did you? Because Hermione’s not my girlfriend.

‘Oh!’ Said Mrs Weasley. ‘ No- of course I didn’t!’

But she became considerably warmer towards Hermione after that. 

219. Harry Thinking About Celebrating With Hermione And Ron To Conjure A Patronus

~ He summoned the happiest thought he could, concentrated with all his might on the though of getting out of the maze and celebrating with Ron and Hermione, raised his wand and cried, ‘Expecto Patronum!’ 

220. Harry Thinking Of Hermione When He Needs To Answer A Riddle

~ Harry’s stomach slipped several notches. It was Hermione who was good at this sort of thing, not him. 

221. Hermione And Others Being Worried About Harry

~ When Dumbledore pushed open the door, Harry saw Mrs Weasley, Bill, Ron and Hermione grouped around a harassed-looking Madam Pomfrey. They appeared to be demanding to know where Harry was and what happened to him.

All of them whipped around as Harry, Dumbledore and the black dog entered, and Mrs Weasley let out a kind of muffled scream. 

~ Ron and Hermione were looking at him cautiously, as though scared of him.

‘I’m all right,’ he told them. ‘Just tired.’  

~ Hermione, Ron, and Mrs Weasley were all looking at him.

~ Hermione was standing by the window. She was holding something tight in her hand.

‘Sorry,’ she whispered. 

222. Harry Feeling As Though He Reached An Unwritten Understanding With Hermione And Ron

~ He liked it best when he was with Ron and Hermione, and they were talking about other things, or else letting him sit in silence while they played chess. He felt as though all three of them had reached an understanding they didn’t need to put into words; that each was waiting for some sign, some word, of what was going on outside Hogwarts- and that it was useless to speculate about what might be coming until they knew anything for certain. 

~ Harry, Ron and Hermione talked more fully and freely than they had done all week, as the train sped them southwards. 

223. Hermione Noticing Harry Looking At The Newspaper And Reassuring Him That Nothing Happened

~ When Hermione returned from the trolley and put her money back into her school bag, she dislodged a copy of the Daily Prophet which she had been carrying in there. 

Harry looked at it, unsure whether he really wanted to know what it was might say, but Hermione, seeing him looking at it, said calmly, ‘There’s nothing in there. You can look for yourself, but there’s nothing at all. I’ve been checking everyday. Just a small piece the day after the third task, saying you won the Tournament. They didn’t even mention Cedric. Nothing about any of it. If you ask me, Fudge is forcing them to keep quiet.’

224. Harry Understanding That Hermione Was Excited To Tell Him And Ron Something And Immediately Asking Her

~ Harry had the impression that Hermione had been dying to tell them this for days, but that she had restrained herself in the light of everything else that happened.

‘How was she doing?’ Said Harry at once.

~ ‘Well, it was you, really, who gave me the idea, Harry,’ she said,

‘Did I?’ Said Harry, perplexed. ‘How?’

‘Bugging,’ said Hermione happily

‘But you said they didn’t work-‘

‘Oh, not electronic bugs,’ said Hermione. 

~ ‘I caught her on the windowsill in the hospital wing. Look very closely, and you’ll notice the markings around her antennae are exactly like those foul glasses she wears.’

Harry looked, and saw that she was quite right. He also remembered something. ‘There was a beetle on the statue the night we heard Hagrid telling Madame Maxine about his mum!’

‘Exactly,’ said Hermione. 

225. Hermione Kissing Harry On The Cheek 

~ ‘Bye, Harry!’ Said Hermione, and she did something she had never done before, and kissed him on the cheek.

                                  *****Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ******

226. Harry Wondering What Hermione’s Words Meant

~ Hermione had scribbled I expect we’ll be seeing you quite soon in his birthday card, how soon was soon? 

227. Harry Thinking That He Would Never Be Able To See Hermione And Ron Again If He Died

~ But there was no happiness in him…the Dementor’s icy fingers were closing on his throat- the high-pitched laughter was growing louder and louder, and a voice spoke inside his head: ‘Bow to death, Harry

…it might even be painless…I would not know…I have never died…’

He was never going to see Ron and Hermione again- 

228. Harry Being Desperate To Send A Letter To Hermione, Ron or Sirius

~ He was desperate to be alone, to think, perhaps to send a letter to Ron, Hermione or Sirius. 

~ Harry copied these words on to three separate pieces of parchment the moment he reached the desk in his dark room. He addressed the first to Sirius, the second to Ron and the third to Hermione. 

229. Hermione Hugging Harry And Being So Excited And Worried For Him When He Arrives At Grimmauld Palace

~ He caught a brief glimpse of a gloomy high-ceilinged, twin-bedded room; then there was a loud twittering noise, followed by an even louder shriek, and his vision was completely obscured by a large quantity of very bushy hair. Hermione had thrown herself onto him in a hug that nearly knocked him flat, while Ron's tiny owl, Pigwidgeon, zoomed excitedly round and round their heads.

'HARRY! Ron, he's here! We didn't hear you arrive! Oh, how are you? Are you all right? Have you been furious with us? I bet you were, I know our letters were useless- but we couldn't tell you anything, Dumbledore made us swear we wouldn't, oh, we've got so much to tell you, and you've got things to tell us- the Dementors! When we heard- and that Ministry hearing- it's just outrageous, I've looked it all up, they can't expel you, they just can't, there's Provision in Decree For the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery for the use of magic in life-threatening situations-'

~ Still beaming, Hermione let go of Harry, but before she could say another word there was a soft whooshing sound and something white soared from the top of a dark wardrobe and landed gently on Harry's shoulder.

~ 'Hermione was going spare, she kept saying you'd do something stupid if you were stuck all on your own without news, but Dumbledore made us-'

'- swear not to tell me,' said Harry. 'Yeah, Hermione's already said.' 

~ 'And don't forget to keep your voice down in the Hall, Harry.' Hermione whispered. 

230. Hermione Telling Harry That She Would Feel The Same if She was In His Place Even While He's Shouting

~ 'Harry, we wanted to tell, we really did-' Hermione began.

~ 'Harry, we're really sorry!' said Hermione desperately, her eyes now sparkling with tears. 'You're absolutely right, Harry- I'd be furious if it was me!'

231. Hermione Understanding Harry's Expression and Giving Him Information

~ 'Is anyone going to bother telling me what the Order of the Phoenix-?'

'It's a secret society,' said Hermione quickly. 'Dumbledore's in charge, he founded it. It's the people who fought against You-Know-Who last time.'

~ 'Who's in it?' said Harry, coming to a halt with his hands in his pockets.

~ 'We've told you, the Order won't let us in on their meetings,' said Hermione nervously. 'So we don't know the details- but we've got a general idea,' she added hastily, seeing the look on Harry's face. 

232. Hermione Understanding How Bad Rita's Articles Must Have Been For Harry To Read, and Trying To Reassure Him Despite Feeling Anxious Herself

~ 'I don't want anyone to worship-' Harry began hotly.

'I know you don't,' Hermione said quickly, looking frightened. 'I know, Harry. But you see what they're doing? They want to turn you into someone nobody will believe. I'll bet anything that Fudge is behind it. They want wizards on the street to think you're just some stupid boy who's a bit a joke, who tells ridiculous tall stories because he loves being famous and wants to keep it going.' 

~ 'You really shouldn't be, not if they abide my their own laws, there's no case against you.'

233. Harry Feeling Ashamed Of Himself For Shouting When Hermione And Ron Look So Nervous

~ The sight of them looking so nervous made him feel slightly ashamed. 

'Look...' he muttered, but Ron shook his head, and Hermione said quietly, 'We knew you'd be angry, Harry, we really don't blame you, but you've got to understand, we did try to persuade Dumbledore-' 

'Yeah, I know,' said Harry shortly. 

~ ‘Course I will,’ Harry said.

Ron and Hermione beamed. 

234. Harry Paying Attention To Hermione’s Expressions 

~ Hermione’s face was half concealed by a tea towel but Harry distinctly saw her throw a reproachful look at Mrs Weasley. 

235. Hermione Introducing Harry To Kreacher

~ ‘And there’s the Mudblood, standing there as bold as brass, oh, if my mistress knew, oh, how she’d cry, and there’s a new boy, Kreacher doesn’t know his name. What is he doing here? Kreacher doesn’t know….’

‘This is Harry, Kreacher,’ said Hermione tentatively. ‘Harry Potter.’ 

236. Harry Staring At Hermione And The Others, Wondering How He’d Feel Without Them

~ He stared at Hermione and the Weasleys, all tucking into their sandwiches, and thought how he would feel if they went back to Hogwarts without him. 

237. Hermione Being Concerned About Harry’s Hearing

~ Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny all stopped talking and looked over at him. 

~ ‘They were bound to clear you,’ said Hermione, who had looked positively faint with anxiety when Harry had entered the kitchen and was now holding a shaking hand over her eyes, ‘there was no case against you, none at all.’

‘Everyone seems quite relieved, though, considering you all knew I’d get off,’ said Harry, smiling. 

~ Ron and Hermione sat themselves down opposite him, looking happier than they had done when he first arrived at Grimmauld Place, and Harry’s feeling of giddy relief, which had been somewhat dented by his encounter with Lucius Malfoy, swelled again.

238. Harry Remembering Hermione When He Sees The Elf Statue At The Ministry

~ With a grin at the thought of what Hermione would say if she could see the statue of the elf, Harry turned his money bag upside down and emptied not just ten Galleons, but the whole contents into the pool.

239. Hermione Being The Only One To Notice Harry’s Scar Hurting

~ But as he thought this, the scar on his forehead burned so badly that he clapped a hand to it.

‘What’s up?’ Said Hermione, looking alarmed. 

‘Scar,’ Harry mumbled. ‘But it’s nothing…it happens all the time now…’

None of the others had noticed a thing; all of them now were helping themselves to food while gloating over Harry’s narrow escape; Fred, George and Ginny were still singing. Hermione looked rather anxious, but before she could say anything, Ron had said happily, ‘I bet Dumbledore turns up this evening, to celebrate with us, you know.’

240. Hermione Telling Harry Not To Feel Guilty About Sirius

~ ‘Don’t you go feeling guilty!’ Said Hermione sternly, after Harry had confided some of his feelings to her and Ron while they scrubbed out a moldy cupboard on the third floor a few days later. ‘You belong at Hogwarts and Sirius knows it. Personally, I think he’s being selfish.’ 

241. Hermione Being Excited At The Thought Of Being Prefects With Harry And Harry Being Affected By It

~ The door banged open. Hermione came tearing into the room, her flushed and her hair flying. There was an envelope in her hand.

‘Did you get- Did you get?’

She spotted the badge in Harry’s hand and let out a shriek.

‘I knew it!’ She said excitedly, brandishing her letter. ‘Me too, Harry, me too!’

‘No,’ said Harry quickly, pushing the badge back into Ron’s hand. 

‘It’s Ron, not me.’

‘It- what?’

~ He dashed from the room, leaving Harry and Hermione alone. For some reason, Harry found he did not want to look at Hermione.

~ ‘Harry?’ Said Hermione tentatively.

‘Well done, Hermione,’ said Harry so heartily it did not sound like his voice at all, and, still not looking at her, ‘brilliant. Prefect. Great.’

‘Thanks,’ said Hermione. ‘Erm- Harry- could I borrow Hedwig so I can tell Mum and Dad? They’ll be really pleased- I mean prefect is something they can understand.’

‘Yeah, no problem,’ said Harry, still in the horrible hearty voice that did not belong to him. ‘Take her!’

He leaned over the trunk, laid the robes on the bottom of it and pretended to be rummaging for something while Hermione crossed to the wardrobe and called Hedwig down.

~ He could not lie to himself; if he had known the prefect badge was on its way, he would have expected it to come to him, not Ron. 

~ Harry’s mood suddenly lifted. His father had not been a prefect either. All at once the party seemed much more enjoyable; he loaded up his plate, feeling doubly fond of everyone in the room. 

242. Hermione Appearing In Harry’s Dream

~ Harry had a troubled night’s sleep. His parents wove in and out of his dreams, never speaking; Mrs Weasley sobbed over Kreacher’s dead body, watched by Ron and Hermione, who were wearing crowns, and yet again Harry found himself walking down a corridor ending in a locked door. 

243. Harry and Hermione Chatting Before Going To King’s Cross 

~ Hermione came hurrying into the room looking flustered, just as Harry was putting on his trainers. Hedwig was swaying on her shoulder, abd she was carrying a squirming Crookshanks in her arms. 

‘Mum and Dad just sent Hedwig back.’ The owl fluttered obligingly over and perched on top of her cage. ‘Are you ready yet?’

‘Nearly. Is Ginny all right?’ Harry asked, shoving on his glasses.

‘Mrs Weasley’s patched her up,’ said Hermione. ‘But now Mad-eye’s complaining that we can’t leave unless Sturgis Podmore’s there, other the guard will be one short.’

‘Guard?’ Said Harry. ‘We have to go to King’s Cross with a guard?’

‘You have to go to King’s Cross with a guard,’ Hermione corrected him. 

‘Why?’ Said Harry irritably. I thought Voldemort was supposed to be lying low, or are you telling me he’s going to jump out from behind a dustbin and try and do me in?’

‘I don’t know, it’s just what Mad-eye says,’ said Hermione distractedly, looking at her watch, ‘but if we don’t leave soon we’re definitely going to miss the train.’

~ Harry seized Hedwig, stuffed her unceremoniously into her cage, and set off downstairs after Hermione, dragging his trunk. 

244. Hermione Feeling Sorry About Having Harry To Sit Away From The Prefects

~ ‘Shall we go and find a compartment, then?’ Harry asked.

~ ‘We’re- well- Ron and I are supposed to go into the prefect carriage,’ said Hermione awkwardly.

~ ‘Oh,’ said Harry. ‘Right. Fine.’

‘I don’t think we have to stay there all journey,’ said Hermione quickly. ‘Our letters said we just get instructions from the Head Boy and Girl and then patrol the corridors from time to time.’

‘Fine,’ said Harry again. ‘Well, I- I might see you later, then.’

245. Hermione Laughing When Harry Roasts Malfoy

~ 'Yeah,' said Harry. 'but you, unlike me, are an idiot, so get out and leave us alone.'

Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville laughed.

246. Hermione Defending Harry Against Malfoy

~ 'Tell me, how it feel being second-best to Weasley, Potter?' he asked.

'Shut up, Malfoy,' said Hermione sharply.

'I seem to have touched a nerve,' said Malfoy, smirking.

~ 'Get out!' said Hermione, standing up.ce of 

246. Harry and Hermione Exchanging Looks And Thinking The Same Thing when Malfoy Uses The Word Dogging

~ Hermione slammed the compartment door behind them and turned to look at Harry, who knew at once that she, like him, had registered what Malfoy had said and had been just as unnerved by it.

~ Harry could not talk freely in front of Neville and Luna. He exchanged another with Hermione, then stared out of the window. 

~ Hermione had been right...Sirius should not have come. 

247. Hermione Understanding Harry's Expression And Speaking Accordingly

~ He looked around for Ron or Hermione, wanting to know whsat they thought of the the reappearance of Professor Grubbly-Plank, but neither of them was anywhere near him, so he allowed himself to be shunted forwards on to the dark rain-washed road outside Hogsmeade station.

~ Harry glanced quickly at them, turned away to keep a lookout for Ron and Hermione, then did a double-take. 

~ Harry glared at Hermione. She cleared her throat and quickly said, 'Erm...yes...he's very good.'

248. Harry Reassuring Hermione About Hagrid

~ 'You don't think he's...hurt..or anything, do you?' 

'No,' said Harry at once.

'But where is he, then?'

There was a pause, then Harry said very quietly, so that Neville, Parvati, and Lavender could not hear, 'Maybe he's not back yet. You know- from his mission- the thing he was doing over the summer for Dumbledore.'

249. Harry Paying Attention To Hermione's And Her Indications

~ 'Yeah....yeah, that'll be it,' said Ron, sounding reassured, but Hermione bit her lip, looking up and down the staff table as though hoping for some conclusive explanation of Hagrid's absence.

'Who's that?' she said sharply, pointing towards the middle of the staff table. 

Harry's eyes followed hers.

~ 'It's that Umbridge woman!'

'Who?' said Hermione.

~ 'She works for Fudge!' Hermione repeated, frowning. 'What on earth's she doing here, then?'

'Dunno...'

Hermione scanned the staff table, her eyes narrowed.

'No,' she muttered, 'no, surely not..'

~ The teachers, however, were still listening very attentively, and Hermione seemed to be drinking in every word Umbridge spoke, though, judging by her expression, they were not at all to her taste. 

~ 'I said illuminating, not enjoyable,' said Hermione. 'It explained a lot.'

'Did it?' said Harry in surprise. 'Sounded like a load of waffle to me.'

'There was some important stuff hidden in the waffle,' said Hermione grimly. 

~ 'It means the Ministry's interfering at Hogwarts.'

250. Hermione Being concerned About Harry

~ 'What's the matter?' asked Hermione five minutes later, catching up with Harry and Ron halfway across the common room as they all headed towards breakfast. 'You look absolutely- Oh, for heaven's sake.'

~ 'Anyway, what's up, Harry?' Hermione continued, as they walked down a flight of stairs lined with portraits of old witches and wizards, all of whom ignored them, being engrossed in their own conversation. 'You look really angry about something.' 

251. Hermione Telling Lavender To Shut Up When She Doesn't Believe Harry About Voldemort Returning

~  Hermione, who Harry had expected to react angrily on his behalf, sighed.

'Yes, Lavender thinks so too,' she said gloomily.

'Been having a nice little chat with her about whether not I'm a lying, attention-seeking prat, have you?' Harry said loudly.

'No,' said Hermione calmly. 'I told her to keep her big fat mouth shut about you, actually.. And it would be quite nice if you stopped jumping down our throats, Harry, because in case you haven't noticed, Ron and I are on your side.'

There was a short pause.

'Sorry,' said Harry in a low voice.

'That's quite all right,' said Hermione with dignity. Then she shook her head. 'Don't you remember what Dumbledore said at the last end-of-term feast?'

Harry and Ron both looked at her blankly and Hermione sighed again. 

252. Harry Paying Attention To Hermione's Words

~ 'Dumbledore didn't even mention how long that Grubbly-Plank woman's staying,' he said, as they made their way across to the Gryffindor Table. 

'Maybe..' said Hermione thoughtfully.

'What?' said both Harry and Ron together. 

253. Hermione Telling Ron Off For Disrupting Harry and Cho's conversation

~ Hermione waited until Cho was halfway across the courtyard before rounding on Ron.

~ ‘You are so tactless!’

~ ‘Couldn’t you tell she wanted to talk to Harry on her own?’

~ ‘Why on earth were you attacking her about her Quidditch team?’

~ ‘Who cares if she supports the Tornados?’ 

~ ‘But what does it matter?’ 

~ They did not stop arguing all the down to Snape’s dungeon, which gave Harry plenty of time to reflect that between Neville and Ron he would be lucky ever to have two minutes of conversation with Cho that he could look back on without wanting to leave the country.

254. Hermione Consoling Harry When Snape Makes His Potion Vanish 

~ The contents of Harry’s Potion vanished; he was left standing foolishly beside an empty cauldron.

~ ‘That was really unfair,’ said Hermione consolingly, sitting down next to Harry and helping herself to Shepherd’s pie. ‘Your potion wasn’t nearly as bad as Goyle’s; when he put his flagon the whole thing shattered and set his robes on fire.’

‘Yeah, well,’ said Harry, glowering at his plate, ‘since when has Snape ever been fair to me?’

~ ‘I did think he might be a bit better this year,’ said Hermione in a disappointed voice. ‘I mean…you know..’ she looked around carelessly; there were half a dozen empty seats on either side of them and nobody was passing the table ‘..now he’s in the Order and everything.’

255. Harry Feeling Ashamed of Himself When Hermione Says That It Would Nice If He Stopped Taking His Temper On Her And Ron

~ ‘But Hermione thinks it would be nice if you stopped taking out your temper on us,’ said Ron.

~ ‘Good day,’ said Professor Trelawney in her usual misty, dreamy voice, and Harry broke off, again feeling both annoyed and slightly ashamed of himself.

256. Harry Paying Attention To Hermione, While They Both Communicate Wordlessly In Class

~ Harry looked right and received a surprise to shake him out of his torpor. Hermione had not even opened her copy of Defensive Magical Theory. She was staring fixedly at Professor Umbridge, who was looking as resolutely in another direction.

Harry could not remember Hermione ever neglecting to read when instructed to, or indeed resisting the temptation to open any book that came under her nose. He looked at her enquiringly, but she merely shook her head slightly to indicate that she was not about to answers, and continued to stare at Professor Umbridge, who was looking just as resolutely in another direction.

After several more minutes had passed, however, Harry was not the only one watching Hermione. 

257. Harry Showing His Solidarity With Hermione When She Questions Umbridge

~ Harry and Hermione immediately raised their hands too. 

~ ‘What use is that?’ Said Harry loudly. ‘If we’re going to be attacked, it won’t be in a-‘

258. Hermione Trying To Warn Harry About Umbridge 

~ ‘Harry, no!’ Hermione whispered in a warning voice, tugging at his sleeve, but Harry jerked his arm out of her reach. 

259. Harry Remembering Hermione’s Words and McGonagall Being Positive About It

~ ‘Yeah,’ said Harry. ‘Yeah..she said…progress will be prohibited at Hogwarts..well, it meant that..that the Ministry of Magic is trying to interfere at Hogwarts.’

~ ‘Well, I’m glad you listen to Hermione Granger at any rate,’ she said, pointing him out of her office. 

260. Hermione Pulling Harry Away From A Room Where People Gossip About Him

~ ~ ‘The thing is, Harry, I’m not sure they did,’ said Hermione grimly. 

‘Oh, let’s get out of here,’

She slammed down her own knife and fork; Ron looked longing at his half-finished apple pie but followed suit. People stared at them all the way out of the Hall.

~ ‘What d’you mean, you’re not sure they believed Dumbledore?’ Harry asked Hermione when they reached the first-floor building.

‘Look, you don’t understand what it was like after it happened,’ said Hermione quietly. 

262. Harry Paying Attention To Hermione

~ She wrenched her bag open; Harry though she was about to put her books away, but instead she pulled out two misshapen woolly objects, placed then carefully on the table by the fireplace, covered them with a few screwed up bits of parchment and a broken quill and stood back to admire the effect. 

~ ‘Woodlice,’ said Hermione promptly, which explained why what Harry had taken to be brown grains of rice were moving. 

263. Hermione Trying To Reassure Harry When He Worries About Hagrid

~ ‘Dumbledore would know if something had happened to Hagrid,’ said Hermione at once. ‘It’s just playing into Malfoy’s hands to look worried; it tells him we don’t know exactly what’s going on. We’ve got to ignore him, Harry. Here, hold the Bowtruckle for a moment, just so I can draw its face….’

264. Hermione Giving Harry Her Handkerchief When He Gets Hurt, And Frowning When He Talks About His Difficult Life

~ When the bell echoed distantly over the grounds, Harry rolled up his blood-stained Bowtruckle picture and marched off to Herbology with his hand wrapped in Hermione’s handkerchief, and Malfoy’s derisive laughter still ringing in his ears.

‘If he calls Hagrid a moron one more time…’ snarled Harry.

‘Harry, don’t go picking a row with Malfoy, don’t forget, he’s a Prefect now, he could make life difficult for now..’

‘Wow, I wonder what it’s like to have a difficult life?’ Said Harry sarcastically. Ron laughed, but Hermione frowned. 

265. Harry Guessing Hermione’s Reactions Before She Even Says Anything

~ ‘And don’t that Grubbly-Plank woman’s a better teacher!’ He added threateningly.

‘I wasn’t going to,’ said Hermione calmly. 

266. Harry Thinking About What Hermione Said About Luna

~ ‘D’you mind not offending the only people who believe me?’ Harry asked Hermione as they made their way into class. 

‘Oh, for heaven’s sake, Harry, you can do better than her,’ said Hermione. 

~ Harry thought of the sinister winged horses he had seen on the night he had arrived and how Luna had said she could see them too. 

267. Hermione Trying To Console Harry About His Detentions With Umbridge, While Harry Didn’t Tell Her And Ron The Truth Because He Didn’t Want To See Their Looks Of Horror

~ ‘At least it’s only lines,’ said Hermione consolingly, as Harry sank back on to his bench and looked down at his steak and kidney pie, which he no longer fancied much. ‘It’s not as if it’s a dreadful punishment, really…’

Harry opened his mouth, closed it again, and nodded. He was not really sure why he was not telling Ron and Hermione exactly what was happening in Umbridge’s room: he only knew that he did not want to see their looks of horror, that would make the whole thing seem worse and therefore difficult to face.

268. Harry Confiding In Hermione What Happened At Umbridge’s Office, While She Listened Attentively Despite Being Woken Up From A Nap

~ Harry moved over to sit next to Hermione, who awoke with a jerk as he put down his bag. 

‘Oh, Harry, it’s you…..good about Ron, isn’t it?’ She said blearily. ‘I just so-so-so tired,’ she yawned. ‘I was up until one o’clock making more hats. They’re disappearing like mad!’

And sure enough, now that he looked, Harry saw that there were woolly hats concealed all around the room where unwary elves might accidentally pick them up.

‘Great,’ said Harry distractedly, if he did not tell somebody soon, he would burst. ‘Listen, Hermione, I was just up in Umbridge’s office and she touched my arm…’

Hermione listened closely. When Harry had finished, she said slowly, ‘You’re worried You-Know-Who’s controlling her like he controlled Quirrell?’

‘Well,’ said Harry, dropping his voice, ‘it’s a possibility, isn’t it?’

‘I suppose so,’ said Hermione, though she looked unconvinced. ‘But I don’t think he can be possessing her the way he possessed Quirrell, I mean, he’s properly alive now, isn’t he, he’s got his own body, he wouldn’t need to share someone else’s. He could have her under the Imperius Curse, I suppose….’

~ Then Hermione said, ‘But last year your scar hurt when nobody was touching you, and didn’t Dumbledore say it had something to do with what You-Know-Who was feeling at that time? I mean, maybe this hasn’t got anything to do with Umbridge at all, maybe it’s just coincidence it happened while you were with her?’

269. Hermione Telling Harry To Tell Dumbledore About His Scar Hurting And Him That Dumbledore Only Caring About Harry’s Scar Was Not True, Then Warning About Owls Being Intercepted 

~ ‘She’s evil,’ said Harry flatly. ‘Twisted.’

‘She’s horrible, yes, but…Harry, I think you ought to tell Dumbledore your scar hurt.’

~ I’m not bothering him with this. Like you just said, it’s not a big deal. It’s been hurting on and off this summer- it was just a bit worse tonight, that’s all-‘

‘Harry, I’m sure Dumbledore would want to be bothered by this-‘ 

‘Yeah,’ said Harry before he could stop himself, ‘that’s the only bit of me Dumbledore cares about, isn’t it, my scar?’

‘Don’t say that, it’s not true!’

‘I think I’ll write and tell Sirius about it, see what he thinks-‘

‘Harry, you can’t put something like that in a letter!’ Said Hermione, looking alarmed. ‘Don’t you remember, Moody told us to be careful what we put in writing! We just can’t guarantee owls aren’t being intercepted any more!’

270. Hermione Face Shining Glee and Later Looking Disappointed When Harry Tells Her He Can’t Make Hats With Her Because Of Homework, And Harry Trying To Look Tempted By The Offer To Make Her Happy Despite Knowing He Had Homework 

~ ‘Oh no,’ said Hermione, looking relieved, ‘if you’re going that means I can go too, without being rude. I’m absolutely exhausted and I want to make some more hats tomorrow. Listen, you can help me if you like, it’s quite fun, I’m getting better, I can do patterns and bobbles and all sorts of things now.’

Harry looked into her face, which was shining with glee, and tried to look as though as was vaguely tempted by this offer.

‘Er..no, I don’t think I will, thanks,’ he said. ‘Er- not tomorrow. I’ve got loads of homework to do..’

And he traipsed off to the boys’ stairs, leaving her looking slightly disappointed. 

271. Harry Noticing Hats Gone And Wondering How Many Elves Hermione Set Free, And Later Appreciating How Hard It Was For Hermione And Ron To Write Letters To Him At Grimmauld Place 

~ The detritus of crumpled-up bits of parchment, old Gobstones, empty ingredient jars and sweet wrappers that usually covered the Common Room at the end of each day was gone, as were all Hermione’s elf hats. Wondering vaguely how many elves had now been set free whether they wanted to be or not, Harry uncorked his ink bottle, dipped his quill into it, then held it suspended an inch above the smooth yellowish surface of his parchment, thinking hard..but after a minute or so he found himself staring into the empty grate, at a complete loss for what to say. 

He could now appreciate how hard it had been for Ron and Hermione to write him letters over the summer. 

272. Harry And Hermione Showing Their Solidarity And Recounting When They Exchanged Looks In The Train at The Start of The Year While Ron Was Slightly Confused

~ ‘Wait a moment,’ said Hermione suddenly. ‘Oh no…Sirius!’

‘What’s happened?’ Said Harry, snatching at the paper so violently it ripped down the middle, with him and Hermione each holding one half.

‘The Ministry of Magic has received a tip-off from a reliable source that Sirius Black, notorious mass murderer….blah blah blah..is currently hiding in London!’ Hermione read from her half in an anguished whisper. 

‘Lucius Malfoy, I’ll bet anything,’ said Harry in a low, furious voice.

‘He did recognize Sirius on the platform….’

‘What?’ Said Ron, looking alarmed. ‘You didn’t say-‘

‘Shhhh!’ Said the other two.

‘…”Ministry warns wizarding community that Black is very dangerous…..killed thirteen people…broke out of Akzaban… the usual rubbish,’ Hermione concluded, laying down her hair of the paper and looking fearfully at Harry and Ron.

Harry looked glumly at the bit of Prophet he had torn off. 

~ ‘Hey!’ He said, flattening in down so Hermione and Ron could see it. ‘Look at this!’

~ Ron and Hermione bent closer to read it; the item was barely an inch long and placed right at the bottom of the column. 

~ ‘Ron, shhh!’ Said Hermione, casting a terrified look around them. 

‘Six months in Akzaban!’ Whispered Harry, shocked. ‘Just for trying to get through a door!’

‘Don’t be silly, it wasn’t just for trying to get through a door. What on earth was he doing at the Ministry of Magic at one o’clock in the morning?’ breathed Hermione. 

~ There was a pause while Harry and Hermione considered this. 

273. Harry Feeling Guilty About Not Doing His Homework When Hermione Mentions It

~ She folded up half of the newspaper thoughtfully. As Harry laid down his knife and fork, she seemed to come out a reverie.

‘Right, We’ll, I think we should tackle that essay for Sprout on self-fertilizing shrubs first abd if we’re lucky we’ll be able to start McGonagall’s Inanimatus Conjurus Spell before lunch…’

Harry felt a small twinge of guilt at the thought of the pile of homework awaiting him upstairs, but the sky was a clear, exhilarating blue, and he had not been on his Firebolt all week…

‘I mean, we can do it tonight,’ said Ron, as he and Harry walked down the sloping lawns towards the Quidditch Pitch, their broomsticks over their shoulders, and with Hermione’s dire warnings that they would fail all their O. W. L. s still ringing in their ears.

~ There was a pause as he added, in a slightly more anxious tone, ‘D’you think she meant it when she said we weren’t copying from her?’

‘Yeah, I do.’ Said Harry. 

~ ‘Listen..shall we just ask Hermione if we can have a look at what she’s done?’

Harry glanced over at her; she was sitting with Crookshanks on her lap and chatting merrily to Ginny as a pair of knitting needles flashed in midair in front of her, now knitting a pair of shapeless elf socks.

‘No,’ he said heavily, ‘You know she won’t let us.’

274. Harry Being Honest With Hermione About Ron’s Quidditch Performance After She Raised Her Eyebrows 

~ ‘How was practice?’ Hermione asked rather coolly half an hour later, as Harry and Ron climbed through the portrait hole into the Gryffindor Common Room.

‘It was-‘ Harry began.

~ Hermione turned to Harry.

‘Was he lousy?’ 

‘No,’ said Harry loyally.

Hermione raised her eyebrows.

‘Well, I suppose he could’ve played better,’ Harry muttered, ‘but it was only the first training session, like you said…..’

275. Harry and Hermione Showing Their Solidarity About The Excitement For The Letter Ron Got And Leaning Towards Each Other To Read It

~ ‘Open it!’ Said Hermione eagerly, and Harry nodded.

~ He thrust the letter at Harry and Hermione, who leaned towards each other to read it together:

276. Hermione Helping Harry and Ron With Their Homework 

~ ‘Oh, give them here,’ she said abruptly.

~ ‘Give them to me, I’ll look through them and correct them,’ she said.

~ ‘What you can say is, ‘We promise we’ll never leave our homework this late again,’ she said, holding out both hands for their essays, but she looked slightly amused all the same.

‘Thanks a million, Hermione,’ said Harry weakly, passing over his essay and sinking back into his armchair, rubbing his eyes.

~ ‘Harry, yours is ok except for this bit at the end, I think you must have misheard Professor Sinistra, Europa’s covered in ice, not mice- Harry?’

277. Harry Noticing Hermione’s Expression And Telling That He Wrote His Letter To Sirius Properly

~ ‘You didn’t say you’d written to Sirius!’ Said Hermione accusingly.

‘I forgot,’ said Harry, which was perfectly true; his meeting with Cho in the Owlery had driven everything before it out of his mind. ‘Don’t look at me like that, Hermione, there was no way anyone would have got secret information out of it, was there, Sirius?’ 

278. Hermione Keeping Harry Confiding His Scar Incident With Her In My Mind And Silencing Ron

~ ‘Anyway, we’d better be quick, just in case we’ve disturbed- your scar.’

‘What about-?’ Ron began, but Hermione interrupted him.

‘We’ll tell you afterwards. Go on, Sirius.’ 

279. Hermione Nodding Vigorously With Ron When Harry says Umbridge Is Foul Enough To Be A Death Eater

~ ‘I know by her reputation and I’m sure she’s no Death Eater-‘

‘She’s foul enough to be one,’ Said Harry darkly, and Ron and Hermione nodded vigorously in agreement. 

280. Harry and Hermione Showing Their Solidarity Regarding Concern For Sirius And Keeping In Mind The Nervous Looks They Exchanged At The Start of the year

~ And when they did not appear cheered by this, Sirius added, ‘When’s your next Hogsmeade weekend, anyway? I was thinking, we got away with the dog disguise at train, didn’t we? I thought I could-‘

‘NO!’ Said Harry and Hermione together, very loudly.

‘Sirius, didn’t you see the Daily Prophet?’ Said Hermione anxiously. 

‘Oh, that,’ said Sirius, grinning, ‘they’re always guessing where I am, they haven’t really got a clue-‘

‘Yeah, but we think this time they have,’ said Harry. ‘Something Malfoy said on the train made us think he knew it was you, and his father was on the platform, Sirius- you know, Lucius Malfoy- so don’t come up here, whatever you do. If Malfoy recognizes you again-‘

281. Harry and Hermione Sharing Their Shock About The Article In The Daily Prophet

~ However, the departing delivery owl let out a huge gasp and flattened the newspaper to reveal a large photograph of Dolores Umbridge, smiling widely and blinking slowly at them from beneath the headline.

~ ‘Umbridge- “High Inquisitor”?’ Said Harry darkly, his half-eaten piece of toast slipping from his fingers. ‘What does that mean?’ 

Hermione read aloud:

~ ‘She’s been a WHAT?’ Said Harry loudly.

‘Wait, there’s more,’ said Hermione grimly. 

~ ‘I can’t believe this. It’s outrageous!’ 

‘I know it is,’ said Harry.

~ ‘What?’ Said Harry and Hermione together, staring at him. 

282. Harry Hiding A Bad Grade From Hermione And Not Wanting To Disappoint Her, And Later Focusing In Potions Class

~ Harry realized that Hermione was looking sideways to see what grade he had received; he slid his moonstone essay back into his bag as quickly as possible, feeling that he would rather keep that information private. 

Determined not to give Snape an excuse to fail him in this lesson, Harry read and reread every line of instructions on the blackboard at least three times before acting on them. His Strengthening Solution was not precisely the clear turquoise shade of Hermione’s but it was at least blue rather than pink, like Neville’s, and he delivered a flask of it to Snape’s desk at the end of the lesson with a feeling of mingled defiance and relief.

~ ‘I mean, all right, I didn’t expect the top grade, not if he’s marking to O. W. L. standards, but a pass is quite encouraging at this stage, wouldn’t you say?’

Harry made a non-commital noise in his throat.

~ ‘Still better than “D”, isn’t it? “Dreadful”?

Harry felt his face glow warm and faked a small coughing fit over his roll. When he emerged from this he was sorry to find that Hermione was still in full flow about O.W.L grades.

~ ‘“T”?’ Asked Hermione, looking appalled. ‘Even lower than a “D?”? What on earth does “T” stand for?’

‘Troll,’ said George promptly.

Harry laughed again, though he was not sure whether or not George was joking. He imagined trying to conceal from Hermione that he had received’T’s in all his O.W.L. s and immediately resolved to work harder from now on. 

~ Seamus handed back Harry’s essay; Harry took it without looking at him and saw, to his relief, that he had managed an ‘A’. 

283. Harry And Hermione Saying The Words At The Same Time Because Of Their Chat About Umbridge In The Morning That Day

~ ‘You lot had an inspected lesson yet?’ Fred asked them.

‘No,’ said Hermione at once. ‘Have you?’

‘Just now, before lunch,’ said George. ‘Charms.’

‘What was it like?’ Harry and Hermione asked together. 

284. Harry Paying Attention To Hermione, Knowing That Umbridge Was Impressed By Her, Getting Angry On Hermione’s Behalf When Umbridge Took Points Off Gryffindor 

~ Harry wondered dully whether there were enough chapters in the book to keep them reading through all this year’s lessons and was on the point of checking the contents page when he noticed that Hermione had her hand in the air again.

~ ‘He says that counter-jinxes are improperly named,’ said Hermione promptly. ‘He says “counter-jinx” is just a name people give their jinxes when they want to make them sound more acceptable.’

Professor Umbridge raised her eyebrows and Harry knew she was impressed, against her will.

~ ‘You disagree?’

‘Yes, I do,’ said Hermione, who, unlike Umbridge, was not whispering, but speaking in a clear, carrying voice that had by now attracted the attention of the rest of the class.

~ ‘Mr Slinkhard doesn’t like jinxes, does he? But I think they can be very useful when they’re used defensively.’

‘Oh, you do, do you?’ Said Professor Umbridge, forgetting to whisper and straightening up. ‘Well, I’m afraid it is Mr Slinkhard’s opinion, and not yours, that matters within this classroom, Miss Granger.’

‘But-‘ Hermione began.

~ ‘Miss Granger, I am going to take five points from Gryffindor House.’

~ ‘What for?’ Said Harry angrily.

‘Don’t you get involved!’ Hermione whispered urgently to him. 

~ ‘Yeah, Quirrell was a great teacher,’ said Harry loudly, ‘there was just that minor drawback of him having Lord Voldemort sticking out of the back of the back of his head.’

~ He did not complain during the evening’s detention; he was determined not to give Umbridge the satisfaction; over and over again he wrote I must not tell lies and not a sound escaped his lips, though the cut deepened with every letter. 

284. Harry Thinking About Hermione’s Reaction Before She Even Gives It, And Forgetting About Being Mad At Her After Charms

~ ‘You think McGonagall was right, do you?’ Said Harry angrily to the picture of Cornelius Fudge obscuring Hermione’s face.

‘I wish she hadn’t taken points from you, but I think she’s right to warn you not to lose your temper with Umbridge,’ said Hermione’s voice, while Fudge gesticulated forcefully from the front page, clearly giving some kind of speech.

Harry did not speak to Hermione all through Charms, but when they entered Transfiguration he forgot about being cross with her. Professor Umbridge and her clipboard were sitting in a corner and the sight of her drove the memory of breakfast right out of his head. 

285. Hermione Being Anxious About Harry’s Bleeding Hand And Giving Him A Bowl Of Solution of Murtlap tentacles, While He is Pleased To See Hermione Looking Sympathetic and Grateful For The Solution

~ He was pleased to see them, especially as Hermione was disposed to be sympathetic rather than critical.

‘Here,’ she said anxiously, pushing a small bowl of yellow liquid towards him, ‘soak your hand in that, it’s a solution of strained and pickled Murtlap tentacles, it should help.’

Harry placed his bleeding, aching hand into the bowl and experienced a wonderful feeling of relief.

~ ‘Thanks,’ he said gratefully, scratching behind Crookshank’s ears with his left hand.

~ ‘She’s an awful woman,’ said Hermione in a small voice. 

286. Harry Paying Attention To Hermione 

~ ‘You know, I was thinking today…’ she shot a slightly nervous look at Harry then plunged on, ‘I was thinking that- maybe the time’s come when we should just- just do it ourselves.’

‘Do what ourselves?’ Said Harry suspiciously, still floating his hand in the essence of Murtlap tentacles.

~ ‘But this is much more important than homework!’ Said Hermione.

Harry and Ron googled at her. 

~ ‘Don’t be silly, of course there is,’ said Hermione, and Harry saw, with an ominous feeling, that her face was suddenly alight with the kind of fervor that S.P.E.W. usually inspired in her.

287. Hermione Being Inspired By Harry To Learn DADA The Same Way He Was Inspired By Her To Work Hard In Studies

~ ‘It’s about preparing ourselves, like Harry said in Umbridge’s first lesson, for what’s waiting for us out there. It’s about making sure we really can defend ourselves. If we don’t learn anything for a whole year-‘

288. Harry Grinning And Telling Hermione That She Had Beaten Him In Every Test When Hermione Praises Harry and Insists He Teach DADA

~ ‘If you’re talking about Lupin…’ Harry began.

‘No, no, I’m not talking about Lupin,’ said Hermione.

~ ‘Who, then?’ Said Harry, frowning at her?

Hermione heaved a very deep sigh.

‘Isn’t it obvious?’ She said. ‘I’m talking about you, Harry.’

There was a moment’s silence.

~ ‘About me what?’ Said Harry.

‘I’m talking about you teaching us Defense Against The Dark Arts.’

Harry stared at her. 

~ Harry was grinning now, sure the pair of them were pulling his leg.

‘But I’m not a teacher, I can’t-‘ 

‘Harry, you’re the best in the year at Defense Against The Dark Arts,’ said Hermione,

‘Me?’ Said Harry, now grinning more broadly than ever. ‘No I’m not, you’ve beaten in every test-‘

‘Actually, I haven’t,’ said Hermione coolly. ‘You beat me in our third year- the only year we both sat the test and had a teacher who actually knew the subject. But I’m not talking about test results, Harry. Think what you’ve done!’ 

‘How d’you mean?’

~ Ron and Hermione were smirking and Harry felt his temper rise; he wasn’t ever sure why he was feeling so angry. 

289. Harry Calming Down When Hermione Uses Voldemort’s name For The First Time

~ ‘Harry,’ she said timidly, ‘don’t you see? This..this is exactly why we need you..we need to know what it’s r-really like…facing him…facing V-Voldemort.’

It was the first time she had ever said Voldemort’s name and it was this, more than anything else, that calmed Harry. 

~ ‘Well…think about it,’ said Hermione quietly. ‘Please?’

Harry could not think of anything to say. He was feeling ashamed of his outburst already. He nodded, hardly aware of what he was agreeing to. 

290. Harry And Hermione Talking About Harry Teaching DADA, While Harry Secretly Accepts The Idea And Gradually Expresses His Acceptance, And Hermione Praises His Skills

~ ‘I was wondering,’ Hermione said suddenly, ‘whether you’d thought anymore about Defence Against The Dark Arts, Harry.’

‘’Course I have,’ said Harry grumpily, ‘can’t forget, can we, with hag teaching us-‘

~ Harry did answer at once. He pretended to be perusing a page of Asiatic Anti-venoms, because he did not want to say what was in his mind. 

He had given the matter a great deal of thought over the past fortnight. Sometimes it seemed an insane, just as it had on the night Hermione proposes it, but at others, he had found himself thinking about the spells that had served him best in his various encounters with Dark Creatures and Death Eaters- found himself, in fact, subconsciously planning lessons..

‘Well,’ he said slowly, we he could no longer pretend find Asiatic Anti-venoms interesting, ‘yeah, I- I’ve thought about it a bit.’

‘And?’ Said Hermione eagerly.

‘I dunno,’ said Harry, playing for time. 

~ Harry shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

‘You did listen to what I said about a load of it being luck, didn’t you?’

‘Yes, Harry,’ said Hermione gently, ‘but all the same, there’s no point pretending you’re not good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, because you are. You were the only last year who could throw off the Imperius Curse completely, you can produce a Patronus, you can do all sorts off that even full-grown wizards can’t, Viktor always said-‘

Ron looked around her so fast he appeared to crack his neck. Rubbing it, he said, ‘Yeah? What did Vicky say?’

‘Ho ho,’ said Hermione in a bored voice. ‘He said Harry knew how to do stuff even he didn’t, and he was in the final year at Durmstrang.’

~ Hermione shook her head exasperatedly, and, ignoring Ron, who was continuing to watch her, said to Harry, ‘Well, what do you think? Will you teach is?’

‘Just you and Ron, yeah?’

‘Well,’ said Hermione, looking a mite anxious again. ‘Well..now, don’t fly off the handle again, Harry, please…but I really think you ought to teach anyone who wants to learn. I mean, we’re talking about defending ourselves against V-Voldemort. Oh, don’t be pathetic, Ron. It doesn’t seem fair if we don’t offer the chance to other people.’

Harry considered this for a moment, then said, ‘Yeah, but I doubt anyone except you two would want to be taught be me. I’m a nutter, remember?’

‘Well, I think you might be surprised how many people would be interested in hearing what you’ve to say,’ said Hermione seriously. ‘Look,’ she leaned towards him- Ron, who was still watching her with a frown on his face, leaned forwards to listen too- ‘you know the first weekend in October’s a Hogsmeade weekend? How would it be if we tell anyone who’s interested to meet us in the village and we can talk it over?’

291. Hermione Reassuring Harry Just After Noticing The Look On His Face When He Worries About Sirius

~ Harry had been looking forward to weekend trip into Hogsmeade, but there was one thing worrying him. 

~ ‘Well, you can’t blame him for wanting to get out and about,’ said Ron, when Harry discussed his fears with him and Hermione. 

~ ‘The trouble is,’ she said to Harry, ‘until V-Voldemort- oh, for heaven’s sake, Ron- comes out into the open, Sirius is going to have to stay hidden, isn’t he? I mean, the stupid Ministry isn’t going to realize Sirius is innocent until they accept that Dumbledore’s been telling the truth about him all along. And once the fools start catching real Death Eaters again, it’ll be obvious Sirius isn’t one..I mean, he hasn’t got the Mark, for one thing.’

~ When Harry continued to look worried, Hermione said, 'Listen, Ron and I have been sounding out people who we thought might want to learn some proper Defense Against The Dark Arts, and there are a couple who seem interested. We've told them to meet us in Hogsmeade.'

'Right,' said Harry vaguely, his mind still on Sirius.

'Don't worry, Harry,' said Hermione quietly. 'You've got enough on your plate without Sirius, too.'

She was quite right, of course, he was barely keeping up with his homework, though he was doing much better now that he was no longer spending every evening in detention in Umbridge.

292. Harry Noticing Hermione's Hats And Having To Admit That She was Getting Better

~ However, Hermione, who was taking more subjects than either of them, had not only finished her homework but was also finding more time to knit more elf clothes. Harry had to admit that she was getting better; it was now almost always possible to distinguish between the hats and the socks. 

293. Harry and Hermione Talking A Lot On Their Way To Hogsmeade

~ And he recounted his story of sending his letter to Sirius and Filch bursting in seconds later, demanding to see the letter. To his slight surprise, Hermione found this story highly interesting, much more, indeed, than he did himself. 

'He said he was tipped off you were ordering Dungbombs? But who tipped him off?'

'I dunno,' said Harry, shrugging. 'Maybe Malfoy, he'd think it was a laugh.'

They walked between the tall stone pillars topped with winged boars and turned left on the road into the village, the wind whipping their hair into their eyes.

'Malfoy?' said Hermione sceptically. 'Well..yes...maybe..'

And she remained deep in thought all the way into the outskirts of Hogsmeade. 

'Where are we going, anyway?' Harry asked. 'The Three Broomsticks?'

'Oh-no' said Hermione, coming out of her reverie, 'it's always packed and really noisy. I've told the others to meet us in the Hog's Head, that other pub, you know the one, it's not on the main road. I think it's a bit... you know....dodgy..but students don't normally go in there, so I don't think we'll be overheard.'

~  'Well, come on,' said Hermione, slightly nervously. Harry led the way inside. 

~ 'I don't know about this, Hermione,' Harry muttered, as they crossed to the bar. He was looking particularly at the heavily veiled witch. 'Has it occured to you that Umbridge might be under that?'

Hermione cast an appraising eye over the veiled figure. 

'Umbridge is shorter than that woman,' she said quietly. 'And anyway, even if Umbridge does come in here, there's nothing she can do to stop us, Harry, because I double- and triple-checked the school rules. We're not out of bounds, I specifically asked Professor Flitwick whether students were allowed to come into Hog's Head, and he said yes, but he advised me strongly to bring our own glasses. And I've looked up everything I can think about study groups and homework groups and they're definitely allowed. I just don't think it's a good idea if we parade what we're doing.' 

'No,' said Harry drily, 'especially as it's not exactly a homework group you're planning, is it?'

294. Harry And Hermione Looking Out For Each Other and Harry Telling Hermione It's Ok When He Is Questioned and Hermione Tries To Divert The Topic Because It’s Frustrating For Harry

~ 'Three Butterbeers, please,' said Hermione.

~ 'Six Sickles,' he said.

~ 'I'll get them,' said Harry quickly, passing over the silvers.

~ ‘Zacharias Smith,’ said the boy, ‘and I think we’ve got the right to now exactly what makes him say that You-Know-Who’s back.’

‘Look,’ said Hermione, intervening swiftly, ‘that’s really not what this meeting was supposed to be about-‘

‘It’s OK, Hermione,’ said Harry.

It had just dawned on him why there were so many people there. He thought Hermione should have seen this coming. Some of these people- maybe even most of them- had turned up in the hopes of hearing Harry’s story firsthand. 

‘What makes me say You-Know-Who’s back?’ he asked, looking Zacharias straight in the face. 

295. Harry And Hermione Communicating A Lot In Hog's head

~ 'So, who did you say is supposed to be meeting us?' Harry asked, wrenching open the top of his Butter beer and taking a swig.

'Just a couple of people,' Hermione repeated, checking her watch and looking anxiously towards the door. 'I told them to be here about now and I'm sure they all know where it is- oh, look, this might be them now.'

~ 'A couple of people?' Harry said hoarsely to Hermione. 'A couple of people?' 

'Yes, well, the idea seemed quite popular,' said Hermione happily.

~ He could not imagine what all these people turned up for until the horrible occured to him that they might be expecting some kind of speech, at which he rounded at Hermione.

'What have you been telling people?' he said in a low voice. 'What are they expecting?' 

‘I’ve told you, they just want to hear what you’ve got to say,’ said Hermione soothingly; but Harry continued to look at her so furiously that she added quickly, ‘you don’t have to do anything yet, I’ll speak to them first.’

~ ‘Well..erm..well, you know why you’re here. Erm, well, Harry here had the idea- I mean’ (Harry had throw her a sharp look) ‘I had the idea- that it might be good if people who wanted to study Defense Against the Arts- and I mean, really study it, you know, not the rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us-‘ 

~ She paused, looked sideways at Harry, and went on, ‘And by that I mean learning to Defend ourselves properly, not just in theory but doing the real spells-‘

296. Harry Expecting Ernie Macmillan To Praise Or Comment On Hermione’s Speech, And Thinking About Things She Said

~ ‘Well said!’ barked Ernie Macmillan, who Harry had been expecting to speak long before this. 

~ For all that Hermione had said about study and homework groups being allowed, he had the distinct feeling that this one may be considered a lot more rebellious. 

299. Harry Backing Hermione Up When Ernie Was Hesitant About Putting His Name On Hermione’s DA List

~ But Ernie was looking rather hesitant about signing, too. Hermione raised her eyebrows at him. 

~ ‘You just said that this group was the most important thing you’d do this year,’ Harry reminded him. 

~ ‘Ernie, do you really think I’d leave that list lying around?’ Said Hermione testily.

‘No. No, of course not,’  said Ernie, looking slightly less anxious. 

300. Hermione Understanding Harry’s Feelings For Cho Even When He Doesn’t Say A Word

~ ‘Ginny used to fancy Harry, but she gave up on him months ago. Not that she doesn’t like you, of course,’ she added kindly to Harry while she examined a long black and gold quill. 

Harry, whose head was still full of Cho's parting wave, did not find the subject quite as interesting as Ron, who was quivering with indignation, but it did bring home to him that until now he had not really registered. 

'So that's why she talks to me now?' he asked Hermione. 'She never used to talk in front of me.'

'Exactly,' said Hermione. 

~ Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry and then said in an undertone, while Ron was still muttering imprecations about Michael Corner, 'And talking about Michael and Ginny...what about Cho and you?

'What d'you mean?' said Harry quickly.

It was as though boiling water was rising rapidly inside him; a burning sensation that was causing his face to smart in the cold- had he been that obvious?

'Well,' said Hermione, smiling slightly, 'she just couldn't keep her eyes off you, could she?'

Harry had never before appreciated just how beautiful the village of Hogsmeade was. 

301. Harry feeling Extremely Cheered By The DA Meeting That Hermione Organised For A Whole Weekend

~ Harry felt happier that weekend than he had done all term.

~ Knowing they were doing something to resist Umbridge and the Ministry, and that he was a key part of the rebellion, gave Harry a feeling of immense satisfaction. He kept reliving Saturday's meeting in his mind; all those people, coming to him to learn Defence Against The Dark Arts....and the looks on their faces as they had heard some of the things he had done.....and Cho praising his performance in the Triwizard Tournament- knowing all those people did not think him a lying weirdo, but someone to be admired, buoyed him up so much that he was still cheerful on Monday morning, despite the imminent prospect of all his favourite classes. 

302. Harry Wondering About Hermione's Opinion When He Sees A sign About Student organisations Being Banned, And Hermione Later On Firmly And Immediately agreeing with Harry's Determination To Continue DA

~ 'I wonder if Hermione's seen this yet?' Harry said, looking round at the door for the girls' dormitories.

~ 'We're going to do it anyway, of course,' he said quietly. 

~ 'The Prefects as well?' said Fred, looking quizically at Ron and Hermione.

'Of Course,' said Hermione coolly. 

303. Hermione Being Concerned About Harry’s Owl

~ Harry did not even attempt to follow what he was saying today; he doodled idly on his parchment ignoring Hermione’s frequent glares and nudges, until a particularly painful poke in the ribs made him look up angrily. 

‘What?’

She pointed at the window. Harry looked around. 

~ ‘She’s hurt!’ Harry whispered, bending his head low over her. Hermione and Ron leaned in closer; Hermione even put down her quill. 

~ ‘Is Hedwig Ok?’ asked Hermione anxiously, the moment he was within earshot. 

304. Harry Convincing Hermione To Not Worry About The Letter Being Intercepted Despite Being Unsure Himself 

~ She looked uneasy. ‘I just hope nobody else has read this….’

‘But it was still sealed and everything,’ said Harry, trying to convince himself as much as her. 

305. Hermione Telling Harry To Not Provoke Or Hit Malfoy Because It’s What He Wants Harry To Do So That He Gets In Trouble

~ ‘Don’t rise,’ Hermione whispered imploringly to Harry and Ron, who were both watching Malfoy, faces set and fists clenched. ‘It’s what he wants.’

306. Harry Glancing At Hermione and Ron In Silent Communication When Umbridge Enters The Class

~ He gestured towards the dim corridor of the dungeon and Harry saw Professor Umbridge sitting there, clipboard on her knee. He glanced sideways at Ron and Hermione, his eyebrows raised. 

307. Hermione Preventing Harry From Adding The Wrong Ingredients And Telling Him To Not Skip Classes, And Harry Finding Too Much Truth In It To Ignore

~ ‘Salamander blood, Harry!’ Hermione moaned, grabbing his wrist to prevent him from adding the wrong ingredient for the third time, ‘not pomegranate juice!’

‘Right,’ said Harry vaguely, putting down the bottle and continuing to watch the corner. 

~ ‘Maybe I’ll skive off Divination,’ he said glumly, as they stood in the courtyard after lunch, the wind whipping at the hems of robes and brims of hats. ‘I’ll pretend to be ill and do Snape’s Essay instead, then won’t have to stay up half the night.’

‘You can’t skive off Divination,’ said Hermione severely.

~ ‘I just think she’s an absolutely appalling teacher and a real old fraud. But Harry’s already missed History of Magic and I don’t think he ought to miss anything else today!’

There was too much truth in this to ignore, so half an hour later Harry took his seat in the hot, overperfumed atmosphere of the Divination classroom, feeling angry at everybody. 

308. Harry Knowing Hermione’s Despise For Trelawney and Telling Her How Umbridge feels the same way, and Just Talking With Her While Doing Homework 

~ ‘You and Umbridge have got something in common,’ Harry told Hermione quietly when they met again in Defense Against The Dark Arts. ‘She obviously reckons Trelawney’s an old fraud, too.,looks like she’s put her on probation.’ 

~ ‘No need to talk,’ Harry, Ron and Hermione said together, under their breaths.

~ ‘Well,’ said Hermione. ‘look on the bright side- at least now you’ll have time to do Snape’s Essay!’

‘That’s a bright side, is it?’ Snapped Harry, while Ron stared incredulously at Hermione. ‘No Quidditch practice, and extra Potions?’

~ ‘Just go and stop them, then!’ He said irritably, after crossing out the wrong weight of powdered griffin claw for the fourth time.

‘I can’t, they’re not technically doing anything wrong,’ said Hermione through gritted teeth. ‘They’re quite within their rights to eat the foul things themselves and I can’t find a rule that says the other idiots aren’t entitled to buy them, not unless they’re proven to be dangerous in some way and it doesn’t look as though they are.’

~ ‘You know, I don’t get why Fred and George only got three O. W. L. S each,’ said Harry, watching as Fred, George and Lee collected gold from the eager crowd. ‘They really know their stuff.’

‘Oh, they only know flashy stuff that’s of no real use to anyone,’ said Hermione disparagingly. 

309. Harry and Hermione Both Sharing Passion For The DA and Talking About It 

~ ‘Or Secret Defence Against the Dark Arts group?’ Said Sirius.

~ ‘How did you know about that?’ Harry demanded. 

‘You want to choose your meeting places more carefully,’ said Sirius, grinning still more broadly. ‘The Hog’s Head, I ask you!’

‘Well, it was better than the Three Broomsticks!’ Said Hermione defensively. That’s always packed with people-‘

‘Which means you’d have been harder to overhear,’ said Sirius. ‘You’ve got a lot to learn, Hermione.’

‘Who overheard us?’ Harry demanded. 

~ (Sirius’ eyes turned to the other two) ‘advises Harry and Hermione not to proceed with the group, though she accepts that she has no authority over either of them and simply begs them to remember that she has her best interests at heart. She would have written all this to you, but if the owl had been intercepted you’d all have been in real trouble, but she can’t say it for herself because she’s on duty tonight,’

~ ‘So, you want to say I’m not going to take part In Defence group?’ He muttered finally.

‘Me? Certainly not!’ Said Sirius, looking surprised. ‘I think it’s an excellent idea!’

‘You do?’ Said Harry his heart lifting.

~ ‘This year, we know there’s someone outside Hogwarts who’d like to kill us all, so I think learning to Defend yourselves properly is a very good idea!’

‘And if we do get expelled?’ Hermione asked, a quizzical look on her face.

‘Hermione, this whole thing was your idea!’ said Harry, staring at her. 

‘I know it was. I just wondered what Sirius thought,’ she said, shrugging. 

‘Well, better expelled and able to defend yourselves than sitting safely in school without a clue,’ said Sirius.

‘Hear, hear,’ said Harry and Ron enthusiastically.

~ ‘Hey, that’s an idea!’ Said Ron excitedly, but Hermione made a sceptical noise and all three of them looked at her, Sirius’s head turning in the flames. 

310. Hermione Discussing Stuff With Harry While Taking Care Of His Frog For Him Because He Wasn’t Concentrating 

~ ‘Umbridge has been reading your mail, Harry. There’s no other explanation.’

‘You think Umbridge attacked Hedwig?’ He said, outraged. 

‘I’m almost certain of it,’ said Hermione grimly. ‘Watch your frog, it’s escaping.

Harry pointed his wand at the bullfrog that had been hopping hopefully towards the other side of the table- ‘Accio!’ Abd it zoomed gloomily back into his hand. 

~ ‘I’ve been suspecting this ever since Filch accused you of ordering Dungbombs, because it seemed such a stupid lie,’ Hermione whispered. ‘I mean, once your letter had been read it would have been quite clear you weren’t ordering them, so you wouldn’t have been in trouble at all- it’s a bit of a feeble joke, isn’t it? But then I thought, what if somebody just wanted an excuse to read your mail? Well then, it would be a perfect way for Umbridge to manage it- tip off Filch, let him do the dirty work and confiscate the letter, then either find a way of stealing it from him or else demand to see it- I don’t think Filch would object, he’s he ever stuck up for a student’s rights? Harry, you’re squashing your frog.’

Harry looked down; he was indeed squeezing his bullfrog so tightly its eyes were popping; he replaced it hastily upon the desk.

‘It was a very, very close call last night.’ Said Hermione. ‘I just wondered if Imbridge knows how close it was. Silencio.’ 

~ ‘Silencio!’ Said Hermione hastily, pointing her wand at Harry’s frog, which deflated quietly before them. 

311. Harry Finishing Hermione’s Sentence For Her

~ ‘If she’s caught Snuffles,’

Harry finished the sentence for her.

‘-He’d probably be in Azkaban this morning.’

 312. Harry and Hermione Talking About Their Concerns For DA Despite Disagreements 

~ She, too, was gazing at the window, but not as though she really saw it. Her eyes were unfocused and there was a frown on her face.

‘Just thinking….’ She said, still frowning at the rain-washed window. 

‘About Siri-Snuffles?’ Said Harry.

‘No…not exactly…’ said Hermione slowly. ‘More…wondering…. I suppose we’re doing the right thing…I think..aren’t we?’

~ ‘Well, that clears things up,’ said Ron.

~ Hermione looked as though she had only realized he was there.

‘I was just wonder,’ she said, her voice stronger now, ‘whether we’re doing the right thing, starting this Defence Against the Dark Arts group.’

‘What?’ Said Harry and Ron together.

~ ‘I know,’ said Hermione, twisting her fingers together. ‘But after talking to Snuffles…’

‘But he’s all for it,’ said Harry.

‘Yes,’ said Hermione, staring at the window again. ‘Yes, that’s what made me think it wasn’t a good idea after all….’

~ ‘Let’s get this straight,’ said Harry angrily, as they put their bags back on the floor, ‘Sirius agrees with us, so you don’t think we should do it anymore?’

Hermione looked tense and rather miserable. Now staring at her own hands, she said, ‘Do you honestly trust his judgement?’

‘Yes, I do!’ Said Harry at once. ‘He’s always given us great advice!’

An ink pellet whizzed past them, striking Katie Bell squarely in the ear. Hermione watched Katie leap to her feet and start throwing things at Peeves; it was a few moments before Hermione spoke again and it sounded as though she was choosing her words very carefully. 

'You don't think he has become...sort of....reckless...since he's been cooped up in Grimmauld Place? You don't think he's...kind of...living through us?'

'What d'you mean, "living through us"?' Harry retorted.

"I mean...well, I think he'd love to be forming secret Defence societies right under the nose of someone from the Ministry....I think he's really frustrated at how little he can do where he is...so I think he's keen to kind of...egg us on.'

313. Harry Immediately correcting Angelina That Hermione Was The One Who Fixed His Glasses During Quidditch In The Third Year

~ 'I know it's not ideal weather, but there's a chance we'll be playing Slytherin in conditions like this so it's a good idea to work out how we're going to cope with them. Harry, didn't you do something to your glasses to stop the rain fogging them up when we played Hufflepuff in that storm?'

'Hermione did it,' said Harry. He pulled out his wand, tapped his glasses and said, 'Impervius!'

314. Harry Remembering Things That Hermione and Not Wanting To Get Anxious About His Scar And Urge Him To Go To Dumbledore

~ 'Well, tell him about this time!'

'Can't, can I?' said Harry grimly. 'Umbridge is watching the owls and the fires, remember?'

~ It appeared that Hermione had gone to bed early, leaving Crookshanks curled up in a nearby chair and an assortment of knobbly knitted elf hats lying on a table by the fire. Harry was rather grateful that she was not around, because he did not much want to discuss his scar hurting and have her urge him to go to Dumbledore, too. 

~ Midnight came and went while Harry was reading and rereading a passage about the uses of scurvy grass, lovage and sneezewort and not taking in a word of it. 

~ ...Hermione said Sirius was becoming reckless cooped up in Grimmauld Place...

315. Harry being Interested About Hermione's Elf Hats, Sharing Her Passion For House-elves and DA, and controling His Impulse To Wander At Night With Dobby Because JHe Imagined Hermione Calling It Reckless In His Ear

~ Dobby the house-elf was standing beside the table on which Hermione had left half a dozen of her knitted hats. His large, pointed ears were now sticking out beneath what looked like all the hats Hermione had ever knitted; he was wearing one on top of the other, so that his head seemed elongated by two or three feet, and on the very topmost bobble sat Hedwig, hooting serenely and obviously cured. 

~ Looking back at Dobby, he noticed that the elf was also wearing several scarves and innumerable socks, so that his feet looked far too big for his body. 

'Er....have you been taking all the clothes Hermione's been leaving out?' 

'Oh, no, Sir,' said Dobby happily. 'Dobby has been taking some for Winky too, Sir.'

'Yeah, how is Winky?' asked Harry. 

~ 'Dobby wishes he could help Harry Potter, for Harry Potter has set him free and Dobby is much, much happier now.'

Harry smiled.

'You can't help me Dobby, but thanks for the offer.' 

~ 'Wait a moment- there is something you can do for me, Dobby,' said Harry slowly. 

~ 'I need to find a place where twenty-eight people can practice Defence Against The Dark Arts without being discovered by any of the teachers. Especially,' Harry clench his hand on the book, so that the scars shone pearly white, 'Proffesor Umbridge.'

~ 'It sounds brilliant,' said Harry, his heart racing. 'It sounds perfect, Dobby. When can you show me where it is?'

~ For a moment Harry was tempted to go with Dobby. He was halfway out of his seat, intending to hurry upstairs for his Invisibility Cloak, when, not for the first time, a voice very much like Hermione's whispered in his ear: reckless. It was, after all, very late, and he was exhausted. 

'Not tonight, Dobby,' said Harry reluctantly, sinking back into his chair. 'This is really important, I don't want to blow it, it'll need proper planning. Listen, can you just tell me exactly where this Room of Requirement is, and how to get in there?'

316. Hermione Being Concerned About Dobby's plan because of happened To Harry Last Time, But Trusting Him Once He Says that Dumbledore Knows About The Room Too

~ When he looked up to take a drink of pumpkin juice, he found Hermione watching him.

'What?' he said thickly. 

'Well..it's just that Dobby plans aren't always that safe. Don't you remember he lost you all the bones in your arm?'

'This room isn't just some mad idea of Dobby's; Dumbledore knows about it, too, he mentioned it to me at the Yule Ball.'

Hermione's expression cleared.

'Dumbledore told you about it?'

'Just in passing,' said Harry, shrugging.

'Oh, well, that's all right then,' said Hermione briskly and raised no more objections. 

317. Harry and Hermione Working Together On The DA, And Harry Feeling Extremely Happy About Its success Later

~ Together with Ron they had spent most the day seeking out those people who had signed their names on the list in Hog's Head and telling them where to meet that evening. 

~ 'Filch is on the second floor,' said Harry, holding the map close to his eyes, 'and Mrs Norris is on the fourth.'

'And Umbridge?' said Hermione anxiously.

'In her office,' said Harry, pointing. 'Ok, let's go.'

~ Ron had screwed up his eyes, Hermione was whispering under her breath; Harry's fists were clenched as he stared ahead of him. 

~ 'Harry!' said Hermione sharply, as they wheeled around after their third walk past. 

~ She looked around at Harry, her face glowing, and he saw that the presence of hundreds of books had finally convinced Hermione that what they were doing was right. 'Harry, this is wonderful, there's everything we need here!'

And without further ado she slid Jinxes for the Jinxed from its shelf, sank on to the nearest cushion and began to read.

~Harry moved across to the door and turned the key protruding from the lock; it clicked in a satisfyingly loud way and everybody fell silent, looking at him. Hermione carefully marked her page of Jinxes for the Jinxed and set her book aside. 

~ He noticed a raised hand. 'What, Hermione?' 

~ 'I think we ought to select a leader,' said Hermione. 

~ 'It makes it formal and gives him authority. So- everyone who thinks Harry ought to be leader?'

Everybody put up their hand, including Zacharias Smith, though he did it very half-heartedly. 

'Er- right, thanks,' said Harry, who could feel his face burning. 'And- what, Hermione?' 

'I also think we ought to have a name,' she said brightly, her hand still in the air. 'It would promote a feeling of team spirit and unity, don't you think?'

~ 'Hey, Harry,' Hermione called from the other end of the room. 'Have you checked the time?'

He looked down at his watch and was shocked to see it was already ten past nine, which meant they needed to get back to their common rooms immediately or risk being caught and punished by Filch for being out of bounds. He blew his whistle, everybody stopped shouting, 'Expelliarmus' and the last couple of wands clattered to the floor. 

~ 'That was really, really good, Harry,' said Hermione, when it finally was just her, Harry and Ron who were left. 

~ Harry felt as though he was carrying some sort of talisman inside his chest over the following two weeks; a glowing secret that supported him through Umbridge's classes and even made it possible for him to smile blandly as he looked into her horrible bulging eyes. He and the DA were resisting her under her very nose, doing the very thing she and the Ministry most feared, and whenever he was supposed to be reading Wilbert Slinkard's book during her lessons he dwelled instead on satisfying memories of their most recent meetings, remembering how Neville had successfully disarmed Hermione, how Colin Creevey had mastered the Impediment Jinx after three meetings' hard effort, how Parvati Patil had produced such a good Reductor Curse that she had reduced the table carrying all the Sneakoscopes to dust. 

318. Harry and Hermione Having an Interesting conversation about The Coins She Made For DA

~ Hermione soon devised a very clever method of communicating the time and date of the next meeting to all the members in case they needed to change it at short notice, because it look suspicious if members from different Houses were seen crossing the Great Hall to talk to each other too often.

~ Harry looked sideways at Hermione.

'You know what these remind me of?'

'No, what's that?'

'The Death Eaters' scars. Voldemort touches one of them, and all their scars burn, and they know they've got to join him.'

'Well....yes,' said Hermione quietly, 'that is where I got the idea...but you'll notice I've decided to engrave the date on bits of metal rather than our members' skin.'

'Yeah.......I prefer your way,' said Harry grinning, as he slipped his Galleon into his pocket. 'I suppose the only danger with these is that we might accidentally spend them.' 

319. Hermione Laughing With Ron When Harry Roasts A Slytherin

~ 'Warrington's aim's so pathetic I'd be more worried if he was aiming for the person next to me,' he retorted, which made Ron and Hermione laugh and wiped the smirk off Pansy Parkinson's face. 

320. Hermione Drawing To a Side Before A Quidditch Match

~ As they rose from the table, Hermione got up, too, and taking Harry's arm she drew him to one side. 

'Don't let Ron see what's on those Slytherin badges,' she whispered urgently. 

Harry looked questioning at her. but she shook her head warningly; Ron had just ambled over to them, looking lost and desperate. 

'Good luck, Ron,' said Hermione, standing on tiptoe and kissing him on the cheek. 'And you, Harry-' 

~ He seemed too distracted to notice much around him, but Harry cast a curious glance at the crown-shaped badges as they passed the Slytherin table, and this time he could make out the words etched onto them:

~ With an unpleasant feeling that this could mean nothing good, he hurried Ron across the Entrance Hall, down the stone steps and out into the icy air. 

321. Hermione Cheering Harry and Ron Up

~ 'Well,' said Hermione, her voice trembling slightly. 'I can think of one thing that might cheer you both up.' 

'Oh yeah?' said Harry sceptically.

'Yeah,' said Hermione turning away from the pitch-black, snow-flecked window, a broad smile spreading across her face. 'Hagrid's back.'

Harry sprinted up to the boy's dormitories to fetch the Invisibillity Cloak and the Marauder's Map from his trunk; he was so quick that he and Ron were ready to leave at least five minutes before Hermione hurried back down from the girls' dormitories, wearing scarf, gloves, and one of her own knobbly elf hats. 

322. Harry and Hermione Just Being The Chaotic Duo They Are At Hagrid's and Chatting about it Later

~ They beamed at each other under the Cloak; they could tell by Hagrid's voice that he was pleased.

~ 'Did the giants beat you up, Hagrid?' Hermione asked quietly. 

~ 'Giants?' said Hagrid, catching the steak before it reached his belt and slapping back over his face, 'who said anything abou' giants? Who yeh bin talking to? Who's told yeh that I've- that I've been- eh?'

'We guessed,' said Hermione apolegetically. 

'Oh, yeh did, did yeh?' said Hagrid, fixing her sternly with the eye that was not hidden by the steak.

'It was kind of...obvious.' said Ron. Harry nodded.

~ Hermione glanced nervously at Harry and Ron, plainly wanting them to speak. 

'But you still haven't explained how you got in this state, Hagrid,' said Ron, gesturing towards Hagrid's bloodstained face.'

'Or why you're back so late,' said Harry. 'Sirius says Madame Maxime got back ages ago-'

~ 'Get under here!' said Harry quickly, seizing the Invisibility Cloak, he whirled it over himself and Hermione while Ron tore around the table and dived under the Cloak as well. Huddled together, they backed away into a corner. 

~ Her eyes were sweeping the cabin. Twice they stared directly into the corner where Harry stood, sandwiched between Ron and Hermione. 

~ Hermione gasped; Harry clapped a hand over her mouth. Luckily, Fang was sniffing loudly around the hem of Proffessor Umbridge's robes and she did not appear to have heard. 

~ 'Well, I tried,' she said dully, sinking a chair beside Harry.

~ 'He wasn't there when I arrived, I was knocking for atleast half an hour. And then he came stumping out of the Forest-'

Harry groaned. The Forbidden Forest was teeming with the creatures most likely to get Hagrid sacked. 'What's he keeping in there? Did he say?' he asked.

'No,' said Hermione miserably. 'He says he wants them to be a surprise. I tried to explain about Umbridge, but he just doesn't get it. He kept saying nobody in their right mind would study Knarls than Chimaeras- oh I don't think he's got a Chimaera,' she added at the appalled look on Harry and Ron's faces, 'but that's not from lack of trying, from what he said about how hard it is to get eggs. I don't know how many times I've told him he'd be better off following Grubbly Plank's plan, I honestly don't think he listened to half of what I said. He's in a bit of a funny mood, you know. He won't say how he got all those injuries.' 

323.Harry Glancing At Hermione and Ron In Wordless Communication

~ Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione, who sighed but nodded, and the three of them set off after Hagrid, leading the rest of the class. 

324. Harry Noticing Hermione's Expressions And Quickly Telling Her It's Ok When She Says About Thestrals That She Worries Hurt Harry

~ 'Thestrals,' said Hagrid proudly and Hermione gave a soft, 'Oh!' of comprehension at Harry's shoulder.

~ Draco Malfoy looked as though Christmas had come a month early, Hermione, on the other hand, had turned scarlet with suppressed rage. 

~ Hermione had tears of fury in her eyes, now.

'You hag, you evil hag!' she whispered, as Umbridge walked towards Pansy Parkinson. 'I know what you're doing, you awful, twisted, vicious-'

~ Just like Hermione, Pansy had tears in her eyes, but these were tears of laughter; indeed, her answer was almost incoherent because she was trying to suppress her giggles.

~ She held up ten stubby little fingers, then, her smile wide and more toadlike than ever before beneath her green hat, she bustled from their midst, leaving Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson in fits of laughter, Hermione actually shaking with fury and Neville looking confused and upset.

~ 'Well, it's like Hagrid said, they can look after themselves,' Hermione said impatiently, 'And I suppose a teacher like Grubbly Plank wouldn't show them to us before N. E. W. T. level, but, well, they are very interesting, aren't they? The way some people can see them and some can't! I wish I could.'

'Do you?' Harry asked her quietly.

She suddenly looked horrorstruck. 

'Oh, Harry- I'm sorry- no, of course I don't- that was a really stupid thing to say. '

'It's ok,' he said quickly. 'don't worry.' 

325. Hermione Guessing What Happened With Cho Despite Harry Not Saying A Word, Frowning, Giving Him Advice, Asking If He's Ok, And Even Telling Him That He's Not Bad At Kissing

~ He returned to the Common Room half an hour later to find Hermione and Ron in the best seats by the fire; nearly everybody else had gone to bed. Hermione was writing a very long letter; she had already filled half a page of parchment, which was dangling from the edge of the table.

~ 'What kept you?' he asked, as Harry sank into the armchair next to Hermione.

~ 'Are you all right, Harry?' Hermione asked, peering at him over the tip of her quill.

Harry gave a half-hearted shrug. In truth, he didn't know whether he was all right or not. 

~ Harry didn't quite know how to set about telling them, and still wasn't whether he wanted to. Just as he had decided not to say anything, Hermione took matters out of his hands.

'Is it Cho?' she asked in a business-like way. 'Did she corner you after the meeting?'

Numbly surprised, Harry nodded. Ron sniggered, breaking off when Hermione caught his eye.

~ 'Did you kiss?' asked Hermione briefly.

~ Harry looked from Ron' s expression of mingled curiosity to Hermione's slight frown, and nodded. 

~ Hermione gave Ron a look of deep disgust and returned to her letter.

~ 'Dunno,' said Harry, who hadn't considered this, and immediately felt rather worried. 'Maybe I am.'

'Of course you're not,' said Hermione absently, still scribbling away at her letter.

'How do you know?' said Ron very sharply.

'Because Cho spends half her time crying these days,' said Hermione vaguely. 'She does it at mealtimes, in the loos, all over the place.'

~ 'Yeah,' said Harry, slightly desperately. 'Who does?'

Hermione looked at the pair of them with an almost pitying expression on her face.

'Don't you understand how Cho' s feeling at the moment?' she asked.

'No,' said Harry and Ron together.

Hermione sighed and laid down her quill. 

~ 'She was the one who started it,' said Harry. 'I would've have- she sort came at me- next thing she's crying all over me- I didn't know what to do-'

~ 'You had to be nice to her,' said Hermione, looking up anxiously. 'You were, weren't you?'

'Well,' said Harry, an unpleasant heat creeping up his face, 'I sort of- patted her on the back a bit.'

Hermione looking as though she was restraining herself from rolling her eyes with extreme difficulty.

'Well, I suppose it could've been worse,' she said. 'Are you going to see her again?'

'I'll have to, won't I?' said Harry. 'We've got DA Meetings, haven't we?'

'You know what I mean,' said Hermione impatiently.

Harry said nothing. Hermione's words opened up a whole new vista of frightening possibilities.

'Oh, well,' said Hermione distantly, still buried in her letter. 'You'll have plenty of oppurtunities to ask her.'

~ 'Don't be silly,' said Hermione vaguely, 'Harry liked her for ages, haven't you, Harry?' 

326. Harry Thinking About Hermione's Words Instead Of Sleeping And Getting Her In His Dream

~ Hermione's explanation had made it all seem more complicated than easier to understand.

~ Then she turned into Hermione, who said, 'You did promise her, you know, Harry.....I think you'd better give her something else instead...how about your Firebolt?' And Harry was protesting that he could not give Cho his Firebolt, because Umbridge had it, and anyhow the whole thing was ridiculous, he'd only come to the DA room to put up some Christmas baubles shaped like Dobby's head....

327. Harry Opening The Door To Hermione And Talking To Her When he Shut Himself Out From Everyone, While She abandoned Her Vacation For Harry

~ 'I know you're in there,' said Hermione's voice. 'Will you please come out? I want to talk to you.'

'What are you doing here?' Harry asked her, pulling open the door as Buckbeak resumed his scratching at the straw-strewn floor for any fragment of the rat he dropped. 'I thought you were skiing with your mum and dad?'

'Well, to tell the truth, skiing's not really my thing,' said Hermione.'So I've come here for Christmas.' There was snow in her hair and her face was pink with cold. 'But don't tell Ron. I told him skiing's really good because he kept laughing so much. Mum and Dad are a bit dissappointed but I've told them everyone's who's serious about the exams are staying at Hogwarts to study. They want me to do well, they'll understand. Anyway,' she said briskly, 'let's go to your bedroom, Ron's mum has set up a fire in there and she's sent up sandwiches.'

Harry followed her back to the second floor. When he entered the bedroom, he was rather to see both Ron and Ginny waiting for them, sitting on Ron's bed.

'I came on the night bus, said Hermione airily, pulling off her jacket before Harry had time to speak. 'Dumbledore told me what had happened yesterday morning, but I had to wait for term to end officially before setting off. Umbridge is already livid that you lot disappeared right under her nose, even though Dumbledore told her Mr Weasley was in St Mungo's and he'd given you all permission to visit him. So...' 

She sat down next to Ginny, and the two girls and Ron all looked at Harry.

'How're you feeling?' asked Hermione.

'Fine,' said Harry stiffly.

'Don't lie, Harry,' she said impatiently. 'Ron and Ginny say you've been hiding from everyone since you got back from Saint Mungo's.

'They do, do they?' said Harry, glaring at Ron and Ginny. 

~ 'Maybe you're taking in turns to look, and keep missing each other,' suggested Hermione, the corners of her mouth twitching.

'Very funny,' snapped Harry, turning away.

'Oh, stop feeling all misunderstood,' said Hermione sharply. 'Look, the others have told me what you overheard last night on the Extendable ears-'

'Yeah?' growled Harry, his hands deep in his pockets as he watched the snow now falling thickly outside. 'All been talking about me, have you? Well, I'm getting used to it.'

~ 'That dream I had about your dad and the snake, though-'

'Harry, you've had these dreams before,' Hermione said. 'You had flashes of what Voldemort was up to last year.'

'This was different,' said Harry, shaking his head. 'I was inside the snake. It was like I was the snake...what if Voldemort somehow transported me to London-?'

'Oneday,' said Hermione, soundingly thoroughly exasperated, 'you'll read Hogwarts: A history, and perhaps it will remind you that you can't Apparate or Disapparate within Hogwarts. Even Voldemort couldn't just make you fly out of your dormitory, Harry.' 

~ What they were all saying was not only comforting, it made sense.....without really thinking, he took a sandwich from the plate on the bed and crammed it hungrily into his mouth.  

I’m not the weapon after all, thought Harry. His heart swelled with happiness and relief, and he felt like joining in as they heard Sirius tramping past their door toward Buckbeak’s room, singing ‘God Rest Ye, Merry Hippogriffs’ at the top of his voice. 

328. Hermione Liking The Thoughtful Gift Harry Got Her For Christmas 

~ On their way downstairs they met Hermione.

‘Thanks for the book, Harry,’ she said happily. ‘I’ve been wanting that New Theory of Numerology for ages! And that perfume’s really unusual, Ron.’ 

329. Harry Being Interested When Hermione Talks About Giving A Present To Kreacher

~ ‘It isn’t clothes,’ said Hermione, ‘although if I had my way I’d certainly give him something to wear other than that filthy old rag. No, it’s a patchwork quilt, I thought it would brighten up his bedroom.’

‘What bedroom?’ Said Harry, dropping his voice to a whisper as they were passing the portrait of Sirius’s mother.

‘Well, Sirius says it’s not so much of a bedroom, more a kind of- den,’ said Hermione. ‘Apparently he sleeps under the boiler in that cupboard off the kitchen.’ 

330. Harry and Hermione Having Similar Trails Of Thought 

~ ‘I fancy a cup of tea, too,’ said Harry, jumping to his feet. 

Hermione, Ron and Ginny almost sprinted to the door with him. 

~ ‘I suppose something in that snake’s venom dissolves them or something. I wonder where the tearoom is?’ 

‘Fifth floor,’ said Harry, remembering the sign over the welcome-witch’s desk.

~ ‘I think it’s the fifth,’ said Hermione.

‘Nah, it’s the fourth,’ said Harry, ‘one more-‘

~ ‘I never knew,’ said Hermione, who looked tearful.

~ They all looked at Harry. 

‘I did,’ he said glumly. ‘Dumbledore told me but I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone….that’s what Bellatrix Lestrange got sent to Azkaban for, using the Cruciatus Curse on Neville’s parents until they lost their minds.’

‘Bellatrix Lestrange did that?’ Whispered Hermione, horrified. ‘That woman Kreacher’s got a photo of in his den?’ 

331. Harry Remembering Hermione When He sees Something

~ Two beds along was a woman whose entire head was covered in fur; Harry remembered something similar happening to Hermione during their second year, although fortunately, in her case, the damage had not been permanent.

332.  Hermione Letting Go Of Crookshanks In Fear When Professor Snape Came For Harry

~ Harry’s mouth fell open in horror. He looked around at Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, all of whom were gaping back at him. Crookshanks, whom Hermione had been restraining with difficulty for the past quarter of an hour, leapt gleefully onto the board abd set the pieces running for cover, squealing at the top of their voices. 

333. Harry Telling Hermione And Ron About Something That Has Been Bugging Him When He Couldn’t Tell Sirius

~ Instead, he told Ron and Hermione under his voice about having to take Occlumency lessons with Snape.

‘Dumbledore wants you to stop having those dreams about Voldemort,’ said Hermione at once. ‘Well, you won’t be sorry not to have them anymore, will you?’

334. Harry Noticing Things Hermione Does

~ Looking towards the front of the bus, Harry saw Hermione cover her eyes with her hand, Pigwidgeon swaying happily on her shoulder.

~ Hermione was already talking about knitting a few elf hats before bedtime.

335. Hermione Quickly Understanding The Need For Harry To Be Left Alone With Cho

~ ‘Oh,’ said Harry as his stomach leapt uncomfortably.

~ ‘We’ll be in the library, Harry,’ said Hermione firmly as she seized Ron above the elbow and dragged him off towards the marble staircase. 

336. Hermione Appearing In Harry’s Memories During Occlumency

~ The office swam in front of his eyes and vanished; image after image was racing through his mind like a flickering film so vivid it blinded him to his surroundings.

~ …Hermione was lying in the hospital wing, her face covered in thin black fur…

337. Harry Confiding In Hermione And Ron And Hermione Caring For Harry’s Well-being In Many Ways

~ He was desperate to get out of Snape’s office and find Ron and Hermione.

~ ‘How did it go?’ Hermione whispered, and then, looking concerned, ‘are you all right, Harry?’

‘Yeah…fine…I dunno,’ said Harry impatiently, wincing as pain shot through his scar again. ‘Listen..I’ve just realized something..’

And he told them what he had just seen and deduced. 

~ ‘It’s not weird at all, it makes perfect sense,’ said Hermione. ‘It will be something top secret that the Ministry has been developing. I expect…Harry, are you sure you’re all right?’

For Harry had just run both his hands hard over his forehead, as though trying to iron it.

‘Yeah…fine.,’ he said, lowering his hands, which were trembling. ‘I just feel a bit…I don’t like Occlumency much,’

‘I expect anyone would feel shaky if they’ve had their mind attacked over and over again,’ said Hermione sympathetically. ‘Look, let’s get back to the Common Room, we’ll be more comfortable there.’ 

~ ‘How do those hats work then?’ Said Hermione, distracted from her homework and watching Fred and George. ‘I mean, obviously it’s some kind of Invisibility Spell, but it’s rather clever to have extended the field of invisibility beyond the boundaries of the charmed object….I’d imagine the charm wouldn’t have a very long life, though.’

Harry did not answer, he was feeling ill.

‘I’m going to have to do this tomorrow,’ he muttered, pushing the books he had just taken out of his bag back inside of it.

‘Well, write it in your homework planner then!’ Said Hermione encouragingly. ‘So you don’t forget!’

Harry and Ron exchanged looks as he reached into his bag, withdrew the planner and opened it tentatively.

‘Don’t leave it till later, you big second-rater!’ Chided the book as Harry scribbled down Umbridge’s homework. Hermione beamed at it.

‘I think I’ll go to bed,’ said Harry, stuffing the homework planner back into his bag and making a mental note to drop it in the fire the first opportunity he got.

~ ‘Hermione told me to come and check on you,’ said Ron in a low voice, helping Harry to his feet. ‘She says your Defence will be low at the moment, after Snape’s been fiddling around with your mind…still, I suppose it’ll help in the long run, won’t it?’ 

338. Harry and Hermione Discussing The Newspaper

~ Harry’s question was answered the very next morning. When Hermione’s Daily Prophet arrived she smoothed it out, gazed for a moment at the front page and gave a yelp that caused everyone in the vicinity to stare at her.

‘What?’ Said Harry and Ron together. 

~ Hermione nudged Harry and pointed at the headline over the pictures which Harry, concentrating on Bellatrix, had not yet read.

~ ‘Black?’ Said Harry loudly. ‘Not-?’

‘Shhhh!’ Whispered Hermione desperately. ‘Not so loud- just read it!’ 

~ ‘I don’t believe this,’ snarled Harry, ‘Fudge is blaming the breakout on Sirius?’ 

‘What other options does he have?’ Said Hermione bitterly. ‘He can hardly say, “Sorry everyone, Dumbledore warned me this might happen, the Azkaban guards have joined Lord Voldemort”- stop whimpering, Ron, - “and now Voldemort’s worst supporters have broken out too.” I mean, he’s spent a good six months telling everyone you and Dumbledore are liars, hasn’t he?’

Hermione ripped open the newspaper and began to read the report inside it while Harry looked around the Great Hall. He could not understand why his fellow students were not looking scared or at least discussing the terrible piece of news on the front page, but very few of them took the newspaper everyday like Hermione. There they all weee, talking about homework and Quidditch and who knew what other rubbish, when outside these walls ten more Death Eaters had swollen Voldemort’s ranks. 

~ ‘Oh my-‘ said Hermione wonderingly, still staring at the newspaper.

‘What now?’ Said Harry quickly; he was feeling jumpy.

‘It’s….horrible,’ Said Hermione, looking shaken. Sh3 folded back page ten of the newspaper and handed it to Harry and Ron. 

339. Harry Finding It Unnerving That Neville Learnt The Shield Charm Which Only Hermione Mastered Before Him

~ He was improving so fast that it was quite unnerving and when Harry taught them the Shield Charm- a means of deflecting minor jinxes so that they rebounded upon the attacker- only Hermione mastered the charm faster than Neville. 

340. Harry Confiding In Hermione About Occlumency And Hermione Trying To Encourage Him To Shut Out Voldemort Even If It Leaves Harry Feeling Nettled

~ ‘Maybe it’s a bit like an illness,’ said Hermione, looking concerned when Harry confided in her and Ron. ‘A fever or something. It has to get worse before it gets better.’

‘The lessons with Snape are making it worse,’ said Harry flatly. ‘I’m getting sick of my scar hurting and I’m getting bored with walking down that corridor every night.’ He rubbed his forehead angrily. ‘I just wish the door would open, I’m sick of staring at it-‘

‘That’s not funny,’ said Hermione sharply. ‘Dumbledore doesn’t want you to have dreams about that corridor at all, or he wouldn’t have asked Snape to teach you Occlumency. You’re just going to have to work a bit harder in your lessons.’

‘I am working!’ Said Harry, nettled. ‘You try it some time- Snape trying to get into your head- it’s not a bundle of laughs, you know!’

~ Harry said Hermione stared at him.

341. Harry Sweetly Prioritizing Hermione’s Invitation To The Three Broomsticks Over His Date With Cho

~ Hedwig was not there- not that Harry had expected her- but Hermione was tugging a letter from the beak of an unfamiliar brown owl as they sat down.

‘And about time! If it hadn’t come today…’ she said, eagerly tearing open the envelope and pulling out a small piece of parchment. Her eyes sped from left to right as she read through the message and a grimly pleased expression spread across her face.

‘Listen, Harry,’ she said, looking up at him, ‘this is really important. Do you think you could meet me in the Three Broomsticks around midday?’

‘Well…I dunno,’ said Harry uncertainly. ‘Cho might be expecting me to spent the whole day with her. We never said what we were going to do.’

‘Well, bring her along if you must,’ said Hermione urgently. ‘But will you come?

’ ‘Well…all right, but why?’

‘I haven’t got time to tell you know, I’ve got to answer this quickly.’ 

And she hurried out of the Great Hall, the letter clutched in one hand and a piece of toast in the other. 

~ Harry could hardly believe how easy it was to talk to her- no more difficult, in fact, than talking to Ron and Hermione- and he was just starting to feel confident and cheerful when a large gang of Slytherin girls passed them, including Pansy Parkinson.

~ ‘Er…Listen, do you want to come with me to the Three Broomsticks at lunchtime? I’m meeting Hermione Granger there.’

Cho raised her eyebrows.

‘You’re meeting Hermione Granger? Today?’

‘Yeah. Well, she asked me to, so I thought I would. D’you want to come with me? She said it wouldn’t matter if you did.’ 

‘Oh..well..that was nice of her.’ 

But Cho did not sound as though she thought it nice at all. On the contrary, her tone was cold and all of a sudden she looked rather forbidding. 

A few more minutes passed in total silence, Harry drinking his coffee so fast that he would soon need a fresh cup. 

~ ‘Well- I have talked about it,’ said Harry in a whisper, ‘to Ron and Hermione, but-‘ 

‘Oh, you’ll talk to Hermione Granger!’ She said shrilly, her face now shining with tears. 

~ ‘But you won’t talk to me! P- Perhaps it would be best if we just..just.. o-paid abd you went up and met up with Hermione G-Granger, like you obviously want to!’

Harry started at her, utterly bewildered, and she seized a frilly napkin and dabbed at her shining face with it.

~ ‘Go on, leave!’ She said, now crying into the napkin. ‘I don’t know why you asked me out in the first place of you’re going to make arrangements to meet other girls right after me…how many are you meeting after Hermione?’

‘It’s not like that!’ Said Harry, and he was so relieved at finally understanding what she was annoyed about that he laughed, which he realized a split second too late was also a mistake.

~ He turned right and broke into a splashy run, and within minutes he was turning int9 the doorway of the Three Broomsticks. He knew he was too early to meet Hermione, but he thought it likely there would be someone in there with whom he could spent the intervening time. 

~ But before Harry cool think about it any further, he heard a voice calling his name.

‘Harry! Harry, over here!’

Hermione was waving at him from the other side of the room. He got up and made his way towards her through the crowded pub. He was still a few tables away when he saw that Hermione was not alone. She was sitting at the table with the unlikeliest pair of drinking mates he could have ever imagined: Luna Lovegood, and none other than Rita Skeeter, ex-journalist on the Daily Prophet and one of Hermione’s least favorite people in the world. 

‘You’re early!’ Said Hermione, moving along to give him room to sit down. ‘I thought you were with Cho, I wasn’t expecting you for another hour at least!’ 

342. Hermione Getting Defensive and Protective About Harry In Front Of Rita and Harry Appreciating Her Act Of Making Rita Write An article

~ ‘Cho?’ Said Rita at once, twisting round in her seat to stare avidly at Harry. ‘A girl?’ 

She snatched up her crocodile skin handbag and groped within it. 

‘It’s none of your business if Harry’s been with a hundred girls,’ Hermione told Rita coolly. ‘So you can put that away right now.’ 

Rita had been on the point of withdrawing an acid-green quill from her bag. Looking as though she had just swallowed Stinksap, she snapped her bag shut again. 

‘What are you up to?’ Harry asked, sitting down and staring from Rita to Luna to Hermione.

‘Little Miss Perfect was just about to tell me when you arrived,’ said Rita, taking a large slurp of her drink. ‘I suppose I’m allowed to talk to him, am I?’ She shot at Hermione. 

‘Yes, I suppose you are,’ said Hermione coldly.

~ She took another great gulp of her drink and said out of the corner of her mouth, ‘Pretty girl, is she, Harry?’ 

‘One more word about Harry’s love life and the deal’s off and that’s a promise,’ said Hermione irritably.

~ ‘Yes, yes, one of these days you’ll wrote more horrible stories about Harry and me,’ said Hermione indifferently. ‘Find someone who cares, why don’t you?’

‘They’ve run plenty horrible stories about Harry this year without my help,’ said Rita, shooting a sideways look at him at the top of her glass and adding in a rough whisper, ‘How has that made you feel, Harry? Betrayed? Distraught? Misunderstood?’

‘He feels angry, of course,’ said Hermione in a hard, clear voice. ‘Because he’s told the Minister for Magic the truth and the Minister’s too much of an idiot to believe him.’

~ 'I wasn't the sole witness,' snarled Harry. ' There were a dozen-odd Death Eaters with them as well. Want their names?'

~'But of course,' she said, lowering the quill and looking daggers at Hermione, 'little Miss Perfect wouldn't want that story out there, would she?'

'As a matter of fact,' said Hermione sweetly, 'that's exactly what little Miss Perfect does want.'

Rita stared at her. So did Harry.

~ 'You want me to report what says about He Who Must Not Be Named?' Rita asked Hermione in a hushed voice. 

'Yes, I do,' said Hermione. 'The true story. All the facts. Exactly as Harry reports them. He'll give you all the details, he'll tell you the names of the undiscovered Death Eaters he saw there, he'll tell you what Voldemort looks like now- Oh, get a grip on yourself,' she added contemptuously, throwing a napkin across the table, for, at the sound of Voldemort's name, Rita had jumped so badly she had slopped half her glass of Firewhisky down herself. 

~ 'We don't need another story about how Harry's lost his marbles!' said Hermione angrily. 'We've had plenty of those already, thank you! I want given the opportunity to tell the truth!'

~ 'Ok, Harry?' said Hermione turning to him. 'Ready to tell the public the truth?'

'I suppose, said Harry, watching Rita balancing the Quick Quotes Quill at the ready on the parchment between them. 

'Fire away, then, Rita,' said Hermione serenely, fishing a cherry out from the bottom of her glass.

~ Harry had not found it an easy experience to talk about the night when Voldemort had returned,

~ But the breakout of Bellatrix Lestrange and her fellow Death Eaters had given Harry a burning desire to do something, whether or not it had worked..

~ 'It must have been...tough..talking about it..was it?'

'Yeah,' mumbled Harry, 'but people have to know what Voldemort's capable of, haven't they?'

343. Harry Spending With Hermione, Talking to Her About Feelings, Doing Homework and Saying That He Didn't Think Hermione Was Ugly

~ After a while, Dean, Seamus and Neville departed for the Common Room, leaving Harry and Hermione at the table waiting for Ron, who had not yet had dinner because of Quidditch practice.

Cho walked into the hall with her friend Marietta. Harry's stomach gave an unpleasant lurch, but she did not look over him at the Gryffindor table, and sat down with her back to him.

'Oh, I forgot to ask you,' said Hermione brightly, glancing over at the Ravenclaw table, 'what happened on your date with Cho? How come you were back so early?'

'Er, well..it was....' said Harry, pulling a dish of rhubarb crumble towards him and helping himself to seconds, 'a complete fiasco, now you mention it.'

And he told her what had happened in Madam Puddifoot's Teashop.

'...so then,' he finished several minutes later, as the final bit of crumble disappeared, 'she jumps in, right, and says, "I'll see you around Harry!" and runs out of place!' he put down his spoon and looked at Hermione. 'I mean, what was that all about? What was going on?'

Hermione glanced over the back of Cho's head and sighed.

'Oh, Harry,' she sadly. 'Well, I'm sorry, but you were a bit tactless.'

'Me? Tactless?' said Harry, outraged. 'One minute we were getting on fine, next minute she was telling me that Roger Davies asked her out and how she used go and snog Cedric in that stupid teashop- how was I supposed to feel about that?'

'Well, you see,' said Hermione, with the patient air of someone explaining that one plus one equals two to an overemotional toddler, 'you shouldn't have told her that you wanted to meet me halfway through your date.'

'But, but,' spluttered Harry, 'but- you told me to meet you at twelve and to bring her along, how was I supposed to do that without telling her?'

'You should have told her differently,' said Hermione, still with that maddeningly patient air. 'You should have said that it was really annoying, but I'd made you promise to come along to the Three Broomsticks, and you really didn't want to go, you'd much rather spent the whole day with her, but unfortunately you thought you really ought to meet me and would she please, please come along with so you'd be able to get away quickly. And it might have been a good idea if you mentioned how ugly you think I am, too.' Hermione added as an afterthought.

'But I don't think you're ugly,' said Harry, bemused.

Hermione laughed.

'Harry, you're worse than Ron...well, no, you're not,' she sighed, as Ron himself came stumping into the Hall splattered with mud and looking grumpy. 'Look- you upset Cho when you said you were going to go meet me, so she tried to make you jealous. It was her way of trying to find out how much you liked her,'

'Is that what she was doing?' said Harry, as Ron dropped onto the bench opposite them and pulled every dish within reach towards him. 'Well, wouldn't it have been easier if she asked if I liked her more than you?'

'Girls don't often ask questions like that,' said Hermione.

'Well, they should!' said Harry forcefully. 'Then I could've just told her I fancy her, and she wouldn't have had to get herself all worked up again about Cedric dying!'

'I''m not saying was she did was sensible,' said Hermione, as Ginny joined them, just as muddy as Ron and looking equally disgruntled. 'I'm just trying to make you see how she was feeling at the time.'

'You should write a book,' Ron told Hermione as he cut up his potatoes, 'translating mad things girls do so boys can understand them,'

'Yeah,' said Harry fervently, looking over at the Ravenclaw table. 

~ Ron and Ginny went off for baths after dinner; Harry and Hermione returned to the busy Gryffindor Common Room and their usual pile of homework.

344. Harry Secretly Agreeing with Hermione About Quidditch

~ 'That's the trouble with Quidditch,' said Hermione absentmindedly, once again bent over her Runes translation, 'it creates all this bad feeling and tension between the houses.'

She looked to find her copy of Spellman's Syllabary, and caught Fred, George and Harry all staring at her with expressions of mingled disgust and incredulity on their faces.

'Well, it does!' she said impatiently. 'It's only a game, isn't it?

'Hermione,' said Harry, shaking his head, 'you're good on feelings and stuff, but you just don't understand Quidditch.'

'Maybe not,' she said darkly, returning to her translation, 'but at least my happiness doesn't depend on Ron's goal-keeping ability,' 

And though Harry would rather have jumped off  Astronomy Tower than admit it to her, by the time he had watched the game the following Saturday he would have given any number of Galleons to not care about Quidditch either. 

345. Harry Getting Angry When Umbridge was Staring At Him When He Was Sitting Next To Hermione In Quidditch

~ Umbridge had been sitting a few rows below Harry and Hermione. Once or twice she had turned squatly in her seat to look at him, her wide toad's mouth stretched in what he thought had been a gloating smile. The memory of it made him feel hot with anger as he lay there in the dark.

346. Hermione Being Supportive To Harry Regarding His Interview

~ Hermione was not the only person eagerly awaiting her Daily Prophet: nearly everyone was eager for more news of escaped Death Eaters, who, despite many reported sightings, had still not been caught. She gave the delivery owl a Knut and unfolded the newspaper eagerly while Harry helped himself to orange juice; as he had only received one note during the entire year, he was sure, when the first owl landed in front of him, that it had made a mistake. 

~ 'Harry!' said Hermione breathlessly, plunging her hands into the feathery mass and pulling out a screech owl bearing a long, cylindrical package. 'I think I know what this means- open this one first!'

Harry ripped off the brown packaging.

~ 'That's what I thought,' said Hermione eagerly. 'Harry, d'you mind if we-'?'

'Help yourself,' said Harry, feeling slightly bemused.

Ron and Hermione both started ripping open envelopes.

~ 'This woman recommends you to try a good course of shock spells at St Mungo's,' said Hermione, looking disappointed and crumpling up a second. 

'This one looks okay, though,' said Harry slowly, scanning a long letter from a witch in Paisley. 'Hey, she says she believes me!'

'Here's another one you've convinced, Harry!' said Hermione excitedly. 'Having read your side of the story, I am forced to the conclusion that the Daily Prophet has treated you very unfairly...little though I want to think that He Who Must Not Be Named has returned, I am forced to accept that you are telling the truth...Oh, this is wonderful!' 

~ For some reason, every time Hermione caught sight of one of these signs, she beamed with pleasure.

'What exactly are you so happy about?' Harry asked her.

'Oh, Harry, don't you see?' Hermione breathed. 'If she could have done one thing to make absolutely sure that every single person in this school would read your interview, it was banning it!'

And it seemed that Hermione was quite right. By the end of the day, though Harry had not seen so much as the corner of The Quibbler anywhere in the school, the whole place seemed to be quoting the interview to each other. Harry had heard them whispering about it as they queued up outside classes, discussing it over lunch and in the back of lessons, while Hermione even reported that every occupant in the cubicles in the girls' toilets had been talking about it when she nipped in there before Ancient Runes.

'Then they spotted me, and obviously they know I know you, so they bombarded me with questions,' Hermione told Harry, her eyes shining, 'and Harry, I think they believe you, I really do, I think you've finally got them convinced!'

~ The pages carrying Harry's interview had been bewitched to resemble extracts from textbooks if anyone but themselves read it, or else wiped magically blank until they wanted to peruse it again. Soon it seemed as though the whole school had read it.

~ He saw them with their heads together later that afternoon in the library; they were with a weedy-looking boy Hermione whispered was called Theodore Nott.

~ 'And the best bit,' Hermione whispered gleefully, as they left the library, 'is they can't contradict you, because they can't admit they read the article!'

346. Harry Agreeing With Hermione About The Poster Being Irritating

~ Hermione did not find this very amusing; she said it interfered with her concentration, and she ended up going to bed  early out of irritation. Harry had to admit that the poster was not quite as funny after an hour or two, especially when the talking spell had started to wear off, so that it merely shouted disconnected words like 'DUNG' and 'UMBRIDGE' at more and more frequent intervals in a progressively higher voice.

~ To disappointed moans from the many people who were sitting around him, asking him to relive his interview for the umpteenth time, he announced that he too needed an early night. 

347. Harry Explaining the Dream He Got To Hermione and Discussing Things with Her, While She Gave Him Firm But Reasonable Advice 

~ Standing in their usual corner in the cool and breezy courtyard, Harry told her every detail of the dream he could remember.

~ 'So that's why they killed him,' she said quietly, withdrawing her gaze from Fred and George at last. 'When Bode tried to steal this weapon, something funny happened to him. I think there must be defensive spells on it, or around it, to stop people touching it. That's why he was in St Mungo's, his brain had gone all funny and he couldn't talk. But remember what the Healer told us? He was recovering, and they couldn't risk him getting better, could they? I mean, the shock of whatever happened when he touched that weapon probably made the Imperius Curse lift. Once he got his voice back, he'd explain what he'd been doing, wouldn't he? They would've known he'd been sent to steal the weapon. Of course, it would have been easy for Lucius Malfoy to put the curse on him. Never out of the Ministry, is he?'

'He was even hanging around the day I had my hearing,' said Harry. 'In the- hang on...' he said slowly. 'He was in the Department of Mysteries corridor that day! Your dad said he was probably trying to sneak down and find out what happened in my hearing, but what if-' 

'Sturgis!' gasped Hermione, looking thunderstruck. 

~ She gazed at Harry. 

'And now Rookwood's told Voldemort how to get the weapon?'

'I didn't hear the full conversation, but that's what it sounded like.' said Harry. 'Rookwood used to work there. Maybe Voldemort'll send Rookwood to do it?'

Hermione nodded, apparently still lost in thought. Then, quite abruptly, she said, 'But you shouldn't have seen this at all, Harry.'

'What?' he said, taken aback.

'You're supposed to be learning how to close your mind to this kind of thing,' said Hermione, suddenly stern.

'I know I am,' said Harry. 'But-'

'Well, I think we should just try and forget what you saw,' said Hermione firmly. 'And you ought to put it a bit more effort in your Occlumency from now on.'

~ Harry received two more 'D's in Potions; he was still on the tenterhooks that Hagrid might get the sack; and he couldn't stop himself dwelling on the dream in which he had been Voldemort- though he didn't bring it up with Ron and Hermione again; he didn't want another telling-off from Hermione.

347. Harry Feeling Happy In The DA, Which Was Hermione's Idea In The First Place

~ If it had not been for the DA lessons, Harry thought he would have been extremely unhappy.

348. Hermione Being Concerned For Harry When They Run out Of The Room of Requirement

~ 'Harry, come on!' shrieked Hermione from the centre of the knot of people fighting to get out.

349. Harry Worrying About How Hermione Would Feel If She Were Expelled Even While He Was  In Trouble

~ He thought of Ron- Mrs Weasley would kill him- and how Hermione would feel is she was expelled before she could take her O.W.L. s 

350. Harry Feeling A Surge Of Pride At Hermione's Jinxing Abilities

~ 'Haven't we got a counter-jinx for this?' Fudge asked Umbridge impatiently, gesturing at Marietta's face. 'So she can speak freely?' 

'I have not yet managed to find one,' Umbridge admitted begrudgingly. Harry felt a surge of pride at Hermione's jinxing abilities.

351. Hermione Looking  Worried When Harry Was Called by Filch

~ He glanced back at Ron and Hermione, who were both looking worried. 

352. Harry Feeling Guilty About Not Following Hermione's Advice and Practicing Occlumency

~ With a surge of  guilt he realised that he had not practiced Occlumency once since their last lesson: there had been too much going on since Dumbledore had left; he was sure he would not have been able to empty his mind even if he had tried.

~ Hermione kept asking him what was wrong whenever he fell silent trying to rid himself of all thought and emotion and, after all, the best moment to empty his brain was not while teachers were firing revision questions at the class. 

353. Harry Defending Hermione Against The Girl He Liked

~ 'That was a really horrible trick of Hermione Granger's.' said Cho fiercely. 'She should have told us she'd jinxed that list-'

'I think it was a brilliant idea,' said Harry coldly. Cho flushed and her eyes grew brighter.

'Oh, yes, I forgot- of course, if it was darling Hermione's idea-' 

~ 'I've got enough to cope with at the moment.' 

~ His heart was pumping fast with anger at Cho and anxiety about how much Snape was going to extract from his mind. 

353. Harry Recognising The Place In Which He, Hermione and  Ron sat

~ They stopped at the shade of the very same beech tree on the edge of the lake where Harry, Ron and Hermione had once spent a Sunday finishing their homework, and threw themselves down on the grass. 

354. Hermione Being Concerned About Harry's Occlumency Despite Harry Disagreeing With Her

~ 'But why haven't you got Occlumency lessons anymore?' said Hermione, frowning. 

'I've told you,' Harry muttered. 'Snape reckons I can carry on by myself now I've got the basics.' 

'So you've stopped having funny dreams?' said Hermione skeptically.

'Pretty much,' said Harry, not looking at her.

'Well, I don't think Snape should stop until you're absolutely sure you can control them!' said Hermione indignantly. 'Harry, I think you should go back to him and ask-'

'No,' said Harry forcefully. 'Just drop it, Hermione, ok?'

It was the first day of the Easter Holidays and Hermione, as was her custom, had spent a large part of the day drawing up revision tables for the three of them. Harry and Ron had let her do it; it was easier than arguing with her, and, in any case, they might come in useful.

355. Hermione Noticing Harry's Dull Expression

~ Hermione said nothing; she was looking at Harry, who was staring blankly at the opposite wall of the Common Room while Crookshanks pawed at his hand, trying to get his ears scratched. 

'What's wrong, Harry?'

'What?' he said quickly. 'Nothing,'

He seized his copy of Defensive Magical Theory and pretended to be looking something up in the index. Crookshanks gave him up as a bad job and slunk away under Hermione's chair.

'I saw Cho earlier,' said Hermione tentatively. 'She looked really miserable, too....have you two had a row again?'

'Wha- oh, yeah, we have,' said Harry, seizing gratefully on the excuse.

'What about?'

'That sneak friend of hers, Marietta,' said Harry.

356. Harry Reading About Careers and Encouraging Hermione To To Be Involved In Wizard Banking

~ 'You don't seem to need many qualifications to liasie with Muggles; all they want is an O. W. L. in Muggle Studies: much more important is your enthusiasm, patience, and a good sense of fun!' 

'You'd need more than a good sense of fun to liaise with my uncle,' said Harry darkly. 'Good sense of when to duck, more like.' He was halfway through a pamphlet on Wizarding Banking. 'Listen to this: Are you seeking a challenging career involving travel, adventure and substantial danger-related treasure  bonuses? Then consider a position with Gringotts Wizarding Bank, who are currently recruiting Curse-Breakers for thrilling opportunities abroad...They want Arithmancy, though; you could do it, Hermione!' 

'I don't much fancy banking,' said Hermione vaguely, now buried in: 'HAVE YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO TRAIN SECURITY TROLLS?' 

357. Hermione Being Worried About Harry's Safety Despite Him Not Appealing To Her Warnings

~ 'She says you need to talk to Sirius?' 

'What? said Hermione sharply, freezing with her hand halfway toward picking up, 'MAKE A BANG AT THE DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL ACCIDENTS AND CATASTROPHES.'

'Yeah...' said Harry, trying to sound casual, 'yeah, I thought I'd like-'

'Don't be so ridiculous,' said Hermione, straightening up and looking at him as though she could not believe her eyes. 'With Umbridge groping around in the fires and frisking all the owls?' 

~ 'Yes, but still,' said Hermione, with an air of explaining something very simple to somebody very obtuse, 'even if you do cause a diversion, how is Harry supposed to talk to him?' 

'Umbridge's office,' said Harry quietly.

~ 'Are- you- insane?' said Hermione in a hushed voice. 

~ 'I don't think so,' said Harry, shrugging.

'And how are you going to get there in the first place?'

Harry was ready for this question. 

'Sirius's knife,' he said. 

'Excuse me?'

'Christmas before last Sirius gave me a knife that'll open any lock,' said Harry. 'So even if she's bewitched the door so that Alohomora won't work, which I bet she has-' 

'What do you think about this?' Hermione demanded of Ron, and Harry was reminded irresistibly of Mrs Weasley appealing to her husband during Harry' s first dinner in Grimmauld Place. 

With the prospect of forcing entry into Umbridge's office ahead, Harry had never expected the day to be a restful one, but he had not reckoned on Hermione's almost continual attempts to dissuade him from what he was planning to do at five'o clock. For the first time ever, she was at least as innattentive in Professor Binn's class as Harry and Ron were, keeping up a stream of whispered admonitions that Harry tried very hard to ignore. 

'And if she does catch you there, apart from you being expelled, she'll be able to guess you've been talking to Snuffles are this time I expect she'll force you to drink Veritaserum and answer her questions-' 

'Hermione,' said Ron in a low, indignant voice. 'Are you going to stop telling Harry off and listen to Binns, or do I have to take my own notes?'

~ 'I hope you've thought better of what you're planning to do, Harry,' Hermione whispered, the moment they had opened their books to, 'Chapter Thirty-Four: Non-retaliation and negotiation'. 'Umbridge looks like she's in a very bad mood already...'

~ 'Harry, don't do it, please don't do it!' Hermione said in an anguished tone as the bell rang at the end of the class. 

~ 'Harry- please!' Hermione pleaded weakly.

358. Hermione Apologising For Clearing Up Harry's Cauldron

~ 'I'm sorry!' said Hermione, with hers hands over her mouth. 'I'm really sorry, Harry. I thought you'd finished, so I cleared up!' 

359. Harry Predicting Hermione's Ways Before She Even Started Despite Not appealing To It

~ Hermione had said nothing at all for the rest of the lesson, but Harry had a shrewd suspicion that her self-restraint was bound to crack before long. Sure enough, once they had left the castle for break and were standing around in the weak May sunshine, she fixed Harry with a beady eye and opened her mouth with a determined air.

Harry interrupted her before she had even started. 

~ 'As a matter of fact, I was going to ask Harry when he's going back to Snape and ask for more Occlumency lessons!' 

Harry's heart sank. 

~ 'You are trying to block your mind, aren't you?' said Hermione, looking beadily at Harry. 'You are keeping going with your Occlumency?'

'Of course I am,' said Harry, trying to sound as though this question was insulting but not quite meeting her eye. 

400. A part Of Harry's Mind Speaking In Hermione's Voice

~He also suspected a part of his mind- the part that often spoke in Hermione's voice- now felt guilty on the occasions it strayed down that corridor ending in the black door, and sought to wake him before he could reach the journey's end.

401. Harry and Hermione Talking, Exchanging Looks, and Protecting Each Other On The Day They Met Grawp

~ 'You know,' said Hermione, as she and Harry walked down to the pitch a little later in midst of a very excitable crowd, 'I think Ron might do better without Fred and George around. They never exactly gave him a lot of confidence. 

~ 'Oh, gosh, I forgot!' said Hermione, watching the eagle flapping its wings as Luna walked serenely past a group of cackling and pointing Slytherins. Cho will be playing, won't she?'

Harry, who had not forgotten this, merely grunted.

The found seats in the second topmost row of the stands.

~ Harry and Hermione groaned with the rest of the Gryffindors. 

~Harry and Hermione looked at each other, then ducked into the cover of the trees behind Hagrid, who was already striding away from them into the green gloom, his crossbow over his arm. Harry and Hermione ran to catch up with him. 

~ Harry and Hermione looked at each other, startled, but Hagrid scowled and did not elaborate. 

~ It was a great struggle to keep up with Hagrid, what with branches and thickets of thorn through which Hagrid marched as easily as if they were cobwebs, but which snagged Harry and Hermione's robes, frequently entangling them so severely that they had to stop for minutes at a time to free themselves. 

~ He stopped suddenly and turned around; Hermione walked right into him and was knocked over backwards. Harry caught her just before she hit the Forest Floor.

~ 'Good!' said Hermione, as Harry set her back on her feet. They both murmured, 'Lumos!' and their wands tips ignited. 

~ Harry and Hermione looked at each other, then back at him. 

~ Harry and Hermione both made noises of protest, but Hagrid overrode them with a wave of one of his enormous hands. 

~ He glanced sideways at Hermione, who was gazing at the mound with her mouth slightly open. She looked utterly terrified. 

'Hagrid,' she said in a whisper barely audible over the sound of the sleeping creature. 'who is he?'

Harry had found this an odd question...'What is it?' had been the one he had planned on asking. 

'Hagrid, you told us-' said Hermione, her wand now shaking in her hand, 'you told us none of them wanted to come!' 

Harry looked from her to Hagrid, and then, as realisation hit him, he looked back at the mound with a small gasp of horror. 

~ 'Oh Hagrid, why on earth didn't you let him!' said Hermione, flopping down on to a ripped up tree and burying her face in her hands. 'What do you think you're going to do with a violent giant who doesn't even want to be here!'

'Well, now- "violent'- tha's a bit harsh,' said Hagrid, still twisting his hands agitatedly. 'I'll admit he mighta taken a couple o' swigs at me when he's bin in a bad mood, but he's gettin' better, loads better, settlin' down well.'

'What are those ropes for, then?' Harry asked. 

~ 'So what is it you want Harry and Ron and me to do?' asked Hermione apprehensively. 

'Look after him,' said Hagrid croakily. 'After I'm gone.'

Harry and Hermione exchanged miserable looks, Harry uncomfortably aware that he had already promised Hagrid that he would do whatever he asked. 

~ Harry looked all Hermione, who peered back at between the fingers over her face.

'Kind of makes you wish we had Norbert back, doesn't it?' he said, and she gave a very shaky laugh. 

~ Harry and Hermione retreated as far as they could, while still keeping the giant within their sights.

~ 'Oh my!' Harry heard Hermione squeal, terrified, beside him. 

~ Grawp's hand had shot out of nowhere towards Hermione; Harry seized her and pulled her backwards behind the tree, so that Grawp's fist scraped the trunk but closed on thin air.

'BAD BOY, GRAWPY!' They heard Hagrid yelling, as Hermione clung to Harry behind the tree, shaking and whimpering. 

~ Harry and Hermione nodded.

~ Hermione's face was pale and set.

~ 'Hold it,' said Hagrid abruptly, just as Harry and Hermione were struggling through a patch of thick knotgrass behind him. 

~ Harry and Hermione raised their wands; now that they stopped walking too, they could here movement nearby. 

~ 'You'll tolerate 'im as long as he's here, it's as much as 'is forest as it is yours!' he yelled, and Harry and Hermione both pushed with all their might against Hagrid's moleskin waistcoat in an effort to keep him moving forwards. 

~ 'Calm down, you two,' he said, turning to walk on while they panted along beside him. 

~ 'Hagrid,' said Hermione breathlessly, skirting the path of nettles they had passed on their way there, 'if the centaurs don't want humans in the Forest, it really doesn't look as though Harry and I will be able-'

~ 'Ah, you heard what they said.' said Hagrid dismissively, 'they wouldn't hurt foals- I mean, kids. Anyway, we can't let ourselves be pushed aroun' by that lot.'

'Nice try,' Harry murmured to Hermione, who looked crestfallen. 

~ 'I don’t know,' said Hermione miserably. Harry saw that she looked much the worse for wear; her hair was full of bits of twig and leaves, her robes were ripped in several places and there were numerous scratches on her face and arms. He knew he could look little better.

~ 'Look — there’s people comin’ out already — if you two hurry yeh’ll be able ter blend in with the crowd an’ no one’ll know you weren’t there!'

 'Good idea,' said Harry. “Well . . . see you later, then, Hagrid. . . .'

'I don’t believe him,' said Hermione in a very unsteady voice, the moment they were out of earshot of Hagrid. “I don’t believe him. I really don’t believe him.'

'Calm down,' said Harry. 

'Calm down!' she said feverishly. 'A giant! A giant in the forest! And we’re supposed to give him English lessons! Always assuming, of course, we can get past the herd of murderous centaurs on the way in and out! I — don’t — believe — him!'

 'We haven’t got to do anything yet!' Harry tried to reassure her in a quiet voice, as they joined a stream of jabbering Hufflepuffs heading back toward the castle. 'He’s not asking us to do anything unless he gets chucked out and that might not even happen —'

'Oh come off it, Harry!' said Hermione angrily, stopping dead in her tracks so that the people behind her had to swerve to avoid her. 'Of course he’s going to be chucked out and to be perfectly honest, after what we’ve just seen, who can blame Umbridge?'

 There was a pause in which Harry glared at her, and her eyes filled slowly with tears. 

'You didn’t mean that,' said Harry quietly.

 'No . . . well . . . all right . . . I didn’t,' she said, wiping her eyes angrily. 'But why does he have to make life so difficult for himself — for us?'

'I dunno —' 

~ 'And I wish they’d stop singing that stupid song,' said Hermione miserably, “haven’t they gloated enough?' 

~ 'Oh, let’s get in before we have to meet the Slytherins,' said Hermione.

~ 'Hermione . . .' said Harry slowly

~ 'No!' said Hermione in a hushed voice. 

'YES!'said Harry loudly. 

~ They beamed up at him as he passed; there was a scrum at the door of the castle and Ron’s head got rather badly bumped on the lintel, but nobody seemed to want to put him down. 

~ Harry and Hermione watched them go, beaming, until the last echoing strains of “Weasley Is Our King” died away. Then they turned to each other, their smiles fading. 

'We’ll save our news till tomorrow, shall we?' said Harry. 

'Yes, all right,' said Hermione wearily. 'I’m not in any hurry.'

They climbed the steps together. At the front doors both instinctively looked back at the Forbidden Forest.

402. Harry and Hermione Telling Their Adventure To Ron 

~ All he wanted to do was talk over the match and Harry and Hermione found it very difficult to find an opening in which to mention Grawp — not that either of them tried very hard; neither was keen to be the one to bring Ron back to reality in quite such a brutal fashion. As it was another fine, warm day, they persuaded him to join them in studying under the beech tree on the edge of the lake, where they stood less chance of being overheard than in the common room. Ron was not particularly keen on this idea at first; he was thoroughly enjoying being patted on the back by Gryffindors walking past his chair, not to mention the occasional outbursts of “Weasley Is Our King,” but agreed after a while that some fresh air might do him good.

~ 'As a matter of fact, the only bit of the match Harry and I saw was Davies’s first goal.'

~  'You didn’t watch?' he said faintly, looking from one to the other.

~ “As a matter of fact, the only bit of the match Harry and I saw was Davies’s first goal.” Ron’s carefully ruffled hair seemed to wilt with disappointment. “You didn’t watch?” he said faintly, looking from one to the other.

~ 'Well — no,' said Hermione, stretching out a placatory hand toward him. 'But Ron, we didn’t want to leave — we had to!'

 'Yeah?' said Ron, whose face was growing rather red. 'How come?'

 'It was Hagrid,' said Harry. 'He decided to tell us why he’s been covered in injuries ever since he got back from the giants. He wanted us to go into the forest with him, we had no choice, you know how he gets. Anyway . . .'

The story was told in five minutes, by the end of which Ron’s indignation had been replaced by a look of total incredulity. 

'He brought one back and hid it in the forest?' 

'Yep,' said Harry grimly. 

'No,' said Ron, as though by saying this he could make it untrue. 'No, he can’t have.'

 'Well, he has,' said Hermione firmly. 'Grawp’s about sixteen feet tall, enjoys ripping up twenty-foot pine trees, and knows me,' she snorted, 'as Hermy.'

~ 'And Hagrid wants us to . . . ?'

'Teach him English, yeah,' said Harry. 

'He’s lost his mind,' said Ron in an almost awed voice. 

'Yes,' said Hermione irritably, turning a page of Intermediate Transfiguration and glaring at a series of diagrams showing an owl turning into a pair of opera glasses. 'Yes, I’m starting to think he has. But unfortunately, he made Harry and me promise.'

 ~ 'I know, it’s just that — we promised,' said Hermione in small voice. 

403. Harry Noticing The Fact That Hermione Hadn't Laid Out Any Elf Clothes

~ This suited Harry very well; he was quite busy and tense enough without extra classes with Snape, and to his relief Hermione was much too preoccupied these days to badger him about Occlumency. She was spending a lot of time muttering to herself and had not laid out any elf clothes for days. 

She was not the only person acting oddly as the O.W.L.s drew steadily nearer. 

404. Harry Glancing At Hermione And Ron

~ Harry, Ron, and Hermione glanced at one another, but didn’t know what to say.

405. Harry Not Wanting Brain Stimulants Anymore When Hermione Told Him What It Was Made Of

~ 'This stuff can,' said Hermione grimly. 'I’ve had a look at it, and it’s actually dried Doxy droppings.' 

This information took the edge off Harry and Ron’s desire for brain stimulants.

406. Harry Testing Hermione For The Exams While She Smacked Him With A Book

~ Harry agreed to test Hermione after lunch on Sunday but regretted it almost at once. She was very agitated and kept snatching the book back from him to check that she had gotten the answer completely right, finally hitting him hard on the nose with the sharp edge of Achievements in Charming. 

'Why don’t you just do it yourself?' he said firmly, handing the book back to her, his eyes watering. 

407. Harry Noticing How Much Hermione Was Studied And Having a Look at The Examiners with Her and Ron

~ Hermione on the other hand kept putting down her knife and fork and diving under the table for her bag, from which she would seize a book to check some fact or figure.

~ 'Oh, my goodness,' she said faintly, staring into the entrance hall. 'Is that them? Is that the examiners?' Harry and Ron whipped around on their bench.

~ Harry and Hermione nodded and they hastened toward the double doors into the entrance hall, slowing down as they stepped over the threshold to walk sedately past the examiners. 

~ Parvati was practicing incantations under her breath while the salt cellar in front of her twitched, Hermione was rereading Achievement in Charming so fast that her eyes appeared blurred, and Neville kept dropping his knife and fork and knocking over the marmalade.

408. Harry Noticing That Hermione Was Already Writing The Exam, and Remembering the time When He and Ron saved Her From a Troll To Write His Answer

~ Harry turned over his paper, his heart thumping hard. . . . Three rows to his right and four seats ahead, Hermione was already scribbling. . . . He lowered his eyes to the first question: a) Give the incantation, and b) describe the wand movement required to make objects fly. 

.Harry had a fleeting memory of a club soaring high into the air and landing loudly on the thick skull of a troll. . . . Smiling slightly, he bent over the paper and began to write. 

 408. Harry Not Wanting To Tell Hermione How He Messed Up In An Exam

~ On the whole Harry thought it went rather well; his Levitation Charm was certainly much better than Malfoy’s had been, though he wished he had not mixed up the incantations for Color-Change and Growth Charms, so that the rat he was supposed to be turning orange swelled shockingly and was the size of a badger before Harry could rectify his mistake. He was glad Hermione had not been in the Hall at the time and neglected to mention it to her afterward.

409. Harry Speaking Calmly With Hermione When she was in A bad Mood, Being Relieved When She Performs Well In Exams, and stopping His Laughing In Case It Annoyed Her

~ 'Oh shut up,' said Hermione angrily, 'it could be the one mistake that makes the difference between a pass and a fail. And what’s more, someone’s put another niffler in Umbridge’s office, I don’t know how they got it through that new door, but I just walked past there and Umbridge is shrieking her head off — by the sound of it, it tried to take a chunk out of her leg —'

 'Good,'  said Harry and Ron together.

 'It is not good!' said Hermione hotly. 'She thinks it’s Hagrid doing it, remember? And we do not want Hagrid chucked out!'

'He’s teaching at the moment, she can’t blame him,' said Harry, gesturing out of the window.

'Oh, you’re so naive sometimes, Harry, you really think Umbridge will wait for proof?' said Hermione, who seemed determined to be in a towering temper, and she swept off toward the girls’ dormitories, banging the door behind her. 

~ Harry laughed just as Hermione came running up behind them. He stopped laughing at once, in case it annoyed her. 

'Well, I think I’ve done all right in Arithmancy,'she said, and Harry and Ron both sighed with relief.

410. Harry Noticing Hermione's Expressions During an Exam

~ Harry felt very uneasy. He glanced around to see whether Ron or Hermione had noticed what he had, but Professor Marchbanks came walking behind him at that moment, and not wanting to appear as though he was sneaking looks at anyone else’s work, he hastily bent over his star chart and pretended to be adding notes to it while really peering over the top of the parapet toward Hagrid’s cabin.

~ Harry looked to his left. Hermione was gazing transfixed at Hagrid’s cabin.

~ Hermione jumped and returned at once to her star chart; Harry looked down at his own and noticed that he had mislabelled Venus as Mars. He bent to correct it. 

~ Hermione gasped, both hands over her mouth; Harry looked around at Ron and saw that he too was looking scared. None of them had ever seen Hagrid in a real temper before.  

411. Harry Sitting Next To Hermione

~ 'That’s true,' said Harry, sinking into an armchair beside Hermione’s.  

412. Harry Imagining Hermione's Handwriting and Notes While writing his Exam

~ Harry would very much have liked to go back to bed after breakfast, but he had been counting on the morning for a spot of last minute studying, so instead he sat with his head in his hands by the common room window, trying hard not to doze off as he read through some of the notes stacked three-and-a-half feet high that Hermione had lent him.

~ I know this, Harry thought, though his brain felt torpid and slack. He could visualize a heading, in Hermione’s handwriting: The Formation of the International Confederation of Wizards. . . He had read these notes only this morning. . . .

~ It did not seem very informative or detailed, yet he was sure Hermione’s notes on the confederation had gone on for pages and pages. 

He closed his eyes again, trying to see them, trying to remember.....

413. Harry Confiding Important Information In Hermione and Ron Despite Disagreements

~ Ron and Hermione, said a voice in his head.

~ He sprinted back down two floors and was at the top of the marble staircase when he saw them hurrying toward him. 

'Harry!' said Hermione at once, looking very frightened. 'What happened? Are you all right? Are you ill?'

~ 'Come with me,' Harry said quickly. 'Come on, I’ve got to tell you something.'

 He led them along the first-floor corridor, peering through doorways, and at last found an empty classroom into which he dived, closing the door behind Ron and Hermione the moment they were inside and leaning against it, facing them. 

'Voldemort’s got Sirius.'

 'What?

'How d’you — '

'Saw it. Just now. When I fell asleep in the exam.'

 'But — but where? How?' said Hermione, whose face was white. 

'I dunno how,' said Harry. 'But I know exactly where. There’s a room in the Department of Mysteries full of shelves covered in these little glass balls, and they’re at the end of row ninety-seven . . . He’s trying to use Sirius to get whatever it is he wants from in there. . . . He’s torturing him. . . . Says he’ll end by killing him . . .”

~ 'That’s funny,' said Harry in a trembling voice, 'because I definitely remember Ron saying I’d wasted time acting the hero. . . . Is that what you think this is? You reckon I want to act the hero again?'

 'No, no, no!' said Hermione, looking aghast. 'That’s not what I mean at all!'

~ 'I’m trying to say — Voldemort knows you, Harry! He took Ginny down into the Chamber of Secrets to lure you there, it’s the kind of thing he does, he knows you’re the — the sort of person who’d go to Sirius’s aid! What if he’s just trying to get you into the Department of Myst — ?'

 'Hermione, it doesn’t matter if he’s done it to get me there or not — they’ve taken McGonagall to St. Mungo’s, there isn’t anyone left from the Order at Hogwarts who we can tell, and if we don’t go, Sirius is dead!' 

414. Harry Trusting Hermione’s Plan And Recognizing Her Solidarity And Loyalty Even Through His Anger And Impatience 

~ ‘Wait,’ said Hermione suddenly. ‘Wait..Harry, they can help.’ 

Harry and Ron looked at her. 

‘Listen,’ she said urgently, ‘Harry, we need to establish whether Sirius really has left Headquarters.’

‘I’ve told you, I saw-‘

‘Harry, I’m begging you, please!’ Said Hermione desperately. ‘Please let just check that Sirius isn’t at home before we go charging off to London. If we find that he’s not there, then I swear I won’t try to stop you. I’ll come, I’ll d-do whatever it takes to try and save him.’

‘Sirius is being tortured NOW!’ Shouted Harry. ‘We haven’t got time to waste.’

‘But if this is a trick of Voldemort’s, Harry, we’ve got to check, we’ve got to.’ 

‘How?’ Harry demanded. How’re we going to check?’

‘We’ll have to use Umbridge’s fire and see if we can contact him,’ said Hermione, who looked positively terrified at the thought. ‘We’ll draw Umbridge away again, but we’ll need lookouts, and that’s where we can use Ginny and Luna.’

~ ‘Ok,’ said Harry aggressively to Hermione, ‘ok, if you can think of a way of doing this quickly, I’m with you, other I’m going to the Department of Mysteries now.’

~ ‘Ok,’ said Hermione. ‘Well then, Harry, you and I will be under the Invisibility Cloak and we’ll sneak into the office and you can talk to Sirius-‘

‘He’s not there, Hermione!’

‘I mean, you can, can check whether Sirius is at home or not while I keep watch, I don’t think you should be in there alone, Lee’s already proved the window’s a weak spot, sending those Nifflers through it. 

Even through his anger and impatience, Harry recognized Hermione’s offer to accompany him into Umbridge’s office as a sign of her solidarity and loyalty. 

‘I…ok, thanks,’ he muttered.

415. Harry and Hermione Being Side by Side Throughout The Whole Journey and Caring For One Another, Communicating, Passing On Messages without the Need Of Words and Protecting Each Other

~  ‘Right, well, even if we do all of that, I don’t think we’re going to be able to bank on more than five minutes,’ said Hermione, looking relieved that Harry seemed to have accepted the plan. ‘Not with Filch and the wretched Inquisitorial Squad floating around.’

‘Five minutes’ll be enough,’ said Harry. ‘C’mon, let’s go-‘

‘Now?’ Said Hermione, looking shocked. 

‘Of course now!’ Said Harry angrily. ‘What did you think, we’re going to wait until after dinner or something? Hermione, Sirius is being tortured right now!’ 

'I — oh all right,' she said desperately. 'You go and get the Invisibility Cloak and we’ll meet you at the end of Umbridge’s corridor, okay?'

~ 'Got it,' he panted. 'Ready to go, then?'

 'All right,' whispered Hermione as a gang of loud sixth years passed them.

~ 'Get over here,' muttered Hermione, tugging at Harry’s wrist and pulling him back into a recess where the ugly stone head of a medieval wizard stood muttering to itself on a column. 'Are — are you sure you’re okay, Harry? You’re still very pale. . . .'

'I’m fine,' he said shortly, tugging the Invisibility Cloak from out of his bag. In truth, his scar was aching, but not so badly that he thought Voldemort had yet dealt Sirius a fatal blow. It had hurt much worse than this when Voldemort had been punishing Avery. . . . 

 'Here,' he said. He threw the Invisibility Cloak over both of them and they stood listening carefully over the Latin mumblings of the bust in front of them. 

~ When at last the surrounding area was quite clear, Hermione said quietly, 'I think that’s as good as we’re going to get, Harry — come on, let’s do it.'

Together they moved forward, covered by the cloak. 

~ As they passed Ginny, Hermione whispered, 'Good one . . . don’t forget the signal . . .'

 'What’s the signal?' muttered Harry, as they approached Urnbridge’s door. 

'A loud chorus of ‘'Weasley Is Our King’' if they see Umbridge coming,' replied Hermione, as Harry inserted the blade of Sirius’s knife in the crack between door and wall. The lock clicked open, and they entered the office. 

~ Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. 'I thought she might have added extra security after the second Niffler. . . .' 

They pulled off the cloak. Hermione hurried over to the window and stood out of sight, peering down into the grounds with her wand out. Harry dashed over to the fireplace, seized the pot of Floo powder, and threw a pinch into the grate, causing emerald flames to burst into life there.

~ Harry heard a scuffle over by the door and knew that Hermione had just had her wand wrested from her as well. 

~ Now he could see Hermione pinioned against the wall by Millicent Bulstrode.

~ 'The Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue,' said Umbridge quietly. 

'No!' shrieked Hermione. 'Professor Umbridge — it’s illegal' — but Umbridge took no notice.

~ 'The Minister wouldn’t want you to break the law, Professor Umbridge!' cried Hermione.    

~ 'Cruc —'

 'NO!' shouted Hermione in a cracked voice from behind Millicent Bulstrode. 'No — Harry — Harry, we’ll have to tell her!'

 'No way!' yelled Harry, staring at the little of Hermione he could see. 

'We’ll have to, Harry, she’ll force it out of you anyway, what’s . . . what’s the point. . . ?' And Hermione began to cry weakly into the back of Millicent Bulstrode’s robes.

~ But Harry had just noticed something. Though Hermione was sobbing desperately into her hands, there was no trace of a tear. 

~ 'But — but we needed to tell him something important!' wailed Hermione, holding her hands more tightly over her face, not, Harry knew, out of anguish, but to disguise the continued absence of tears.

~ 'And you two can go ahead of me and show me the way,' said Umbridge, pointing at Harry and Hermione with her wand. “Lead on.' 

Harry had no idea what Hermione was planning, or even whether she had a plan. He walked half a pace behind her as they headed down the corridor outside Umbridge’s office, knowing it would look very suspicious if he appeared not to know where they were going. He did not dare attempt to talk to her; Umbridge was walking so closely behind them that he could hear her ragged breathing.   

~ 'Of course . . . very well, then . . . you two stay ahead of me.'

 'Can we have your wand, then, if we’re going first?' Harry asked her.

 ~ As they reached the cool shade of the first trees, Harry tried to catch Hermione’s eye; walking into the forest without wands seemed to him to be more foolhardy than anything they had done so far this evening.

~ Harry’s misgivings increased. Hermione was not taking the path they had followed to visit Grawp, but the one he had followed three years ago to the lair of the monster Aragog. Hermione had not been with him on that occasion; he doubted she had any idea what danger lay at the end of it. 

'Er — are you sure this is the right way?' he asked her pointedly. 

'Oh yes,' she said in a steely voice, crashing through the undergrowth with what he thought was a wholly unnecessary amount of noise.

Behind them, Umbridge tripped over a fallen sapling. Neither of them paused to help her up again; Hermione merely strode on, calling loudly over her shoulder, 'It’s a bit further in!' 

'Hermione, keep your voice down,' Harry muttered, hurrying to catch up with her. 'Anything could be listening in here '

'I want us heard,' she answered quietly, as Umbridge jogged noisily after them. 'You’ll see. . . .'

~ Harry looked sideways at Hermione. She was wearing a triumphant smile. 

~ Harry grabbed Hermione and pulled her to the ground. Facedown on the forest floor he knew a moment of terror as hooves thundered around him, but the centaurs leapt over and around them, bellowing and screaming with rage.

~ Harry knew at once from the look on the face of the gray centaur holding Hermione that she had made a terrible mistake in saying this.

~ 'No!' said Hermione in a horrorstruck squeak. 'Please — I didn’t mean that! I just hoped you’d be able to — to help us —'

 But she seemed to be going from bad to worse. 

'We do not help humans!' snarled the centaur holding Harry, tightening his grip and rearing a little at the same time, so that Harry’s feet left the ground momentarily. 'We are a race apart and proud to be so.We will not permit you to walk from here, boasting that we did your bidding!'

 'We’re not going to say anything like that!' Harry shouted. 'We know you didn’t do anything because we wanted you to —' 

~ Harry’s centaur let him fall to the ground again as his hands flew to his bow and quiver of arrows; Hermione had been dropped too, and Harry hurried toward her as two thick tree trunks parted ominously and the monstrous form of Grawp the giant appeared in the gap.

~ Hermione gripped his arm tightly; the centaurs were quite silent, staring up at the giant, whose huge, round head moved from side to side as he continued to peer amongst them as though looking for something he had dropped.

~ Hermione, however, gave a gasp. 

'Harry!' she whispered. 'I think he’s trying to say "Hagrid"!'

~ Harry could feel Hermione shaking as Grawp opened his mouth wide again and said, in a deep, rumbling voice, 'Hermy.'

'Goodness,' said Hermione, gripping Harry’s arm so tightly it was growing numb and looking as though she was about to faint, 'he — he remembered!'

~ One of the giant’s massive hands swooped down upon them — Hermione let out a real scream, ran a few steps backward and fell over. Wandless, Harry braced himself to punch, kick, bite, or whatever else  it took as the hand flew toward him and knocked a snow-white centaur off his legs.

~ Pebble-sized droplets of Grawp’s blood showered Harry as he pulled Hermione to her feet and the pair of them ran as fast as they could for the shelter of the trees.

~ 'Oh no,' said Hermione, quaking so badly that her knees gave way. 'Oh, that was horrible. And he might kill them all. . . .'

 'I’m not that fussed, to be honest,' said Harry bitterly.  

~ Harry and Hermione moved instinctively together, peering through the trees, as Ron came into sight, with Ginny, Neville, and Luna hurrying along behind him.

~ 'Because in case you hadn’t noticed, you and Hermione are both covered in blood,' she said coolly, 'and we know Hagrid lures thestrals with raw meat, so that’s probably why these two turned up in the first place. . . .'

 Harry felt a soft tug on his robes at that moment and looked down to see the closest thestral licking his sleeve, which was damp with Grawp’s blood. 

'Okay, then,' he said, a bright idea occurring. 'Ron and I will take these two and go ahead, and Hermione can stay here with you three and she’ll attract more thestrals —'

 'I’m not staying behind!' said Hermione furiously.

 'There’s no need,' said Luna, smiling. 'Look, here come more now. . . . You two must really smell. . . . 

~ He heard one of the girls shriek behind him and twisted around dangerously but could see no sign of a falling body. . . . Presumably they had received a shock from the change of position, just as he had. . . .

~ Hermione and Ginny touched down on either side of him. Both slid off their mounts a little more gracefully than Ron, though with similar expressions of relief at being back on firm ground.

~ Hermione scooped them up and handed them mutely to Harry over Ginny’s head; he glanced at the topmost one.

~ Hermione grabbed Harry’s arm as though frightened the floor might move too, but it did not.

~ 'We won’t need to get out till we’ve found Sirius —'

'Don’t go calling for him, though!' Hermione said urgently, but Harry had never needed her advice less; his instinct was to keep as quiet as possible for the time being.

~ Harry joined her at the tank.

~ 'Wait!' said Hermione sharply, as Luna made to close the door of the brain room behind them. 'Flagrate!' She drew with her wand in midair and a fiery X appeared on the door.

~ 'Good thinking,' said Harry. 'Okay, let’s try this one —'

~ 'Who’s there?' said Harry, jumping down onto the bench below. There was no answering voice, but the veil continued to flutter and sway. 

'Careful!' whispered Hermione.

~ 'Let’s go,' called Hermione from halfway up the stone steps. 'This isn’t right, Harry, come on, let’s go. . . .'

 She sounded scared, much more scared than she had in the room where the brains swam, yet Harry thought the archway had a kind of beauty about it, old though it was.

~ 'Harry, let’s go, okay?' said Hermione more forcefully. 

'Okay,' he said, but he did not move.

~ 'What are you saying?' he said very loudly, so that the words echoed all around the surrounding stone benches. 

'Nobody’s talking, Harry!' said Hermione, now moving over to him.  

~ 'There isn’t any "in there," it’s just an archway, there’s no room for anybody to be there — Harry, stop it, come away —'

 She grabbed his arm and pulled, but he resisted. 

'Harry, we are supposed to be here for Sirius!' she said in a high-pitched, strained voice.

'Sirius,' Harry repeated, still gazing, mesmerized, at the continuously swaying veil. 'Yeah . . .'

 And then something slid back into place in his brain; Sirius, captured, bound, and tortured, and he was staring at this archway. . . . 

He took several paces back from the dais and wrenched his eyes from the veil. 

'Let’s go,' he said. 

'That’s what I’ve been trying to — well, come on, then!' said Hermione, and she led the way back around the dais.

~ 'What d’you reckon that arch was?' Harry asked Hermione as they regained the dark circular room. 

'I don’t know, but whatever it was, it was dangerous,' she said firmly, again inscribing a fiery cross upon the door. 

~ 'What’s wrong?' said Hermione. 

'It’s . . . locked . . .' said Harry, throwing his weight at the door, but it did not budge. 

~ 'You said it was row ninety-seven,' whispered Hermione. 

'Yeah,' breathed Harry, looking up at the end of the closest row. Beneath the branch of blue-glowing candles protruding from it glimmered the silver figure fifty-three. 

'We need to go right, I think,' whispered Hermione, squinting to the next row. 'Yes . . . that’s fifty-four. . . .'

 'Keep your wands out,' Harry said softly.

~ 'Harry?' said Hermione tentatively, but he did not want to respond. His mouth was very dry now.

~ 'Harry?' said Hermione again. 

'What?' he snarled. 

 'I . . . I don’t think Sirius is here.'

~ 'Harry, I don’t think you should touch it,' said Hermione sharply, as he stretched out his hand.

 'Why not?' he said. 'It’s something to do with me, isn’t it?'

~ Hermione gave a little moan in his ear.

~ 'You haven’t told me what’s so special about this prophecy I’m supposed to be handing over,' he said, playing for time. He moved his foot slowly sideways, feeling around for someone else’s.

 'Do not play games with us, Potter,' said Malfoy. 

'I’m not playing games,' said Harry, half his mind on the conversation, half on his wandering foot. And then he found someone’s toes and pressed down upon them. A sharp intake of breath behind him told him they were Hermione’s. 

'What?' she whispered.

~ 'What?' whispered Hermione more urgently behind him. 

'Can this be?' said Malfoy, sounding maliciously delighted; some of the Death Eaters were laughing again, and under cover of their  laughter, Harry hissed to Hermione, moving his lips as little as possible, 'Smash shelves —' 

~ '— when I say go —'

~ Behind him he felt rather than heard Hermione passing his message to the others and he sought to keep talking, to distract the Death Eaters.

~ 'RUN!' Harry yelled, and as the shelves swayed precariously and more glass spheres began to pour from above, he seized a handful of Hermione’s robes and dragged her forward, one arm over his head as chunks of shelf and shards of glass thundered down upon them.

~ Something heavy struck him on the side of the face but he merely ducked his head and sprinted onward; a hand caught him by the shoulder; he heard Hermione shout “Stupefy!” and the hand released him at once. 

~ He could hear footsteps right behind him and Hermione’s voice urging Neville on.

~ 'Colloportus!' gasped Hermione and the door sealed itself with an odd squelching noise. 

'Where — where are the others?' gasped Harry. He had thought that Ron, Luna, and Ginny had been ahead of them, that they would be waiting in this room, but there was nobody there.

 'They must have gone the wrong way!' whispered Hermione, terror in her face.

~ 'What do we do?' Hermione asked Harry, trembling from head to foot. 

'Well, we don’t stand here waiting for them to find us, for a start,' said Harry. ;Let’s get away from this door. . . .'

They ran, quietly as they could, past the shimmering bell jar where the tiny egg was hatching and unhatching, toward the exit into the circular hallway at the far end of the room. They were almost there when Harry heard something large and heavy collide with the door Hermione had charmed shut. 

~ As the door flew open, Harry, Hermione, and Neville dived under desks.

~ The second Death Eater, however, had leapt aside to avoid Harry’s spell and now pointed his own wand at Hermione, who had crawled out from under the desk to get a better aim. 

“Avada —” 

Harry launched himself across the floor and grabbed the Death Eater around the knees, causing him to topple and his aim to go awry. 

~ Harry ducked down behind another desk as the man turned — his mask had slipped so that he could not see, he ripped it off with his free hand and shouted, 'STUP —' 

'STUPEFY !' screamed Hermione, who had just caught up with them.

~ 'Accio Wand!' cried Hermione. Harry’s wand flew from a dark corner into her hand and she threw it to him. 

'Thanks,' he said, 'right, let’s get out of —'

~ 'Harry!' Hermione screamed.

~ Harry raised his wand but to his amazement Hermione seized his arm. 

'You can’t hurt a baby!'

There was no time to argue the point.

~ 'WE’VE GOT HIM!' yelled the Death Eater nearest Harry, 'IN AN OFFICE OFF —'

 'Silencio!' cried Hermione, and the man’s voice was extinguished.

~ 'Petrificus Totalus!' shouted Harry, as the second Death Eater raised his wand. His arms and legs snapped together and he fell forward, facedown onto the rug at Harry’s feet, stiff as a board and unable to move at all.

 'Well done, Ha —'

 But the Death Eater Hermione had just struck dumb made a sudden slashing movement with his wand from which flew a streak of what looked like purple flame. It passed right across Hermione’s chest; she gave a tiny “oh!” as though of surprise and then crumpled onto the floor where she lay motionless. 

'HERMIONE!'

 Harry fell to his knees beside her as Neville crawled rapidly toward her from under the desk, his wand held up in front of him.

~ A whine of panic inside his head was preventing him thinking properly. He had one hand on Hermione’s shoulder, which was still warm, yet did not dare look at her properly. Don’t let her be dead, don’t let her be dead, it’s my fault if she’s dead. . . . 

~ Harry seized his chance: 'PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!'

 The spell hit Dolohov before he could block it, and he toppled forward across his comrade, both of them rigid as boards and unable to move an inch.

 'Hermione,' Harry said at once, shaking her as the baby-headed Death Eater blundered out of sight again. 'Hermione, wake up. . . .' 

~ 'I dunno. . . .'

Neville groped for Hermione’s wrist. 'Dat’s a pulse, Harry, I’b sure id is. . . .'

Such a powerful wave of relief swept through Harry that for a moment he felt light-headed. 

'She’s alive?' 

~ 'Neville, we’re not far from the exit,' Harry whispered. 'We’re right next to that circular room. . . . If we can just get you across it and find the right door before any more Death Eaters come, I’ll bet you can get Hermione up the corridor and into the lift. . . . Then you could find someone. . . . Raise the alarm . .'

~ 'I’ve got to find the others,' said Harry. 

'Well, I’b going do find dem wid you,' said Neville firmly. 

'But Hermione —'

 'We’ll dake her wid us,' said Neville firmly. 'I’ll carry her — you’re bedder at fighding dem dan I ab —' 

He stood up and seized one of Hermione’s arms, glared at Harry, who hesitated, then grabbed the other and helped hoist Hermione’s limp form over Neville’s shoulders. 

'Wait,' said Harry, snatching up Hermione’s wand from the floor and shoving it into Nevilles hand, 'you’d better take this. . . .'

~ With a sinking heart Harry saw that Hermione’s fiery crosses had faded from the doors.

416. Harry Remembering Hermione's Words

~ If he, Harry, had not been stupid enough to fall for Voldemort’s trick, if he had not been so convinced that what he had seen in his dream was real, if he had only opened his mind to the possibility that Voldemort was, as Hermione had said, banking on Harry’s love of playing the hero . . 

~ 'But I didn’t,' muttered Harry. He said it aloud to try and ease the dead weight of guilt inside him; a confession must surely relieve some of the terrible pressure squeezing his heart. 'I didn’t practice, I didn’t bother, I could’ve stopped myself having those dreams, Hermione kept telling me to do it, if I had he’d never have been able to show me where to go, and — Sirius wouldn’t — Sirius wouldn’t —' 

~ 'And,' whispered Harry, his hands curled in cold fists on his knees, 'and Hermione kept telling us to be nice to him —'

 'She was quite right, Harry,' said Dumbledore. 'I warned Sirius when we adopted twelve Grimmauld Place as our headquarters that Kreacher must be treated with kindness and respect. I also told him that Kreacher could be dangerous to us. I do not think that Sirius took me very seriously, or that he ever saw Kreacher as a being with feelings as acute as a humans —' 

417. Hermione noticing Harry's Name In the Daily Prophet, and Them Finding Solace In Each Other After Everything

~ 'There you are, Harry, I knew they’d drag you into it somehow,' said Hermione, looking over the top of the paper at him.

~ 'Yes, they’re very complimentary about you now, Harry,” said Hermione, now scanning down the article. ' "A lone voice of truth . . . perceived as unbalanced, yet never wavered in his story . . . forced to bear ridicule and slander . . ." 

'Hmmm,” said Hermione, frowning, “I notice they don’t mention the fact that it was them doing all the ridiculing and slandering, though. . . .” 

~ “‘You-Know-Who’s Last Attempt to Take Over, pages two to four, What the Ministry Should Have Told Us, page five, Why Nobody Listened to Albus Dumbledore, pages six to eight, Exclusive Interview with Harry Potter, page nine . . .’ Well,” said Hermione, folding up the newspaper and throwing it aside, “it’s certainly given them lots to write about. And that interview with Harry isn’t exclusive, it’s the one that was in The Quibbler months ago. . . .”

~ 'Speaking of centaurs,' said Hermione, when she had recovered a little, 'who’s Divination teacher now? Is Firenze staying?'

 'He’s got to,' said Harry, 'the other centaurs won’t take him back, will they?'

~ 'Say hello to him for us!' called Hermione, as Harry proceeded down the ward. 'And ask him what’s happening about . . . about his little friend!'

 Harry gave a wave of his hand to show he had heard and understood as he left the dormitory.   

~ Hermione showed signs of wanting to talk about Sirius, but Ron tended to make hushing noises every time she mentioned his name.

~ 'We’ll see you soon, mate,' said Ron anxiously, shaking Harry’s hand. 

'Really soon, Harry,' said Hermione earnestly. 'We promise.'

Harry nodded. He somehow could not find words to tell them what it meant to him, to see them all ranged there, on his side. 

                            ******Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince*********

418. Harry Remembering Hermione's Words

~ '— you can’t Apparate anywhere inside the buildings or grounds,' said Harry quickly. 'Hermione Granger told me.'

419. Harry Defending And Praising Hermione In Front Of Slughorn Even When The Conversation Was About Muggle-borns and Not Hermione In Particular

~ 'Your mother was Muggle-born, of course. Couldn’t believe it when I found out. Thought she must have been pure-blood, she was so good.'

 'One of my best friends is Muggle-born,' said Harry, 'and she’s the best in our year.'

 'Funny how that sometimes happens, isn’t it?' said Slughorn. 

'Not really,' said Harry coldly.

~ Harry wasn’t sure whether he liked Slughorn or not. He supposed he had been pleasant in his way, but he had also seemed vain and, whatever he said to the contrary, much too surprised that a Muggle-born should make a good witch. 

420. Harry Not Wanting To Worry Hermione and Ron, and Dumbledore Noticing It

~ 'Now, I think I am correct in saying that you have not told anybody that you know what the prophecy said?'

 'No,' said Harry. 

'A wise decision, on the whole,' said Dumbledore. 'Although I think you ought to relax it in favor of your friends, Mr. Ronald Weasley and Miss Hermione Granger. Yes,' he continued, when Harry looked startled, 'I think they ought to know. You do them a disservice by not confiding something this important to them.'

 'I didn’t want —'

 '— to worry or frighten them?' said Dumbledore, surveying Harry over the top of his half-moon spectacles. 'Or perhaps, to confess that you yourself are worried and frightened? You need your friends, Harry. As you so rightly said, Sirius would not have wanted you to shut yourself away.'

421. Harry Being Happy When He Knew That Hermione Was There

~ As Harry sat down, a furry ginger cat with a squashed face jumped onto his knees and settled there, purring. 

'So Hermione’s here?' he asked happily as he tickled Crookshanks behind the ears.

422. Hermione Telling Ron To Not Hit Harry

~ ‘Ron, don’t hit him!’ Said a girl’s voice reproachfully.

421. Harry Noticing Hermione's Expressions and Them Making Conversation Despite Everything

~ ‘Same as usual,’ said Harry, as Hermione perched herself on the edge of his bed. ‘They didn’t talk to me much, but I like it better that way. How’re you, Hermione?’ 

‘Oh, I’m fine,’ said Hermione, who was scrutinising Harry as though he was sickening for something. 

He thought he knew what was behind this and, as he had no wish to discuss Sirius’s death or any other miserable subject at the moment, he said, ‘What’s the time? Have I missed breakfast?’ 

~ Oh,’ said Ron, looking disappointed. ‘We thought –’ 

Hermione flashed a warning look at Ron and Ron changed tack at top speed. 

‘– we thought it’d be something like that.’ 

‘You did?’ said Harry, amused.

~ And she’s more intelligent, she’s an Auror!’ said Hermione from the corner. ‘Fleur’s not stupid, she was good enough to enter the Triwizard Tournament,’ said Harry. ‘Not you as well!’ said Hermione bitterly.

~ ‘That’s not the point,’ said Hermione. ‘She thinks it was her fault he died!’ 

‘How does she work that one out?’ asked Harry, in spite of himself. 

‘Well, she was fighting Bellatrix Lestrange, wasn’t she? I think she feels that if only she had finished her off, Bellatrix couldn’t have killed Sirius.’ 

~ ‘It’s survivor’s guilt,’ said Hermione. ‘I know Lupin’s tried to talk her round, but she’s still really down. She’s actually having trouble with her Metamorphosing!’ 

‘With her –?’ 

‘She can’t change her appearance like she used to,’ explained Hermione. ‘I think her powers must have been affected by shock, or something.’ 

‘I didn’t know that could happen,’ said Harry. 

‘Nor did I,’ said Hermione, ‘but I suppose if you’re really depressed ...’

~ ... and evasive enchantments generally,’ concluded Hermione. ‘Well, at least you know one lesson you’ll be having this year, that’s one more than Ron and me. I wonder when our O.W.L. results will come?’

~ ‘Hang on,’ said Harry, as another part of the previous night’s conversation came back to him. ‘I think Dumbledore said our O.W.L. results would be arriving today!’ 

‘Today?’ shrieked Hermione. ‘Today? But why didn’t you – oh my God – you should have said –’

 She leapt to her feet. 

‘I’m going to see whether any owls have come ...’ 

But when Harry arrived downstairs ten minutes later, fully dressed and carrying his empty breakfast tray, it was to find Hermione sitting at the kitchen table in great agitation, while Mrs Weasley tried to lessen her resemblance to half a panda.

~ Don’t, don’t, don’t!’ said Hermione, flapping her hands hysterically. ‘I know I’ve failed everything!’ 

‘What happens if we fail?’ Harry asked the room at large, but it was again Hermione who answered. ‘We discuss our options with our Head of House, I asked Professor McGonagall at the end of last term.’ 

Harry’s stomach squirmed. He wished he had eaten less breakfast. 

~ And there are three of them,’ said Harry, hastening to her other side. 

‘One for each of us,’ said Hermione in a terrified whisper. ‘Oh no ... oh no ... oh no ...’ 

She gripped both Harry and Ron tightly around the elbows.

~ To his left, Ron was trying to detach his own results; to his right, Hermione’s hands were shaking so much she was making her whole owl tremble.

~ He looked round. Hermione had her back to him and her head bent, but Ron was looking delighted. 

~ He looked down at her, half-amused, half-exasperated. ‘You’re actually disappointed, aren’t you?’ 

Hermione shook her head, but Harry laughed.

~ Bill, who would be staying at home with Fleur (much to Hermione and Ginny’s pleasure), passed a full money-bag across the table to Harry.

~ You know,’ said Hermione, looking up at Harry, ‘that really is extraordinary magic!’

422. Harry confiding Important Information in Ron and Hermione while being grateful For Them, and Answering Honestly When Hermione Asks If How He Feels While she is Concerned For Him 

~ Hermione was peering into Fred and George’s boxes, though every now and then she cast sideways looks at Harry.

~ ‘He’s going to be giving me private lessons this year,’ said Harry conversationally. 

Ron choked on his bit of toast and Hermione gasped. 

~ Harry saw him and Hermione exchange looks. Harry laid down his knife and fork, his heart beating rather fast considering that all he was doing was sitting in bed.

~ Neither Ron nor Hermione spoke. Harry had the impression that both had frozen.

~ He continued, still speaking to his fork, ‘You know, the one they were trying to steal at the Ministry.’

 ‘Nobody knows what it said, though,’ said Hermione quickly. ‘It got smashed.’ 

‘Although the Prophet says –’ began Ron, but Hermione said, ‘Shh!’ 

‘The Prophet’s got it right,’ said Harry, looking up at them both with a great effort: Hermione seemed frightened and Ron amazed.

~ The three of them gazed at each other in silence for a moment. 

~ ~ ‘Oh, well, never mind that now!’ said Hermione hastily. ‘Harry, oh, Harry ...’ 

She sat down on the edge of his bed again. 

‘We wondered, after we got back from the Ministry ... obviously, we didn’t want to say anything to you, but from what Lucius Malfoy said about the prophecy, how it was about you and Voldemort, well, we thought it might be something like this ... oh, Harry ...’ She stared at him, then whispered, ‘Are you scared?’ 

‘Not as much as I was,’ said Harry. ‘When I first heard it, I was ... but now, it seems as though I always knew I’d have to face him in the end ...’

~ ‘That’s true,’ said Hermione. ‘I wonder what he’ll teach you, Harry? Really advanced defensive magic, probably ... powerful counter-curses ... anti-jinxes ...’ 

Harry did not really listen. A warmth was spreading through him that had nothing to do with the sunlight; a tight obstruction in his chest seemed to be dissolving. He knew that Ron and Hermione were more shocked than they were letting on, but the mere fact that they were still there on either side of him, speaking bracing words of comfort, not shrinking from him as though he were contaminated or dangerous, was worth more than he could ever tell them.

423. Harry Being Concerned When Hermione Disappears Behind a Ball of Smoke

~ Then there was a loud bang and Hermione vanished behind a puff of black smoke. 

‘Hermione!’ shouted Harry and Ron; the breakfast tray slid to the floor with a crash.

424. Harry and Hermione Playing as a Team In Quidditch

~ He spent most of his days playing two-a-side Quidditch in the Weasleys’ orchard (he and Hermione against Ron and Ginny; Hermione was dreadful and Ginny good, so they were reasonably well-matched) and his evenings eating triple helpings of everything Mrs Weasley put in front of him.

425. Hermione Being Happy For Harry when He Becomes Quidditch Captain

~ Harry’s included a surprise: he had been made Quidditch Captain. 

‘That gives you equal status with prefects!’ cried Hermione happily. ‘You can use our special bathroom now, and everything!’

426. Harry Taking Out His Wand When Malfoy calls Hermione A Mudblood and Hermione trying To Keep Him Safe

~ ‘And I don’t want wands drawn in my shop, either!’ she added hastily, for a glance towards the door had shown her Harry and Ron both standing there with their wands out and pointing at Malfoy. 

Hermione, who was standing slightly behind them, whispered, ‘No, don’t, honestly, it’s not worth it ...’

~ ‘Put those away,’ she said coldly to Harry and Ron. ‘If you attack my son again, I shall ensure that it is the last thing you ever do.’ 

‘Really?’ said Harry, taking a step forwards and gazing into the smoothly arrogant face that, for all its pallor, still resembled her sister’s.

~ But Harry did not lower his wand. 

~ Harry raised his wand higher. ‘Harry, no!’ moaned Hermione, grabbing his arm and attempting to push it down by his side. ‘Think ... you mustn’t ... you’ll be in such trouble ...’

427. Harry and Hermione Exchanging Looks With Each Other and Ron When Hagrid Is unconcerned about the Malfoys

~ Just about,’ said Harry. ‘Did you see the Malfoys?’ 

‘Yeah,’ said Hagrid, unconcerned. ‘Bu’ they wouldn’ dare make trouble in the middle o’ Diagon Alley, Harry, don’ worry abou’ them.’ 

Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged looks, but before they could disabuse Hagrid of this comfortable notion Mr and Mrs Weasley and Ginny appeared, all clutching heavy packages of books. ‘Everyone all right?’ said Mrs Weasley. 

428. Harry Sneaking Off to Malfoy With Hermione and Ron, while Hermione Was Close To Harry and They Had similar Trails Of Thought

~ ‘Wonder where his mummy is?’ said Harry, frowning. 

~ ‘Why, though?’ said Hermione. 

Harry said nothing; he was thinking too hard

~ Get under here, quick,’ said Harry, pulling his Invisibility Cloak out of his bag. 

‘Oh – I don’t know, Harry,’ said Hermione, looking uncertainly towards Mrs Weasley. 

She hesitated for a second longer, then ducked under the Cloak with Harry and Ron.

~ ‘He was going in that direction,’ murmured Harry as quietly as possible, so that the humming Hagrid would not hear them. ‘C’mon.’ 

They scurried along, peering left and right, through shop windows and doors, until Hermione pointed ahead. 

 ‘That’s him, isn’t it?’ she whispered. ‘Turning left?’

~ ‘Quick, or we’ll lose him,’ said Harry, speeding up. 

‘Our feet’ll be seen!’ said Hermione anxiously, as the Cloak flapped a little around their ankles; it was much more difficult hiding all three of them under it nowadays. 

‘It doesn’t matter,’ said Harry impatiently, ‘just hurry!’

~ Hermione gave his arm a hard pinch. ‘

Ouch!’ 

‘Shh! Look! He’s in there!’ she breathed in Harry’s ear.

~ ‘You two stay here,’ whispered Hermione. 

‘What are you –?’ 

But Hermione had already ducked out from under the Cloak. She checked her hair in the reflection in the glass, then marched into the shop, setting the bell tinkling again.

~ Harry had the nasty feeling he knew exactly what Hermione was up to. Apparently Hermione felt she had been rumbled, too, because she suddenly threw caution to the winds.

~ It was a pretty lame story in Harry’s opinion, and apparently Borgin thought so too.

429. Harry Discussing Malfoy With Hermione and Ron while she Catches His Pauses and Expressions

~ To his slight annoyance, however, neither Ron nor Hermione seemed quite as curious about Malfoy’s activities as he was; or at least, they seemed to get bored of discussing it after a few days. 

‘Yes, I’ve already agreed it was fishy, Harry,’ said Hermione a little impatiently. She was sitting on the windowsill in Fred and George’s room with her feet up on one of the cardboard boxes and had only grudgingly looked up from her new copy of Advanced Rune Translation. ‘But haven’t we agreed there could be a lot of explanations?’

~ Harry broke off, his eyes fixed on the window behind Hermione, his mouth open. A startling thought had just occurred to him. 

‘Harry?’ said Hermione in an anxious voice. ‘What’s wrong?’

~ It seems very unlikely, Harry,’ said Hermione, in a repressive sort of voice. ‘What makes you think –?’

~ ‘I think he just wanted to get out of there, Harry,’ said Hermione. 

‘He showed Borgin something we couldn’t see,’ Harry pressed on stubbornly. ‘Something that seriously scared Borgin. It was the Mark, I know it – he was showing Borgin who he was dealing with, you saw how seriously Borgin took him!’

~ ‘Maybe he preferred the Inquisitorial Squad,’ said Hermione. ‘Maybe being a prefect seems a bit tame after that.’ 

‘I don’t think so,’ said Harry, ‘I think he’s –’

430. Hermione looking Apologetic When She Can't sit with Harry

~ Without waiting to consult his grim-faced Auror, Harry motioned to Ron and Hermione to follow him up the platform, looking for an empty compartment. 

‘We can’t, Harry,’ said Hermione, looking apologetic. ‘Ron and I’ve got to go to the prefect carriage first and then patrol the corridors for a bit.’

 ‘Oh yeah, I forgot,’ said Harry.

431. Harry smirking when He Sees Marietta's Pimples caused By Hermione's Jinx 

~  As Harry passed the window he saw her deep in determined conversation with her friend Marietta, who was wearing a very thick layer of makeup that did not entirely obscure the odd formation of pimples still etched across her face. Smirking slightly, Harry pushed on.

432. Harry thinking about How Hermione and Ron Would React To Malfoy's Words

~ ‘I might have – er – moved on to bigger and better things.’ 

Crouched in the luggage rack under his Cloak, Harry’s heart began to race. What would Ron and Hermione say about this?

433. Harry Thinking about Hermione and Ron When He lands Himself in an Unpleasant Situation

~ Ron and Hermione would think that he had left the train without them.

434. Harry Reflecting On What Hermione Told Him Before While Talking To Tonks

~ He reflected uncomfortably that Hermione would have suggested he say something consoling about Sirius to her, that it hadn’t been her fault at all, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

435. Harry Using a spell confidently That Hermione Used First In Their First Year

~ 'Alohomora!’ he said confidently, pointing his wand at the padlock, but nothing happened.

436. Hermione Being worried For Harry, fixing Harry's nose and The Both Of Them Discussing Important Things

~ . It was all a shimmering blur to Harry, however, who walked so fast that he was passing the Hufflepuff table before people really started to stare, and by the time they were standing up to get a good look at him, he had spotted Ron and Hermione, sped along the benches towards them and forced his way in between them. 

~ 'Why, what’s wrong with it?’ said Harry, grabbing a spoon and squinting at his distorted reflection.

 ‘You’re covered in blood!’ said Hermione. ‘Come here –’ 

She raised her wand, said, ‘Tergeo!’ and siphoned off the dried blood. 

‘Thanks,’ said Harry, feeling his now clean face. ‘How’s my nose looking?’ 

‘Normal,’ said Hermione anxiously. ‘Why shouldn’t it? Harry, what happened, we’ve been terrified!’ 

‘I’ll tell you later,’ said Harry curtly. He was very conscious that Ginny, Neville, Dean and Seamus were listening in; even Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost, had come floating along the bench to eavesdrop. 

‘But –’ said Hermione. 

‘Not now, Hermione,’ said Harry, in a darkly significant voice.

~ ‘You missed the Sorting, anyway,’ said Hermione, as Ron dived for a large chocolate gateau.  

 ‘Hat say anything interesting?’ asked Harry, taking a piece of treacle tart. 

‘More of the same, really ... advising us all to unite in the face of our enemies, you know.’ 

‘Dumbledore mentioned Voldemort at all?’ 

‘Not yet, but he always saves his proper speech for after the feast, doesn’t he? It can’t be long now.’ 

‘Snape said Hagrid was late for the feast –’

~ ‘Hagrid was only a few minutes late,’ said Hermione. ‘Look, he’s waving at you, Harry.’

~ ‘So what did Professor Slughorn want?’ Hermione asked. 

‘To know what really happened at the Ministry,’ said Harry. 

‘Him and everyone else here,’ sniffed Hermione. ‘People were interrogating us about it on the train, weren’t they, Ron?’

~ ‘What happened to his hand?’ gasped Hermione.

~ ‘His hand was like that when I saw him over the summer,’ Harry whispered to Hermione. ‘I thought he’d have cured it by now, though ... or Madam Pomfrey would’ve done.’ 

‘It looks as if it’s died,’ said Hermione, with a nauseated expression. ‘But there are some injuries you can’t cure ... old curses ... and there are poisons without antidotes ...’

~ ‘Potions?’ said Ron and Hermione together, turning to stare at Harry. ‘But you said –’

~ ‘But, Harry, you said that Slughorn was going to be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts!’ said Hermione. 

‘I thought he was!’ said Harry, racking his brains to remember when Dumbledore had told him this, but now that he came to think of it, he was unable to recall Dumbledore ever telling him what Slughorn would be teaching.

437. Hermione Being Shocked and caring When Harry says Something Rather Unlike Him

~ That job’s jinxed. No one’s lasted more than a year ... Quirrell actually died doing it. Personally, I’m going to keep my fingers crossed for another death ...’ 

‘Harry!’ said Hermione, shocked and reproachful.

438. Harry Being Aware Of Which Subjects Hermione Was Taking 

~ And Hermione,’ said Ron, ‘she’s not, is she?’ 

Harry shook his head again.

439. Harry Immediately Telling Hermione His Theory For Support

~ Hoping for some support for his theory, Harry lost no time in telling Hermione what he had overheard Malfoy saying on the Hogwarts Express.

~ ‘Well,’ she said uncertainly, ‘I don’t know ... it would be like Malfoy to make himself seem more important than he is ... but that’s a big lie to tell ...’ 

‘Exactly,’ said Harry, but he could not press the point, because so many people were trying to listen in to his conversation, not to mention staring at him and whispering behind their hands.

439.  Harry and Hermione Not needing Words Because They Were Thinking The Same Thing

~ . While they tucked into porridge and eggs and bacon, Harry and Ron told Hermione about their embarrassing conversation with Hagrid the previous evening.

~ Neither Harry nor Hermione answered; there was no need. They knew perfectly well that nobody in their year would want to continue Care of Magical Creatures.

440. Harry Thinking that Hermione's Feat Should have Earned Her Points From any Reasonable Teacher 

~ Typically, ten minutes into the lesson Hermione managed to repel Neville’s muttered Jelly-Legs Jinx without uttering a single word, a feat that would surely have earned her twenty points for Gryffindor from any reasonable teacher, thought Harry bitterly, but which Snape ignored.

441. Harry Being Touched When Hermione Remembers His words From a Year ago

~ Several people gasped, including Hermione.

~ ‘You really shouldn’t have said it,’ said Hermione, frowning at Ron. ‘What made you?’

 ‘He tried to jinx me, in case you didn’t notice!’ fumed Harry. ‘I had enough of that during those Occlumency lessons! Why doesn’t he use another guinea pig for a change? What’s Dumbledore playing at, anyway, letting him teach Defence? Did you hear him talking about the Dark Arts? He loves them! All that unfixed, indestructible stuff –’ 

‘Well,’ said Hermione, ‘I thought he sounded a bit like you.’ 

‘Like me?’ 

‘Yes, when you were telling us what it’s like to face Voldemort. You said it wasn’t just memorising a bunch of spells, you said it was just you and your brains and your guts – well, wasn’t that what Snape was saying? That it really comes down to being brave and quick-thinking?’ 

Harry was so disarmed that she had thought his words as well worth memorising as The Standard Book of Spells that he did not argue.

442. Harry Discussing what Dumbledore Might Teach Him With Hermione and Ron

~ He, Ron and Hermione spent the whole of break speculating on what Dumbledore would teach Harry.

~ Hermione said such things were illegal, and thought it much more likely that Dumbledore wanted to teach Harry advanced defensive magic.

443. Harry Liking Ernie Macmillan Despite His Pompous Manner and He accused Harry In His Second Year, and it May Be Because He stopped accusing Harry when Hermione Got Petrified Because He Would Never Attack His Best Friend

~ Four Ravenclaws were there, and one Hufflepuff, Ernie Macmillan, whom Harry liked despite his rather pompous manner.

444. Harry Remembering That Hermione Made Polyjuice Potion In Their Second Year and Not Resenting Her For Answering a Question

~ Hermione’s hand was fastest once more. 

‘It’s Polyjuice Potion, sir,’ she said. 

Harry, too, had recognised the slow-bubbling, mudlike substance in the second cauldron, but did not resent Hermione getting the credit for answering the question; she, after all, was the one who had succeeded in making it, back in their second year.

445. Hermione Having a Radiant Expression When She Gets To Know That Harry Praised Her To Slughorn and Annoying Ron Through Her Reaction

~ No, I don’t think so, sir. I’m Muggle-born, you see.’ 

Harry saw Malfoy lean close to Nott and whisper something; both of them sniggered, but Slughorn showed no dismay; on the contrary, he beamed and looked from Hermione to Harry, who was sitting next to her. 

‘Oho! “One of my best friends is Muggle-born and she’s the best in our year!” I’m assuming this is the very friend of whom you spoke, Harry?’ 

‘Yes, sir,’ said Harry. 

‘Well, well, take twenty well-earned points for Gryffindor, Miss Granger,’ said Slughorn genially.

 Malfoy looked rather as he had done the time Hermione had punched him in the face. Hermione turned to Harry with a radiant expression and whispered, ‘Did you really tell him I’m the best in the year? Oh, Harry!’ 

‘Well, what’s so impressive about that?’ whispered Ron, who for some reason looked annoyed. ‘You are the best in the year – I’d’ve told him so if he’d asked me!’ Hermione smiled but made a ‘shush’ing gesture, so that they could hear what Slughorn was saying. Ron looked slightly disgruntled. 

446. Harry Noticing Hermione's Expressions and Feeling Guilty When he Gets Felix Felicis 

~ Hermione, of course, seemed to have progressed furthest. Her potion already resembled the ‘smooth, blackcurrant-coloured liquid’ mentioned as the ideal halfway stage.

~ Harry turned to Hermione. ‘Can I borrow your silver knife?’ She nodded impatiently, not taking her eyes off her potion, which was still deep purple, though according to the book ought to be turning a light shade of lilac by now.

~ How are you doing that?’ demanded Hermione, who was red-faced and whose hair was growing bushier and bushier in the fumes from her cauldron; her potion was still resolutely purple. 

‘Add a clockwise stir –’ 

‘No, no, the book says counter-clockwise!’ she snapped. Harry shrugged and continued what he was doing.

~ Harry slipped the tiny bottle of golden liquid into his inner pocket, feeling an odd combination of delight at the furious looks on the Slytherins’ faces, and guilt at the disappointed expression on Hermione’s.

447. Harry and Hermione Bickering About Harry's Book and Hermione Trying To Keep Him Safe Because The Book Might Be Dangerous

~ Hermione’s face became stonier with every word he uttered. 

‘I s’pose you think I cheated?’ he finished, aggravated by her expression. 

‘Well, it wasn’t exactly your own work, was it?’ she said stiffly. 

~ ‘Ginny’s got a point,’ said Hermione, perking up at once. ‘We ought to check that there’s nothing odd about it. I mean, all these funny instructions, who knows?’ 

‘Hey!’ said Harry indignantly, as she pulled his copy of Advanced Potion-Making out of his bag and raised her wand. 

‘Specialis revelio!’ she said, rapping it smartly on the front cover. Nothing whatsoever happened. The book simply lay there, looking old and dirty and dog-eared. ‘

Finished?’ said Harry irritably. ‘Or d’you want to wait and see if it does a few back flips?’ 

‘It seems all right,’ said Hermione, still staring at the book suspiciously. ‘I mean, it really does seem to be ... just a textbook.’ 

‘Good. Then I’ll have it back,’ said Harry, snatching it off the table, but it slipped from his hand and landed open on the floor. 

448. Harry Giving Hermione a Sassy Reply To Her Remark

~ Neither Ron nor Hermione was delighted by this.

~ Hermione, meanwhile, was resolutely ploughing on with what she called the ‘official’ instructions, but becoming increasingly bad-tempered as they yielded poorer results than the Prince’s. 

~ ‘Or herself,’ said Hermione irritably, overhearing Harry pointing some of these out to Ron in the common room on Saturday evening. ‘It might have been a girl. I think the handwriting looks more like a girl’s than a boy’s.’ 

‘The Half-Blood Prince, he was called,’ Harry said. ‘How many girls have been princes?’ 

Hermione seemed to have no answer to this. She merely scowled and twitched her essay on ‘The Principles of Re-Materialisation’ away from Ron, who was trying to read it upside-down.

449. Hermione Forgetting Her anger with Harry and showing Excitement and Concern When He Needed To Go To Dumbledore's Office

~ ‘It’s five to eight, I’d better go, I’ll be late for Dumbledore.’ 

‘Ooooh!’ gasped Hermione, looking up at once. ‘Good luck! We’ll wait up, we want to hear what he teaches you!’

450. Harry Wanting To Confide In Important Information With Hermione and Ron

~ He turned to go, then another question occurred to him, and he turned back again.

 ‘Sir, am I allowed to tell Ron and Hermione everything you’ve told me?’ 

 Dumbledore considered him for a moment, then said, ‘Yes, I think Mr Weasley and Miss Granger have proved themselves trustworthy. But, Harry, I am going to ask you to ask them not to repeat any of this to anybody else. It would not be a good idea if word got around how much I know, or suspect, about Lord Voldemort’s secrets.’ 

‘No, sir, I’ll make sure it’s just Ron and Hermione. Goodnight.’ 

451. Harry Noticing The Little Changes In Hermione In Class

~ Harry barely understood half of what Professor McGonagall said to them these days; even Hermione had had to ask her to repeat instructions once or twice.

452. Harry Reassuring Hermione When She Was upset about Not talking To Hagrid

~ ‘I hate not talking to Hagrid,’ said Hermione, looking upset. 

‘We’ll go down after Quidditch,’ Harry assured her. He, too, was missing Hagrid, although like Ron he thought that they were better off without Grawp in their lives. ‘But trials might take all morning, the number of people who have applied.’

453. Hermione Praising Harry and Calling Him Fanciable While He Found The Room Hot All of a Sudden, While Ron was Jealous

~ He felt slightly nervous at confronting the first hurdle of his captaincy. ‘I dunno why the team’s this popular all of a sudden.’ 

‘Oh, come on, Harry,’ said Hermione, suddenly impatient. ‘It’s not Quidditch that’s popular, it’s you! You’ve never been more interesting and, frankly, you’ve never been more fanciable.’ 

Ron gagged on a large piece of kipper. Hermione spared him one look of disdain before turning back to Harry. 

‘Everyone knows you’ve been telling the truth now, don’t they? The whole wizarding world has had to admit that you were right about Voldemort being back and that you really have fought him twice in the last two years and escaped both times. And now they’re calling you the “Chosen One” – well, come on, can’t you see why people are fascinated by you?’ 

Harry was finding the Great Hall very hot all of a sudden, even though the ceiling still looked cold and rainy. 

'And you’ve been through all that persecution from the Ministry when they were trying to make out you were unstable and a liar. You can still see the marks where that evil woman made you write with your own blood, but you stuck to your story anyway …’ 

‘You can still see where those brains got hold of me in the Ministry, look,’ said Ron, shaking back his sleeves. 

‘And it doesn’t hurt that you’ve grown about a foot over the summer, either,’ Hermione finished, ignoring Ron.

‘I’m tall,’ said Ron inconsequentially. 

454. Harry Being Sassy with Hermione About His Potion's Book, and Hermione Forgetting Her anger When she Gets Her Newspaper

~ ‘Ha!’ said Harry, unwrapping the parcel to reveal a new copy of Advanced Potion-Making, fresh from Flourish and Blotts. 

‘Oh good,’ said Hermione, delighted. ‘Now you can give that graffitied copy back.’ 

‘Are you mad?’ said Harry. ‘I’m keeping it! Look, I’ve thought it out –’ 

He pulled the old copy of Advanced Potion-Making out of his bag and tapped the cover with his wand, muttering, ‘Diffindo!’ The cover fell off. He did the same thing with the brand new book (Hermione looked scandalised). He then swapped the covers, tapped each and said, ‘Reparo!’ 

There sat the Prince’s copy, disguised as a new book, and there sat the fresh copy from Flourish and Blotts, looking thoroughly second-hand. 

‘I’ll give Slughorn back the new one. He can’t complain, it cost nine Galleons.’ 

Hermione pressed her lips together, looking angry and disapproving, but was distracted by a third owl landing in front of her carrying that day’s copy of the Daily Prophet.

455. Harry and Hermione Discussing the Newspaper Together and Thinking The Same Thing

~ ‘No, but there have been more Dementor attacks,’ said Hermione. ‘And an arrest.’ 

‘Excellent, who?’ said Harry, thinking of Bellatrix Lestrange. 

‘Stan Shunpike,’ said Hermione. ‘

What?’ said Harry, startled. 

‘“Stanley Shunpike, conductor on the popular wizarding conveyance the Knight Bus, has been arrested on suspicion of Death Eater activity. Mr Shunpike, 21, was taken into custody late last night after a raid on his Clapham home ...”’ 

‘Stan Shunpike, a Death Eater?’ said Harry, remembering the spotty youth he had first met three years before. ‘No way!’

~ ‘Yeah, that’s him,’ said Harry. ‘I dunno what they’re playing at, taking Stan seriously.’ 

‘They probably want to look as though they’re doing something,’ said Hermione, frowning. ‘People are terrified – you know the Patil twins’ parents want them to go home? And Eloise Midgeon has already been withdrawn. Her father picked her up last night.’

~ ‘I don’t think we’ve got him all the time,’ said Hermione very quietly, glancing towards the staff table over the top of the Prophet. ‘Haven’t you noticed? His seat’s been empty as often as Hagrid’s this past week.’ 

Harry and Ron looked up at the staff table. The Headmaster’s chair was indeed empty. Now Harry came to think of it, he had not seen Dumbledore since their private lesson a week ago. 

‘I think he’s left the school to do something with the Order,’ said Hermione in a low voice. ‘I mean ... it’s all looking serious, isn’t it?’

Harry and Ron did not answer, but Harry knew that they were all thinking the same thing. There had been a horrible incident the day before, when Hannah Abbott had been taken out of Herbology to be told her mother had been found dead. They had not seen Hannah since.

456. Harry Remembering Things Hermione Tells Him

~ Remembering what Hermione had said about the Patil twins’ parents wanting them to leave Hogwarts, Harry was unsurprised to see that the two best friends were whispering together, looking distressed.

457. Harry expecting To See Hermione

~ ‘Good luck!’ cried a voice from the stands. Harry looked around, expecting to see Hermione, but it was Lavender Brown. He would have quite liked to have hidden his face in his hands, as she did a moment later, but thought that as the Captain he ought to show slightly more grit, and so turned to watch Ron do his trial.

~ You did brilliantly, Ron!’ This time it really was Hermione running towards them from the stands; Harry saw Lavender walking off the pitch, arm in arm with Parvati, a rather grumpy expression on her face.  

458. Harry Noticing Hermione's Expressions and Later On Having a whispered Conversation About it With Her Full Of Blushing and Smirking While Ron was Clueless

~ To Harry’s surprise, Hermione turned a very deep shade of pink at these words. Ron noticed nothing; he was too busy describing each of his other penalties in loving detail.

~ Ron merely guffawed gloatingly and strode off into the Hall after him, but Harry caught Hermione’s arm and held her back. 

‘What?’ said Hermione defensively. 

‘If you ask me,’ said Harry quietly, ‘McLaggen looks like he was Confunded. And he was standing right in front of where you were sitting.’ 

Hermione blushed. 

‘Oh, all right then, I did it,’ she whispered. ‘But you should have heard the way he was talking about Ron and Ginny! Anyway, he’s got a nasty temper, you saw how he reacted when he didn’t get in – you wouldn’t have wanted someone like that on the team.’ 

‘No,’ said Harry. ‘No, I suppose that’s true. But wasn’t that dishonest, Hermione? I mean, you’re a prefect, aren’t you?’ 

‘Oh, be quiet,’ she snapped, as he smirked. 

‘What are you two doing?’ demanded Ron, reappearing in the doorway to the Great Hall and looking suspicious. 

‘Nothing,’ said Harry and Hermione together, and they hurried after Ron.

459. Ron Reminding Hermione Of When She Rode Buckbeak With Harry

~ ‘Oh dear,’ said Hermione nervously. ‘He’s still a bit scary, isn’t he?’

 ‘Come off it, you’ve ridden him, haven’t you?’ said Ron.

460. Harry and Hermione Just Interacting and Having Similar Trails Of Thought In Hagrid's Cabin

~ Oh dear!’ said Hermione, looking stricken. 

‘Don’t worry about it,’ said Harry grimly.

~ ‘If you don’t open the door, we’ll blast it open!’ Harry said, pulling out his wand. 

‘Harry!’ said Hermione, sounding shocked. ‘You can’t possibly –’ 

‘Yeah, I can!’ said Harry. ‘Stand back –’

~ Hermione scurried in after Harry, looking rather frightened.

~ ‘No,’ said Harry at once. ‘We wanted to see you.’ 

‘We’ve missed you!’ said Hermione tremulously.

461. Harry Knowing How Hermione Felt Without her Saying anything

~ Hermione patted Hagrid’s shoulder, looking at a complete loss for anything to say. Harry knew how she felt. He had known Hagrid to present a vicious baby dragon with a teddy bear, seen him croon over giant scorpions with suckers and stings, attempt to reason with his brutal giant of a halfbrother, but this was perhaps the most incomprehensible of all his monster fancies: the gigantic talking spider, Aragog, that dwelled deep in the Forbidden Forest and which he and Ron had only narrowly escaped four years previously.

‘Is there – is there anything we can do?’ Hermione asked, ignoring Ron’s frantic grimaces and head-shakings. 

462. Hermione Wanting Harry To Come To The Party With Her While Harry Knew Immediately What She was thinking About Without Her Saying anything

~ ‘Oh, I wish you could come, I don’t want to go on my own!’ said Hermione anxiously; Harry knew that she was thinking about McLaggen.

463. Harry Discussing His Theories With Hermione and Accepting That She was Being Reasonable Despite Being Stubborn Regarding Malfoy, While Ron was Jealous about Them Both Being Invited To a Party

~ Hermione reached out for a copy of the Evening Prophet, which somebody had left abandoned on a chair. 

‘Anything new?’ said Harry. 

‘Not really ...’ Hermione had opened the newspaper and was scanning the inside pages. 

~ It just says he’s been to visit the Malfoys’ house. “This second search of the Death Eater’s residence does not seem to have yielded any results. Arthur Weasley of the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects said that his team had been acting upon a confidential tip-off.”’ 

‘Yeah, mine!’ said Harry. ‘I told him at King’s Cross about Malfoy and that thing he was trying to get Borgin to fix! Well, if it’s not at their house, he must have brought whatever it is to Hogwarts with him –’ 

‘But how can he have done, Harry?’ said Hermione, putting down the newspaper with a surprised look. ‘We were all searched when we arrived, weren’t we?’ 

‘Were you?’ said Harry, taken aback. ‘I wasn’t!’ 

‘Oh no, of course you weren’t, I forgot you were late ... well, Filch ran over all of us with Secrecy Sensors when we got into the Entrance Hall. Any Dark object would have been found, I know for a fact Crabbe had a shrunken head confiscated. So you see, Malfoy can’t have brought in anything dangerous!’ 

Momentarily stumped, Harry watched Ginny Weasley playing with Arnold the Pygmy Puff for a while before seeing a way around this objection. 

‘Someone’s sent it to him by owl, then,’ he said. ‘His mother or someone.’ 

‘All the owls are being checked, too,’ said Hermione. ‘Filch told us so when he was jabbing those Secrecy Sensors everywhere he could reach.’ 

Really stumped this time, Harry found nothing else to say. There did not seem to be any way Malfoy could have brought a dangerous or Dark object into the school. He looked hopefully at Ron, who was sitting with his arms folded, staring over at Lavender Brown. 

‘Can you think of any way Malfoy –?’ ‘

Oh, drop it, Harry,’ said Ron. 

‘Listen, it’s not my fault Slughorn invited Hermione and me to his stupid party, neither of us wanted to go, you know!’ said Harry, firing up. 

‘Well, as I’m not invited to any parties,’ said Ron, getting to his feet again, ‘I think I’ll go to bed.’ 

He stomped off towards the door to the boys’ dormitories, leaving Harry and Hermione staring after him.

464. Harry Thinking about Things Involving Hermione

~ He rarely appeared at meals any more, and Harry was sure Hermione was right in thinking that he was leaving the school for days at a time.

~ He did not usually lie in bed reading his textbooks; that sort of behaviour, as Ron rightly said, was indecent in anybody except Hermione, who was simply weird that way. Harry felt, however, that the Half-Blood Prince’s copy of Advanced Potion-Making hardly qualified as a textbook. 

465. Hermione Being Disapproving and Bickering When Harry Does Stupid Stuff, But Later smiling Despite Everything When Harry Cracks a Dark Joke

~ The only person who did not find these charms amusing was Hermione, who maintained a rigidly disapproving expression throughout and refused to talk at all if Harry had used the Muffliato spell on anyone in the vicinity.

~ Hermione had not cracked a smile during this anecdote, and now turned an expression of wintry disapproval upon Harry.

 ‘Was this spell, by any chance, another one from that potion book of yours?’ she asked. 

Harry frowned at her. ‘Always jump to the worst conclusion, don’t you?’ 

‘Was it?’ 

‘Well ... yeah, it was, but so what?’ 

‘So you just decided to try out an unknown, handwritten incantation and see what would happen?’ 

‘Why does it matter if it’s handwritten?’ said Harry, preferring not to answer the rest of the question.

 ‘Because it’s probably not Ministry of Magic-approved,’ said Hermione. ‘And also,’ she added, as Harry and Ron rolled their eyes, ‘because I’m starting to think this Prince character was a bit dodgy.’ 

Both Harry and Ron shouted her down at once.

~ ‘Dangling people upside-down by the ankle?’ said Hermione. ‘Who puts their time and energy into making up spells like that?’

~ ‘My dad,’ said Harry. He had only just remembered. 

‘What?’ said Ron and Hermione together. 

‘My dad used this spell,’ said Harry. ‘I – Lupin told me.’

~ ‘Maybe your dad did use it, Harry,’ said Hermione, ‘but he’s not the only one. We’ve seen a whole bunch of people use it, in case you’ve forgotten. Dangling people in the air. Making them float along, asleep, helpless.’ 

 Harry stared at her. With a sinking feeling he, too, remembered the behaviour of the Death Eaters at the Quidditch World Cup.

~ ‘I just think it’s very irresponsible to start performing spells when you don’t even know what they’re for, and stop talking about “the Prince” as if it’s his title, I bet it’s just a stupid nickname and it doesn’t seem as though he was a very nice person to me!’ 

‘I don’t see where you get that from,’ said Harry heatedly, ‘if he’d been a budding Death Eater he wouldn’t have been boasting about being “Half-Blood”, would he?’

 Even as he said it, Harry remembered that his father had been pure-blood, but he pushed the thought out of his mind; he would worry about that later ... 

‘The Death Eaters can’t all be pure-blood, there aren’t enough pure-blood wizards left,’ said Hermione stubbornly. ‘I expect most of them are half-bloods pretending to be pure. It’s only Muggle-borns they hate, they’d be quite happy to let you and Ron join up.’

~ ‘And they’d love to have me,’ said Harry sarcastically. ‘We’d be best pals if they didn’t keep trying to do me in.’ 

This made Ron laugh; even Hermione gave a grudging smile, and a distraction arrived in the shape of Ginny.

466. Harry Being Upset about Harry not Coming To Slughorn's Party with Her, but Stopping When She sees Ron's Jealousy

~ ‘I can’t believe you’ve wriggled out of another one,’ said Hermione, shaking her head. ‘They’re not that bad, you know.. they’re even quite fun sometimes ...’ But then she caught sight of Ron’s expression.

467. Hermione trying to Calm Harry Down When He's Mad at Mundungus

~ ‘Harry!’ squealed Hermione.

~ ‘Harry, you mustn’t!’ shrieked Hermione, as Mundungus started to turn blue.

~ Harry burst out, ‘He was nicking Sirius’s stuff!’ 

‘I know, Harry, but please don’t shout, people are staring,’ whispered Hermione. ‘Go and sit down, I’ll get you a drink.’ 

Harry was still fuming when Hermione returned to their table a few minutes later holding three bottles of Butterbeer. 

‘Can’t the Order control Mundungus?’ Harry demanded of the other two in a furious whisper. ‘Can’t they at least stop him stealing everything that’s not fixed down when he’s at Headquarters?’ 

‘Shh!’ said Hermione desperately, looking around to make sure nobody was listening; there were a couple of warlocks sitting close by who were staring at Harry with great interest, and Zabini was lolling against a pillar not far away. 

‘Harry, I’d be annoyed too, I know it’s your things he’s stealing –’ 

Harry gagged on his Butterbeer; he had momentarily forgotten that he owned number twelve, Grimmauld Place. 

‘Yeah, it’s my stuff!’ he said. ‘No wonder he wasn’t pleased to see me! Well, I’m going to tell Dumbledore what’s going on, he’s the only one who scares Mundungus.’ 

‘Good idea,’ whispered Hermione, clearly pleased that Harry was calming down.

~ Hermione drummed her fingers on the table, her eyes flickering between Ron and the bar. 

The moment Harry drained the last drops in his bottle she said, ‘Shall we call it a day and go back to school, then?’

468. Harry and Hermione Bickering about the Malfoy Theory

~ ‘I think Draco Malfoy gave Katie that necklace, Professor.’ 

On one side of him, Ron rubbed his nose in apparent embarrassment; on the other, Hermione shuffled her feet as though quite keen to put a bit of distance between herself and Harry.

~ ‘No, Professor, he told Borgin to keep it in the shop for him –’ 

‘But, Harry,’ Hermione interrupted, ‘Borgin asked him if he wanted to take it with him, and Malfoy said “no” –’ 

‘Because he didn’t want to touch it, obviously!’ said Harry angrily. 

‘What he actually said was, “How would I look carrying that down the street?”,’ said Hermione.

~ ‘Oh, Ron,’ said Hermione despairingly, ‘it would be all wrapped up, so he wouldn’t have to touch it, and quite easy to hide inside a cloak, so nobody would see it! I think whatever he reserved at Borgin and Burkes was noisy or bulky; something he knew would draw attention to him if he carried it down the street – and in any case,’ she pressed on loudly, before Harry could interrupt, ‘I asked Borgin about the necklace, don’t you remember? When I went in to try and find out what Malfoy had asked him to keep, I saw it there. And Borgin just told me the price, he didn’t say it was already sold or anything –’ 

~ ‘Goodness only knows,’ said Hermione. ‘But whoever it was has had a narrow escape. No one could have opened that package without touching the necklace.’ 

‘It could’ve been meant for loads of people,’ said Harry. ‘Dumbledore – the Death Eaters would love to get rid of him, he must be one of their top targets. Or Slughorn – Dumbledore reckons Voldemort really wanted him and they can’t be pleased that he’s sided with Dumbledore. Or –’ 

‘Or you,’ said Hermione, looking troubled. 

 ‘Couldn’t have been,’ said Harry, ‘or Katie would’ve just turned round in the lane and given it to me, wouldn’t she? I was behind her all the way out of the Three Broomsticks. It would have made much more sense to deliver the parcel outside Hogwarts, what with Filch searching everyone who goes in and out. I wonder why Malfoy told her to take it into the castle?’ 

‘Harry, Malfoy wasn’t in Hogsmeade!’ said Hermione, actually stamping her foot in frustration. 

‘He must have used an accomplice, then,’ said Harry. ‘Crabbe or Goyle – or, come to think of it, another Death Eater, he’ll have loads better cronies than Crabbe and Goyle now he’s joined up –’

~ ‘You’re right,’ said Hermione, prodding Ron out of the chair with her foot and offering it to the first-year again. ‘It wasn’t very well-thought-out at all.’ 

‘But since when has Malfoy been one of the world’s great thinkers?’ asked Harry. 

Neither Ron nor Hermione answered him. 

 469. Harry and Hermione Yapping and Doing Stuff Together, not to mention Harry Helping in Getting Hermione's arm Out Of the tangled Vines, While Harry felt Weird about the Idea of Ron and Hermione Going Out

~ Harry had Herbology first thing the following morning. He had been unable to tell Ron and Hermione about his lesson with Dumbledore over breakfast for fear of being overheard, but he filled them in as they walked across the vegetable patch towards the greenhouses.

~ ‘Dunno,’ said Harry, inserting a gum shield. ‘But he says it’s all important and it’ll help me survive.’

 ‘I think it’s fascinating,’ said Hermione earnestly. ‘It makes absolute sense to know as much about Voldemort as possible. How else will you find out his weaknesses?’ 

‘So how was Slughorn’s latest party?’ Harry asked her thickly through the gum shield. 

‘Oh, it was quite fun, really,’ said Hermione, now putting on protective goggles. ‘I mean, he drones on about famous ex-pupils a bit, and he absolutely fawns on McLaggen because he’s so well-connected, but he gave us some really nice food and he introduced us to Gwenog Jones.’

~ ‘OK, Professor, we’re starting now!’ said Ron, adding quietly, when she had turned away again, ‘Should’ve used Muffliato, Harry.’

 ‘No, we shouldn’t!’ said Hermione at once, looking, as she always did, intensely cross at the thought of the Half-Blood Prince and his spells. ‘Well, come on ... we’d better get going ...’ 

She gave the other two an apprehensive look; they all took deep breaths and then dived at the gnarled stump between them.

~ One tangled itself in Hermione’s hair and Ron beat it back with a pair of secateurs; Harry succeeded in trapping a couple of vines and knotting them together; a hole opened in the middle of all the tentacle-like branches; Hermione plunged her arm bravely into this hole, which closed like a trap around her elbow; Harry and Ron tugged and wrenched at the vines, forcing the  hole to open again and Hermione snatched her arm free, clutching in her fingers a pod just like Neville’s.   

~ Pass me a bowl,’ said Hermione, holding the pulsating pod at arm’s length; Harry handed one over and she dropped the pod into it with a look of disgust on her face.

~ ‘Anyway,’ said Hermione, continuing their interrupted conversation as though a lump of wood had not just attacked them, ‘Slughorn’s going to have a Christmas party, Harry, and there’s no way you’ll be able to wriggle out of this one because he actually asked me to check your free evenings, so he could be sure to have it on a night you can come.’ 

Harry groaned. 

 ~ Harry missed the pod, hit the bowl and it shattered. 

‘Reparo,’ he said hastily, poking the pieces with his wand, and the bowl sprang back together again. The crash, however, appeared to have awoken Ron and Hermione to Harry’s presence. Hermione looked flustered and immediately started fussing about for her copy of Flesh-Eating Trees of the World to find out the correct way to juice Snargaluff pods; Ron, on the other hand, looked sheepish but also rather pleased with himself. 

‘Hand that over, Harry,’ said Hermione hurriedly, ‘it says we’re supposed to puncture them with something sharp ...’ Harry passed her the pod in the bowl, he and Ron both snapped their goggles back over their eyes and dived, once more, for the stump.

It was not as though he was really surprised, thought Harry, as he wrestled with a thorny vine intent upon throttling him; he had had an inkling that this might happen sooner or later. But he was not sure how he felt about it ... he and Cho were now too embarrassed to look at each other, let alone talk to each other; what if Ron and Hermione started going out together, then split up? Could their friendship survive it? Harry remembered the few weeks when they had not been talking to each other in the third year; he had not enjoyed trying to bridge the distance between them. And then, what if they didn’t split up? What if they became like Bill and Fleur, and it became excruciatingly embarrassing to be in their presence, so that he was shut out for good? 

~ Although Harry watched his two friends more closely over the next few days, Ron and Hermione did not seem any different except that they were a little politer to each other than usual.

470. Harry admiring Hermione's Spellwork and Caring about Her Feelings and Trying to bridge the gap Between Them

~ Most of the class had already left, although several twittering yellow birds were still zooming around the room, all of Hermione’s creation; nobody else had succeeded in conjuring so much as a feather from thin air. 

~ He sprinted out of the room, leaving Harry and Seamus alone together, an uncomfortable moment made no easier when a bird dropping landed on Seamus’s head as one of Hermione’s canaries whizzed over them.

~ D’you think Hermione did snog Krum?’ Ron asked abruptly, as they approached the Fat Lady. 

Harry gave a guilty start and wrenched his imagination away from a corridor in which no Ron intruded, in which he and Ginny were quite alone – ‘What?’ he said confusedly. ‘Oh ... er ...’ 

The honest answer was ‘yes’, but he did not want to give it. However, Ron seemed to gather the worst from the look on Harry’s face.

~ Neither of them mentioned Ginny or Hermione again; indeed, they barely spoke to each other that evening and got into bed in silence, each absorbed in his own thoughts.

~ Harry awoke next morning feeling slightly dazed and confused by a series of dreams in which Ron had chased him with a Beater’s bat, but by midday he would have happily exchanged the dream Ron for the real one, who was not only cold-shouldering Ginny and Dean, but also treating a hurt and bewildered Hermione with an icy, sneering indifference. What was more, Ron seemed to have become, overnight, as touchy and ready to lash out as the average Blast-Ended Skrewt. Harry spent the day attempting to keep the peace between Ron and Hermione with no success: finally, Hermione departed for bed in high dudgeon and Ron stalked off to the boys’ dormitory after swearing angrily at several frightened first-years for looking at him.

~ ‘Er,’ said Harry into the sudden silence; he had not expected his plan to backfire like this, ‘shall ... shall we go up to the party, then?’ 

‘You go!’ said Hermione, blinking back tears. ‘I’m sick of Ron at the moment, I don’t know what I’m supposed to have done ...’ 

And she stormed out of the changing room, too. Harry walked slowly back up the grounds towards the castle through the crowd, many of whom shouted congratulations at him, but he felt a great sense of let-down; he had been sure that if Ron won the match, he and Hermione would be friends again immediately. He did not see how he could possibly explain to Hermione that what she had done to offend Ron was kiss Viktor Krum, not when the offence had occurred so long ago. 

Harry could not see Hermione at the Gryffindor celebration party, which was in full swing when he arrived.

~ ‘Hermione?’ 

He found her in the first unlocked classroom he tried. She was sitting on the teacher’s desk, alone except for a small ring of twittering yellow birds circling her head, which she had clearly just conjured out of midair. Harry could not help admiring her spellwork at a time like this. 

‘Oh, hello, Harry,’ she said in a brittle voice. ‘I was just practising.’

 ‘Yeah ... they’re – er – really good ...’ said Harry. 

He had no idea what to say to her. He was just wondering whether there was any chance that she had not noticed Ron, that she had merely left the room because the party was a little too rowdy, when she said, in an unnaturally highpitched voice, ‘Ron seems to be enjoying the celebrations.’ 

‘Er ... does he?’ said Harry. 

‘Don’t pretend you didn’t see him,’ said Hermione. ‘He wasn’t exactly hiding it, was –’ 

The door behind them burst open. To Harry’s horror, Ron came in, laughing, pulling Lavender by the hand. ‘Oh,’ he said, drawing up short at the sight of Harry and Hermione. 

~ Harry spun round to see Hermione pointing her wand at Ron, her expression wild: the little flock of birds was speeding like a hail of fat golden bullets towards Ron, who yelped and covered his face with his hands, but the birds attacked, pecking and clawing at every bit of flesh they could reach. 

‘Gerremoffme!’ he yelled, but with one last look of vindictive fury, Hermione wrenched open the door and disappeared through it. Harry thought he heard a sob before it slammed.

~ Determined as he was to remain friends with both Ron and Hermione, he was spending a lot of time with his mouth shut tight.

471. Harry and Hermione Bickering about Ron's Drink

~ ‘How are you both feeling?’ she asked tentatively, her eyes on the back of Ron’s head. ‘Fine,’ said Harry, who was concentrating on handing Ron a glass of pumpkin juice.

~ Ron had just raised the glass to his lips when Hermione spoke sharply. 

‘Don’t drink that, Ron!’ 

Both Harry and Ron looked up at her. 

‘Why not?’ said Ron. 

Hermione was now staring at Harry as though she could not believe her eyes. ‘You just put something in that drink.’ 

‘Excuse me?’ said Harry. 

‘You heard me. I saw you. You just tipped something into Ron’s drink. You’ve got the bottle in your hand right now!’ 

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ said Harry, stowing the little bottle hastily in his pocket.

~ She looked scandalised. Bending low so that only Harry could hear her she hissed, ‘You should be expelled for that. I’d never have believed it of you, Harry!’ 

‘Hark who’s talking,’ he whispered back. ‘Confunded anyone lately?’ 

~ They were just about to leave when Hermione entered. She was twisting her Gryffindor scarf in her hands and looked upset but determined. 

‘I want a word with you, Harry.’ She took a deep breath. ‘You shouldn’t have done it. You heard Slughorn, it’s illegal.’

~ ‘What are you two talking about?’ asked Harry, turning away to hang up his robes so that neither of them would see him grinning. 

‘You know perfectly well what we’re talking about!’ said Hermione shrilly. ‘You spiked Ron’s juice with lucky potion at breakfast! Felix Felicis!’ 

‘No I didn’t,’ said Harry, turning back to face them both. 

‘Yes you did, Harry, and that’s why everything went right, there were Slytherin players missing and Ron saved everything!’ 

‘I didn’t put it in!’ said Harry, now grinning broadly. He slipped his hand inside his jacket pocket and drew out the tiny bottle that Hermione had seen in his hand that morning. It was full of golden potion and the cork was still tightly sealed with wax. ‘I wanted Ron to think I’d done it, so I faked it when I knew you were looking.’

472. Harry Spending Time with Hermione in the Library and even gossiping about Madam Pince and Filch Despite Everything

~ Hermione’s timetable was so full that Harry could only talk to her properly in the evenings, when Ron was in any case so tightly wrapped around Lavender that he did not notice what Harry was doing. Hermione refused to sit in the common room while Ron was there, so Harry generally joined her in the library, which meant that their conversations were held in whispers. 

‘He’s at perfect liberty to kiss whomever he likes,’ said Hermione, while the librarian, Madam Pince, prowled the shelves behind them. ‘I really couldn’t care less.’ 

She raised her quill and dotted an ‘i’ so ferociously that she punctured a hole in her parchment. Harry said nothing. He thought his voice might soon vanish from lack of use. He bent a little lower over Advanced Potion-Making and continued to make notes on Everlasting Elixirs, occasionally pausing to decipher the Prince’s useful additions to Libatius Borage’s text. 

‘And incidentally,’ said Hermione, after a few moments, ‘you need to be careful.’ 

‘For the last time,’ said Harry, speaking in a slightly hoarse whisper after three-quarters of an hour of silence, ‘I am not giving back this book, I’ve learned more from the Half-Blood Prince than Snape or Slughorn have taught me in –’ 

‘I’m not talking about your stupid so-called Prince,’ said Hermione, giving his book a nasty look as though it had been rude to her, ‘I’m talking about earlier. I went into the girls’ bathroom just before I came in here and there were about a dozen girls in there, including that Romilda Vane, trying to decide how to slip you a love potion. They’re all hoping they’re going to get you to take them to Slughorn’s party and they all seem to have bought Fred and George’s love potions, which I’m afraid to say probably work –’ 

‘Why didn’t you confiscate them, then?’ demanded Harry. It seemed extraordinary that Hermione’s mania for upholding rules could have abandoned her at this crucial juncture. 

‘They didn’t have the potions with them in the bathroom,’ said Hermione scornfully. ‘They were just discussing tactics. As I doubt whether even the Half-Blood Prince,’ she gave the book another nasty look, ‘could dream up an antidote for a dozen different love potions at once, I’d just invite someone to go with you – that’ll stop all the others thinking they’ve still got a chance. It’s tomorrow night, they’re getting desperate.’ 

‘There isn’t anyone I want to invite,’ mumbled Harry, who was still trying not to think about Ginny any more than he could help, despite the fact that she kept cropping up in his dreams in ways that made him devoutly thankful that Ron could not perform Legilimency. 

‘Well, just be careful what you drink, because Romilda Vane looked like she meant business,’ said Hermione grimly. She hitched up the long roll of parchment on which she was writing her Arithmancy essay and continued to scratch away with her quill. Harry watched her with his mind a long way away. 

‘Hang on a moment,’ he said slowly. ‘I thought Filch had banned anything bought at Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes?’ 

‘And when has anyone ever paid attention to what Filch has banned?’ asked Hermione, still concentrating on her essay. 

‘But I thought all the owls were being searched? So how come these girls are able to bring love potions into school?’ 

‘Fred and George send them disguised as perfumes and cough potions,’ said Hermione. ‘It’s part of their Owl Order Service.’ 

‘You know a lot about it.’

 Hermione gave him the kind of nasty look she had just given his copy of Advanced Potion-Making. 

‘It was all on the back of the bottles they showed Ginny and me in the summer,’ she said coldly. ‘I don’t go around putting potions in people’s drinks ... or pretending to, either, which is just as bad …’ 

‘Yeah, well, never mind that,’ said Harry quickly. ‘The point is, Filch is being fooled, isn’t he? These girls are getting stuff into the school disguised as something else! So why couldn’t Malfoy have brought the necklace into the school –?’ ‘

Oh, Harry ... not that again ...’ 

‘Come on, why not?’ demanded Harry. 

‘Look,’ sighed Hermione, ‘Secrecy Sensors detect jinxes, curses and concealment charms, don’t they? They’re used to find Dark magic and Dark objects. They’d have picked up a powerful curse, like the one on that necklace, within seconds. But something that’s just been put in the wrong bottle wouldn’t register – and anyway, love potions aren’t Dark or dangerous –’ 

‘Easy for you to say,’ muttered Harry, thinking of Romilda Vane.

 ‘– so it would be down to Filch to realise it wasn’t a cough potion, and he’s not a very good wizard, I doubt he can tell one potion from –’ 

Hermione stopped dead; Harry had heard it too.

~ She looked as though she might have a seizure; Hermione, who had hastily packed her things, grabbed Harry by the arm and frogmarched him away. 

‘She’ll ban you from the library if you’re not careful. Why did you have to bring that stupid book?’

 ‘It’s not my fault she’s barking mad, Hermione. Or d’you think she overheard you being rude about Filch? I’ve always thought there might be something going on between them ...’ 

  ‘Oh, ha, ha ...’ 

Enjoying the fact that they could speak normally again, they made their way along the deserted, lamp-lit corridors back to the common room, arguing about whether or not Filch and Madam Pince were secretly in love with each other. 

~ Hi, Harry!’ said Romilda Vane, the moment he had climbed through the portrait hole. ‘Fancy a Gillywater?’ 

Hermione gave him a ‘What-did-I-tell-you?’ look over her shoulder. 

‘No thanks,’ said Harry quickly. ‘I don’t like it much.’

~ ‘Oh – right – thanks a lot,’ said Harry, who could not think what else to say. ‘Er – I’m just going over here with ...’ 

He hurried off behind Hermione, his voice tailing away feebly. 

‘Told you,’ said Hermione succinctly. ‘Sooner you ask someone, sooner they’ll all leave you alone and you can –’ But her face suddenly turned blank; she had just spotted Ron and Lavender who were entwined in the same armchair. 

‘Well, goodnight, Harry,’ said Hermione, though it was only seven o’clock in the evening, and she left for the girls’ dormitory without another word.

473. Harry Following Hermione When She Is Upset, Being Concerned For her, and Telling Ron To Apologize

~ Hermione laughed unkindly at Ron’s disastrous first attempt, during which he somehow managed to give himself a spectacular handlebar moustache; Ron retaliated by doing a cruel but accurate impression of Hermione jumping up and down in her seat every time Professor McGonagall asked a question, which Lavender and Parvati found deeply amusing and which reduced Hermione to the verge of tears again. She raced out of the classroom on the bell, leaving half her things behind; Harry, deciding that her need was greater than Ron’s just then, scooped up her remaining possessions and followed her. 

He finally tracked her down as she emerged from a girls’ bathroom on the floor below.

~ 'Hi, Luna. Hermione, you left your stuff ...’ He held out her books. 

‘Oh, yes,’ said Hermione in a choked voice, taking her things and turning away quickly to hide the fact that she was wiping her eyes on her pencil case. ‘Thank you, Harry. Well, I’d better get going ...’

 And she hurried off, without giving Harry any time to offer words of comfort, though admittedly he could not think of any. 

~ ‘But he can be a bit unkind. I noticed that last year.’ 

‘I s’pose,’ said Harry. Luna was demonstrating her usual knack of speaking uncomfortable truths; he had never met anyone quite like her. 

~ Harry tried to feel pleased that Ginny was glad he was taking Luna to the party, but could not quite manage it. A long way along the table, Hermione was sitting alone, playing with her stew. Harry noticed Ron looking at her furtively. 

‘You could say sorry,’ suggested Harry bluntly. 

‘What, and get attacked by another flock of canaries?’ muttered Ron. 

‘What did you have to imitate her for?’ 

‘She laughed at my moustache!’ 

‘So did I, it was the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen.’

474. Harry Suddenly asking Luna To Come with Him To Slughorn's Party But Regretting It, Possibly because Hermione Might Have wanted To Go With Him

~ ‘How would you like to come to Slughorn’s party with me tonight?’ 

The words were out of Harry’s mouth before he could stop them; he heard himself say them as though it were a stranger speaking.

~ He was already half-hoping that she didn’t want to.

475. Harry Depending On Hermione To Make His Eyebrow Normal

~ ‘Nobody’s ever asked me to a party before, as a friend! Is that why you dyed your eyebrow, for the party? Should I do mine, too?’ 

‘No,’ said Harry firmly, ‘that was a mistake, I’ll get Hermione to put it right for me. So, I’ll meet you in the Entrance Hall at eight o’clock, then.’

475. Harry Noticing Hermione's Expressions

~ Harry could tell that she was feeling guilty for having laughed at Hermione in Transfiguration. He looked around and saw that Hermione was beaming back, if possible even more brightly. Girls were very strange sometimes.

~ Oh – yes – didn’t you know?’ said Hermione, with a most un-Hermione-ish giggle.

~ ‘I like really good Quidditch players,’ Hermione corrected her, still smiling.

~ Harry was left to ponder in silence the depths to which girls would sink to get revenge.

476. Harry Talking to Hermione a lot at Slughorn's Party, and recognizing Her Just By Her Hair

~ ‘I’m definitely not interested,’ said Harry firmly, ‘and I’ve just seen a friend of mine, sorry.’ 

He pulled Luna after him into the crowd; he had indeed just seen a long mane of brown hair disappear between what looked like two members of the Weird Sisters. 

‘Hermione! Hermione!’ 

‘Harry! There you are, thank goodness! Hi, Luna!’ 

‘What’s happened to you?’ asked Harry, for Hermione looked distinctly dishevelled, rather as though she had just fought her way out of a thicket of Devil’s Snare.

 ‘Oh, I’ve just escaped – I mean, I’ve just left Cormac,’ she said. ‘Under the mistletoe,’ she added in explanation, as Harry continued to look questioningly at her. 

‘Serves you right for coming with him,’ he told her severely.

‘I thought he’d annoy Ron most,’ said Hermione dispassionately. ‘I debated for a while about Zacharias Smith, but I thought, on the whole –’ 

‘You considered Smith?’ said Harry, revolted. 

‘Yes, I did, and I’m starting to wish I’d chosen him, McLaggen makes Grawp look a gentleman. Let’s go this way, we’ll be able to see him coming, he’s so tall ...’ 

~ Under cover of her furious criticisms of Firenze, Harry drew closer to Hermione and said, ‘Let’s get something straight. Are you planning to tell Ron that you interfered at Keeper tryouts?’ 

Hermione raised her eyebrows. 

‘Do you really think I’d stoop that low?’

 Harry looked at her shrewdly. ‘Hermione, if you can ask out McLaggen –’ 

‘There’s a difference,’ said Hermione with dignity. ‘I’ve got no plans to tell Ron anything about what might, or might not, have happened at Keeper tryouts.’

‘Good,’ said Harry fervently. ‘Because he’ll just fall apart again and we’ll lose the next match –’

 ‘Quidditch!’ said Hermione angrily. ‘Is that all boys care about? Cormac hasn’t asked me one single question about myself, no, I’ve just been treated to A Hundred Great Saves Made by Cormac McLaggen non-stop, ever since – oh no, here he comes!’ 

She moved so fast it was as though she had Disapparated; one moment she was there, the next she had squeezed between two guffawing witches and vanished. 

‘Seen Hermione?’ asked McLaggen, forcing his way through the throng a minute later.

 ‘No, sorry,’ said Harry, and he turned quickly to join in Luna’s conversation, forgetting for a split second to whom she was talking. 

477. Harry Imagining Hermione's Reaction To his Theory Even When She's not There

~ It had already occurred to him that this would be the most likely objection to his new evidence; he could hear Hermione now: 

‘Obviously, Harry, he was pretending to offer help so he could trick Malfoy into telling him what he’s doing ...’ 

This was pure imagination, however, as he had had no opportunity to tell Hermione what he had overheard. She had disappeared from Slughorn’s party before he returned to it, or so he had been informed by an irate McLaggen, and she had already gone to bed by the time he returned to the common room. As he and Ron had left for The Burrow early the next day, he had barely had time to wish her a Happy Christmas and to tell her that he had some very important news when they got back from the holidays. He was not entirely sure that she had heard him, though; Ron and Lavender had been saying a thoroughly non-verbal goodbye just behind him at the time. 

Still, even Hermione would not be able to deny one thing: Malfoy was definitely up to something, and Snape knew it, so Harry felt fully justified in saying ‘I told you so’, which he had done several times to Ron already. 

478. Harry Realising That Hermione and McLaggen Didn't work Well

~ ‘Well, yeah,’ said Ron. He hesitated a moment, then said, ‘Is Hermione really going out with McLaggen?’ 

‘I dunno,’ said Harry. ‘They were at Slughorn’s party together, but I don’t think it went that well.’

479. Harry and Hermione spending A Lot of Time Discussing Theories Together and Ending It With Talking about Scrimgeour Peacefully Because They Both Despised Him

~ 'Harry! Ginny!’ 

Hermione was hurrying towards them, very pink-faced and wearing a cloak, hat and gloves. ‘I got back a couple of hours ago, I’ve just been down to  visit Hagrid and Buck— I mean Witherwings,’ she said breathlessly. ‘Did you have a good Christmas?’

~ ‘I’ve got something for you, Harry,’ said Hermione, neither looking at Ron nor giving any sign that she had heard him.

~ ‘What’s up with her?’ asked Harry.

 ‘Overindulged over Christmas, apparently,’ said Hermione, rolling her eyes as she led the way into the packed common room. ‘She and her friend Violet drank their way through all the wine in that picture of drunk monks down by the Charms corridor. Anyway ...’ 

She rummaged in her pocket for a moment, then pulled out a scroll of parchment with Dumbledore’s writing on it. 

‘Great,’ said Harry, unrolling it at once to discover that his next lesson with Dumbledore was scheduled for the following night. ‘I’ve got loads to tell him – and you. Let’s sit down –’

~ Hermione gave a tinkling laugh and said, ‘There’s a table over here ... coming, Ginny?’  

~ Leaving Ron and Lavender locked in a kind of vertical wrestling match, Harry led Hermione over to the spare table. 

‘So how was your Christmas?’ 

‘Oh, fine,’ she shrugged. ‘Nothing special. How was it at Won-Won’s?’ 

‘I’ll tell you in a minute,’ said Harry. ‘Look, Hermione, can’t you –?’ 

 ‘No, I can’t,’ she said flatly. ‘So don’t even ask.’ 

‘I thought maybe, you know, over Christmas –’ 

‘It was the Fat Lady who drank a vat of five-hundred-year old wine, Harry, not me. So what was this important news you wanted to tell me?’ She looked too fierce to argue with at that moment, so Harry dropped the subject of Ron and recounted all that he had overheard between Malfoy and Snape.

 When he had finished, Hermione sat in thought for a moment and then said, ‘Don’t you think –?’ 

‘– he was pretending to offer help so that he could trick Malfoy into telling him what he’s doing?’

 ‘Well, yes,’ said Hermione. 

‘Ron’s dad and Lupin think so,’ Harry said grudgingly. ‘But this definitely proves Malfoy’s planning something, you can’t deny that.’ 

‘No, I can’t,’ she answered slowly. 

‘And he’s acting on Voldemort’s orders, just like I said!’ 

‘Hmm ... did either of them actually mention Voldemort’s name?’ 

Harry frowned, trying to remember. ‘I’m not sure ... Snape definitely said “your master”, and who else would that be?’ 

‘I don’t know,’ said Hermione, biting her lip. ‘Maybe his father?’ 

She stared across the room, apparently lost in thought, not even noticing Lavender tickling Ron. ‘How’s Lupin?’ 

‘Not great,’ said Harry, and he told her all about Lupin’s mission among the werewolves and the difficulties he was facing. ‘Have you heard of this Fenrir Greyback?’

 ‘Yes, I have!’ said Hermione, sounding startled. ‘And so have you, Harry!’ 

 ‘When, History of Magic? You know full well I never listened ...’ 

‘No, no, not History of Magic – Malfoy threatened Borgin with him!’ said Hermione. ‘Back in Knockturn Alley, don’t you remember? He told Borgin that Greyback was an old family friend and that he’d be checking up on Borgin’s progress!’ 

Harry gaped at her. ‘I forgot! But this proves Malfoy’s a Death Eater, how else could he be in contact with Greyback and telling him what to do?’ 

‘It is pretty suspicious,’ breathed Hermione. ‘Unless ...’ 

‘Oh, come on,’ said Harry in exasperation, ‘you can’t get round this one!’ 

‘Well ... there is the possibility it was an empty threat.’ 

‘You’re unbelievable, you are,’ said Harry, shaking his head. ‘We’ll see who’s right ... you’ll be eating your words, Hermione, just like the Ministry. Oh yeah, I had a row with Rufus Scrimgeour as well ...’

 And the rest of the evening passed amicably with both of them abusing the Minister for Magic, for Hermione, like Ron, thought that after all the Ministry had put Harry through the previous year, they had a great nerve asking him for help now.

480. Harry speeding up to Walk with Hermione

~ Harry turned to see Hermione stalking off; he caught up with her, having no wish to stay behind with Ron and Lavender, but to his surprise, Ron caught them up only a little way beyond the portrait hole, his ears bright red and his expression disgruntled.

481. Harry Confiding Important Information in Hermione and Expecting her To know what Horcruxes are, while she guessed What he Was going to say about Ron before He Even Finished his Sentence

~ The next day Harry confided in both Ron and Hermione the task that Dumbledore had set him, though separately, for Hermione still refused to remain in Ron’s presence longer than it took to give him a contemptuous look.

~ Hermione, however, took a gloomier view. 

‘He must be determined to hide what really happened if Dumbledore couldn’t get it out of him,’ she said in a low voice, as they stood in the deserted, snowy courtyard at break. ‘Horcruxes ... Horcruxes ... I’ve never even heard of them ...’ 

‘You haven’t?’ 

Harry was disappointed; he had hoped that Hermione might have been able to give him a clue as to what Horcruxes were. 

‘They must be really advanced Dark magic, or why would Voldemort have wanted to know about them? I think it’s going to be difficult to get the information, Harry, you’ll have to be very careful about how you approach Slughorn, think out a strategy ...’ 

 ‘Ron reckons I should just hang back after Potions this afternoon ...’ 

‘Oh, well, if Won-Won thinks that, you’d better do it,’ she said, flaring up at once. ‘After all, when has Won-Won’s judgement ever been faulty?’ 

‘Hermione, can’t you –’ 

‘No!’ she said angrily, and stormed away, leaving Harry alone and ankle-deep in snow. 

482. Harry Noticing That no one Seemed to Understand Class the way Hermione Did

~ Harry was going to have to take Slughorn’s word for it that Golpalott’s Third Law was true, because he had not understood any of it. Nobody apart from Hermione seemed to be following what Slughorn said next, either.

~ There was Golpalott’s Third Law, stated word for word as Hermione had recited it, but not a single illuminating note in the Prince’s hand to explain what it meant. Apparently the Prince, like Hermione, had had no difficulty understanding it.

~ Unfortunately, they could not copy the spell she was doing because she was now so good at non-verbal incantations that she did not need to say the words aloud.

483. Hermione Being Irritated about Harry cheating In Potions but Still Being Reasonable and being smug and bickering but not losing respect

~ ‘It’s a shame that the Prince won’t be able to help you much with this, Harry,’ she said brightly as she straightened up. ‘You have to understand the principles involved this time. No short cuts or cheats!’ 

Annoyed, Harry uncorked the poison he had taken from Slughorn’s desk, which was a garish shade of pink, tipped it into his cauldron and lit a fire underneath it. He did not have the faintest idea what he was supposed to do next.

~ Hermione’s expression could not have been any smugger; she had loathed being out-performed in every Potions class. She was now decanting the mysteriously separated ingredients of her poison into ten different crystal phials. More to avoid watching this irritating sight than anything else, Harry bent over the Half-Blood Prince’s book and turned a few pages with unnecessary force. 

~ ‘And you thought of a bezoar all by yourself, did you, Harry?’ she asked through gritted teeth.  

~ Hermione was still seething at the way Harry had triumphed without doing the work properly.

~ Infuriated by his failure and by Ron and Hermione’s attitudes, Harry brooded for the next few days over what to do next about Slughorn.

484. Harry Checking Party Dates with Hermione to try and Get a memory Out of Slughorn

~ Harry checked with Hermione and Ginny: neither of them had received an invitation and nor, as far as they knew, had anybody else.

485. Hermione Forgetting About Being Annoyed with Harry Because she was too busy Helping Him Trying to figure Out What Horcruxes were‘I expect your trainers are too small, Won-Won,’ said a voice behind them, and Hermione stalked past, smirking. ‘I didn’t feel anything,’ said Harry, ignoring this interruption.

~ Meanwhile, the Hogwarts library had failed Hermione for the first time in living memory. She was so shocked, she even forgot that she was annoyed at Harry for his trick with the bezoar. 

‘I haven’t found one single explanation of what Horcruxes do!’ she told him. ‘Not a single one! I’ve been right through the restricted section and even in the most horrible books, where they tell you how to brew the most gruesome potions – nothing! All I could find was this, in the introduction to Magick Moste Evile – listen – “of the Horcrux, wickedest of magical inventions, we shall not speak nor give direction” ... I mean, why mention it, then?’ she said impatiently, slamming the old book shut; it let out a ghostly wail. ‘Oh, shut up,’ she snapped, stuffing it back into her bag. 

486. Harry and Hermione Going for Apparition Together, and Hermione being Concerned when he goes off For Malfoy

~ When Harry and Hermione arrived in the Hall (Ron had come down with Lavender) they found that the tables had disappeared.

~ Harry, where are you going?’ demanded Hermione.

487. Harry Ignoring Hermione's smirk Remark because He wanted Her to Go Back to being friends with Ron

~ ‘I expect your trainers are too small, Won-Won,’ said a voice behind them, and Hermione stalked past, smirking. 

‘I didn’t feel anything,’ said Harry, ignoring this interruption.

488. Harry Remembering What Hermione Told Him about Love Potions and Understanding What Happened To Ron

~ And then he saw the box lying open on Ron’s bed and the truth hit him with the force of a stampeding troll. 

‘Where did you get those Chocolate Cauldrons?’

~ ‘They didn’t fall off your bed, you prat, don’t you understand? They were mine, I chucked them out of my trunk when I was looking for the map. They’re the Chocolate Cauldrons Romilda gave me before Christmas and they’re all spiked with love potion!’

489. Harry Recounting What Happened to Hermione 

~ Harry retold the story he had already recounted what felt like a hundred times to Dumbledore, to McGonagall, to Madam Pomfrey, to Hermione and to Ginny.

~ ‘Lucky there was one in the room,’ said Harry, who kept turning cold at the thought of what would have happened if he had not been able to lay hands on the little stone. 

Hermione gave an almost inaudible sniff. She had been exceptionally quiet all day. Having hurtled, white-faced, up to Harry outside the hospital wing and demanded to know what had happened, she had taken almost no part in Harry and Ginny’s obsessive discussion about how Ron had been poisoned, but merely stood beside them, clench-jawed and frightened-looking, until at last they had been allowed in to see him. 

490. Harry and Hermione Following The same Trail Of Thought and Exchanging Looks of Meaning

~ Harry could not think of any reply to this and was almost glad when Madam Pomfrey reminded them again that there were only supposed to be six visitors around Ron’s bed; he and Hermione rose at once to leave and Hagrid decided to go with them, leaving Ron with his family.  

~ ‘I dunno, Harry, it sounded like Snape was feelin’ a bit overworked, tha’s all – anyway, Dumbledore told him flat out he’d agreed ter do it an’ that was all there was to it. Pretty firm with him. An’ then he said summat abou’ Snape makin’ investigations in his house, in Slytherin. Well, there’s nothin’ strange abou’ that!’ Hagrid added hastily, as Harry and Hermione exchanged looks full of meaning.

491. Harry and Hermione Going to Their Dormitories Together

~ ‘Look out,’ said Hermione tersely. They turned just in time to see the shadow of Argus Filch looming over the wall behind them before the man himself turned the corner, hunchbacked, his jowls aquiver. 

‘Oho!’ he wheezed. ‘Out of bed so late, this’ll mean detention!

~ ‘Get goin’,’ said Hagrid out of the corner of his mouth. 

Harry did not need telling twice; he and Hermione both hurried off, Hagrid and Filch’s raised voices echoing behind them as they ran. They passed Peeves near the turning into Gryffindor Tower, but he was streaking happily towards the source of the yelling, cackling and calling, 

‘When there’s strife and when there’s trouble

 Call on Peevsie, he’ll make double!’ 

The Fat Lady was snoozing and not pleased to be awoken, but swung forwards grumpily to allow them to clamber into the mercifully peaceful and empty common room. 

~ Hermione bade him goodnight and set off for the girls’ dormitory. 

492. Harry Feeling Uncomfortable when Saying That Hermione and Ron are Friends and Indirectly Defending Hermione When Lavender Accuses Her Of Finding Ron Suddenly Interesting

~ Is Hermione Granger still visiting him?’ Lavender demanded suddenly. 

‘Yeah, I think so. Well, they’re friends, aren’t they?’ said Harry uncomfortably. 

‘Friends, don’t make me laugh,’ said Lavender scornfully. ‘She didn’t talk to him for weeks after he started going out with me! But I suppose she wants to make up with him now he’s all interesting ...’ 

‘Would you call getting poisoned being interesting?’ asked Harry.

493. Kreacher Knowing of Harry's Friendship With Hermione

~ ‘Kreacher will say what he likes about his master, oh yes, and what a master he is, filthy friend of Mudbloods, oh, what would poor Kreacher’s mistress say –?’

494. Harry Trusting Hermione

~ ‘That’s settled, then,’ said Harry. ‘I’ll want regular reports, but make sure I’m not surrounded by people when you turn up. Ron and Hermione are OK. And don’t tell anyone what you’re doing. Just stick to Malfoy like a couple of wart plasters.’

495. Hermione Giving Harry a Sharp Look When He Asks About Ginny Because She Knows Him Too Well, and also Saying That Mclaggen Hitting Harry Was Not Funny At all

~ ‘Never mind her,’ said Harry, a little impatiently. ‘What did Ginny and Dean row about, Hermione?’ L

 ‘Oh, Dean was laughing about McLaggen hitting that Bludger at you,’ said Hermione. 

‘It must’ve looked funny,’ said Ron reasonably.

 ‘It didn’t look funny at all!’ said Hermione hotly. ‘It looked terrible, and if Coote and Peakes hadn’t caught Harry he could have been very badly hurt!’ 

‘Yeah, well, there was no need for Ginny and Dean to split up over it,’ said Harry, still trying to sound casual. ‘Or are they still together?’ 

‘Yes, they are – but why are you so interested?’ asked Hermione, giving Harry a sharp look. 

‘I just don’t want my Quidditch team messed up again!’ he said hastily, but Hermione continued to look suspicious, and he was most relieved when a voice behind them called, ‘Harry!’, giving him an excuse to turn his back on her. 

496. Harry Noticing Stuff about Hermione and Sharing Moments With Her

~ ‘C’mon,’ Harry muttered to Hermione, and they sped past, though not before they had heard Lavender say, ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were getting out today? And why was she with you?’ 

~ Hermione was acting as though she was quite oblivious to all of this, but once or twice Harry saw an inexplicable smirk cross her face. All that day she seemed to be in a particularly good mood, and that evening in the common room she even consented to look over (in other words, finish writing) Harry’s Herbology essay, something she had been resolutely refusing to do up to that point, because she had known that Harry would then let Ron copy his work. 

‘Thanks a lot, Hermione,’ said Harry, giving her a hasty pat on the back as he checked his watch and saw that it was nearly eight o’clock. ‘Listen, I’ve got to hurry or I’ll be late for Dumbledore ...’ 

She did not answer, but merely crossed out a few of his feebler sentences in a weary sort of way. Grinning, Harry hurried out through the portrait hole and off to the Headmaster’s office.

497. Harry Remembering Hermione's Organisation and Understanding Its Significance

~ '– because she was a house-elf,’ said Harry. He had rarely  felt more in sympathy with the society Hermione had set up, S.P.E.W. 

498. Harry and Hermione Bickering about the Half-blood Prince again

~ You won’t find anything in there,’ said Hermione firmly, late on Sunday evening. 

‘Don’t start, Hermione,’ said Harry. ‘If it hadn’t been for the Prince, Ron wouldn’t be sitting here now.’ 

‘He would if you’d just listened to Snape in our first year,’ said Hermione dismissively. 

Harry ignored her. He had just found an incantation (Sectumsempra!) scrawled in a margin above the intriguing words ‘For Enemies’, and was itching to try it out, but thought it best not to in front of Hermione.

~ ‘I’m telling you, the stupid Prince isn’t going to be able to help you with this, Harry!’ said Hermione, more loudly. ‘There’s only one way to force someone to do what you want, and that’s the Imperius Curse, which is illegal –’ 

‘Yeah, I know that, thanks,’ said Harry, not looking up from the book. ‘That’s why I’m looking for something different. Dumbledore says Veritaserum won’t do it, but there might be something else, a potion or a spell ...’ 

‘You’re going about it the wrong way,’ said Hermione. ‘Only you can get the memory, Dumbledore says. That must mean you can persuade Slughorn where other people can’t. It’s not a question of slipping him a potion, anyone could do that –’

499. Harry and Hermione Both Finishing Their Homework Before Ron

~ Having wasted a lot of time worrying aloud about Apparition, Ron was now struggling to finish a viciously difficult essay for Snape that Harry and Hermione had already completed.

500. Harry Knowing About How Hermione Feels about House-elves

~ Hermione let out a little shriek; Ron spilled ink all over his essay and Harry said, ‘Kreacher!’

~ What is this?’ asked Hermione, still looking shocked by these sudden appearances. ‘What’s going on, Harry?’ Harry hesitated before answering, because he had not told Hermione about setting Kreacher and Dobby to tail Malfoy; house-elves were always such a touchy subject with her. 

  ‘Well ... they’ve been following Malfoy for me,’ he said.

~ Hermione looked indignant. 

‘You haven’t slept, Dobby? But surely, Harry, you didn’t tell him not to –’ 

‘No, of course I didn’t,’ said Harry quickly. ‘Dobby, you can sleep, all right? But has either of you found out anything?’ he hastened to ask, before Hermione could intervene again.

501. Hermione Discussing the Room of Requirement with Harry while He Snaps When Kreacher calls her a Mudblood

~ 'The Room of Requirement!’ said Harry, smacking himself hard on the forehead with Advanced Potion-Making. Hermione and Ron stared at him.

~ ‘But I don’t think you will, Harry,’ said Hermione slowly. ‘Malfoy already knew exactly how we were using the Room, didn’t he, because that stupid Marietta had blabbed. He needed the Room to become the Headquarters of the DA, so it did. But you don’t know what the Room becomes when Malfoy goes in there, so you don’t know what to ask it to transform into.’ 

‘There’ll be a way around that,’ said Harry dismissively. ‘You’ve done brilliantly, Dobby.’

 ‘Kreacher’s done well, too,’ said Hermione kindly; but far from looking grateful, Kreacher averted his huge, bloodshot eyes and croaked at the ceiling, ‘The Mudblood is speaking to Kreacher, Kreacher will pretend he cannot hear –’ 

‘Get out of it,’ Harry snapped at him, and Kreacher made one last deep bow and Disapparated.

~ 'But what’s all this about him going up there with a “variety of students”?’ said Hermione. ‘How many people are in on it? You wouldn’t think he’d trust lots of them to know what he’s doing ...’

 ‘Yeah, that is weird,’ said Harry, frowning. ‘I heard him telling Crabbe it wasn’t Crabbe’s business what he was doing ... so what’s he telling all these ... all these ...’ Harry’s voice tailed away; he was staring at the fire. 

‘God, I’ve been stupid,’ he said quietly. ‘It’s obvious, isn’t it? There was a great vat of it down in the dungeon ... he could’ve nicked some any time during that lesson ...’

~ ‘Polyjuice Potion. He stole some of the Polyjuice Potion Slughorn showed us in our first Potions lesson ... there aren’t a whole variety of students standing guard for Malfoy ... it’s just Crabbe and Goyle as usual ... yeah, it all fits!’ said Harry, jumping up and starting to pace in front of the fire. ‘They’re stupid enough to do what they’re told even if he won’t tell them what he’s up to ... but he doesn’t want them to be seen lurking around outside the Room of Requirement, so he’s got them taking Polyjuice to make them look like other people ... those two girls I saw him with when he missed Quidditch – ha! Crabbe and Goyle!’ 

‘Do you mean to say,’ said Hermione in a hushed voice, ‘that that little girl whose scales I repaired –?’ 

‘Yeah, of course!’ said Harry loudly, staring at her. ‘Of course! Malfoy must’ve been inside the Room at the time, so she – what am I talking about? – he dropped the scales to tell Malfoy not to come out, because there was someone there! And there was that girl who dropped the toad-spawn, too! We’ve been walking past him all the time and not realising it!’

~ 'Well, they wouldn’t, would they, if he’s shown them his Dark Mark,’ said Harry. 

‘Hmmm ... the Dark Mark we don’t know exists,’ said Hermione sceptically, rolling up Ron’s dried essay before it could come to any more harm and handing it to him. 

‘We’ll see,’ said Harry confidently. 

‘Yes, we will,’ Hermione said, getting to her feet and stretching. ‘But, Harry, before you get all excited, I still don’t think you’ll be able to get into the Room of Requirement without knowing what’s there first. And I don’t think you should forget,’ she heaved her bag on to her shoulder and gave him a very serious look, ‘that what you’re supposed to be concentrating on is getting that memory from Slughorn. Goodnight.’ 

Harry watched her go, feeling slightly disgruntled.

502. Harry thinking about what Hermione said and Being Irritated When She doesn't Share Her Opinion

~ He lay awake for what felt like hours, wondering how Malfoy was using the Room of Requirement and what he, Harry, would see when he went in there the following day, for whatever Hermione said, Harry was sure that if Malfoy had been able to see the Headquarters of the DA, he would be able to see Malfoy’s ... what could it be?

~ Hermione was rather ostentatiously showing no interest in his whispered plans for forcing entry into the Room, which irritated Harry, because he thought she might be a lot of help if she wanted to. 

‘Look,’ he said quietly, leaning forwards and putting a hand on the Daily Prophet, which she had just removed from a post owl, to stop her opening it and vanishing behind it. ‘I haven’t forgotten about Slughorn, but I haven’t got a clue how to get that memory off him, and until I get a brainwave why shouldn’t I find out what Malfoy’s doing?’ 

‘I’ve already told you, you need to persuade Slughorn,’ said Hermione. ‘It’s not a question of tricking him or bewitching him, or Dumbledore could have done it in a second. Instead of messing around outside the Room of Requirement,’ she jerked the Prophet out from under Harry’s hand and unfolded it to look at the front page, ‘you should go and find Slughorn and start appealing to his better nature.’

~ ‘Yes!’ said Hermione, causing both Harry and Ron to gag on their breakfast, ‘but it’s all right, he’s not dead – it’s Mundungus, he’s been arrested and sent to Azkaban! Something to do with impersonating an Inferius during an attempted burglary ... and someone called Octavius Pepper has vanished ... oh, and how horrible, a nine-year-old boy has been arrested for trying to kill his grandparents, they think he was under the Imperius Curse …’

~ ‘You’d do better,’ said Hermione, when he confided this plan to Ron and her in the Entrance Hall, ‘to go straight to Slughorn’s office and try and get that memory from him.’ 

‘I’ve been trying!’ said Harry crossly, which was perfectly true. He had lagged behind after every Potions lesson that week in an attempt to corner Slughorn, but the Potions master always left the dungeon so fast that Harry had not been able to catch him. Twice, Harry had gone to his office and knocked, but received no reply, though on the second occasion he was sure he had heard the quickly stifled sounds of an old gramophone. 

‘He doesn’t want to talk to me, Hermione! He can tell I’ve been trying to get him on his own again and he’s not going to let it happen!’ 

‘Well, you’ve just got to keep at it, haven’t you?’ 

The short queue of people waiting to file past Filch, who was doing his usual prodding act with the Secrecy Sensor, moved forwards a few steps and Harry did not answer in case he was overheard by the caretaker. He wished Ron and Hermione luck, then turned and climbed the marble staircase again, determined, whatever Hermione said, to devote an hour or two to the Room of Requirement.

~ He therefore sprinted up the stairs, slowing down only when he reached the corner into the corridor, when he began to creep, very slowly, towards the very same little girl, clutching her heavy brass scales, that Hermione had so kindly helped a fortnight before. He waited until he was right behind her before bending very low and whispering, ‘Hello ... you’re very pretty, aren’t you?’

503. Harry Realising That Hermione had a Point, Abandoning His Quest and Instead Talking to her and Ron and Voicing Something Ridiculous that was More Hermione's territory than his, Associating her with Feelings Of Romance 

~ Harry tried every variation of ‘I need to see what Draco Malfoy is doing inside you’ that he could think of for a whole hour, at the end of which he was forced to concede that Hermione might have had a point: the Room simply did not want to open for him.

~ Finally, a hollow feeling in his stomach and the knowledge that Ron and Hermione would soon be back for lunch made him abandon the attempt and leave the corridor to Malfoy who, hopefully, would be too afraid to leave for some hours to come. 

He found Ron and Hermione in the Great Hall, already halfway through an early lunch.

~ ‘Good one,’ said Harry. ‘How’d you do, Hermione?’

 ‘Oh, she was perfect, obviously,’ said Ron, before Hermione could answer.

~ ‘And what about you?’ asked Hermione, ignoring Ron. ‘Have you been up at the Room of Requirement all this time?’ ‘Yep,’ said Harry. ‘And guess who I ran into up there? Tonks!’ ‘Tonks?’ repeated Ron and Hermione together, looking surprised. ‘Yeah, she said she’d come to visit Dumbledore ...’

~ ‘It’s a bit odd,’ said Hermione, who for some reason looked very concerned. ‘She’s supposed to be guarding the school, why’s she suddenly abandoning her post to come and see Dumbledore when he’s not even here?’ 

‘I had a thought,’ said Harry tentatively. He felt strange about voicing it; this was much more Hermione’s territory than his. ‘You don’t think she can have been ... you know ... in love with Sirius?’

 Hermione stared at him. 

‘What on earth makes you say that?’ 

‘I dunno,’ said Harry, shrugging, ‘but she was nearly crying when I mentioned his name ... and her Patronus is a big fourlegged thing now ... I wondered whether it hadn’t become ... you know ... him.’

 ‘It’s a thought,’ said Hermione slowly. ‘But I still don’t know why she’d be bursting into the castle to see Dumbledore, if that’s really why she was here ...’ 

504. Hermione Not Wanting Harry To End Up In Detention

~ ‘No!’ whispered Hermione, grabbing Harry’s arm as he opened his mouth furiously. ‘There’s no point, you’ll just end up in detention again, leave it!’

505. Harry and Hermione Following similar Trails of Thought and Just talking

~ ‘Maybe he wants to check on how you’re doing?’ suggested Hermione, as Harry unrolled the parchment; but rather than finding Dumbledore’s long, narrow, slanting writing he saw an untidy sprawl, very difficult to read due to the presence of large blotches on the parchment where the ink had run.

~ 'Look at this,’ said Harry, handing the note to Hermione. 

‘Oh, for heaven’s sake,’ she said, scanning it quickly and passing it to Ron, who read it through looking increasingly incredulous.

~ ‘It’s not just that,’ said Hermione. ‘He’s asking us to leave the castle at night, and he knows security’s a million times tighter and how much trouble we’d be in if we were caught.’ 

‘We’ve been down to see him by night before,’ said Harry. 

‘Yes, but for something like this?’ said Hermione. ‘We’ve risked a lot to help Hagrid out, but after all – Aragog’s dead. If it were a question of saving him –’

~ Harry took the note back and stared down at the inky blotches all over it. Tears had clearly fallen thick and fast upon the parchment ... 

‘Harry, you can’t be thinking of going,’ said Hermione. ‘It’s such a pointless thing to get detention for.’

 Harry sighed.

 ‘Yeah, I know,’ he said. ‘I s’pose Hagrid’ll have to bury Aragog without us.’ 

‘Yes, he will,’ said Hermione, looking relieved. ‘Look, Potions will be almost empty this afternoon, with us all off doing our tests ... try and soften Slughorn up a bit then!’ 

‘Fifty-seventh time lucky, you think?’ said Harry bitterly.

~ Harry stared at them both.

~ What on earth is more important than this memory, Harry?’ asked Hermione.

 Harry did not answer.

~ ‘Harry? Are you still with us?’ asked Hermione. 

 ‘Wha—? Yeah, of course,’ he said, pulling himself together. ‘Well ... OK. If I can’t get Slughorn to talk this afternoon, I’ll take some Felix and have another go this evening.’ 

‘That’s decided, then,’ said Hermione briskly, getting to her feet and performing a graceful pirouette. ‘Destination ... determination ... deliberation ...’ she murmured.

~ ‘Well, their brother was attacked by a werewolf. The rumour is that their mother refused to help the Death Eaters. Anyway, the boy was only five and he died in St Mungo’s, they couldn’t save him.’ 

‘He died?’ repeated Harry, shocked. ‘But surely werewolves don’t kill, they just turn you into one of them?’

~ 'What was the werewolf’s name?’ said Harry quickly. 

‘Well, the rumour is that it was that Fenrir Greyback,’ said Hermione. 

‘I knew it – the maniac who likes attacking kids, the one Lupin told me about!’ said Harry angrily.

 Hermione looked at him bleakly. ‘Harry, you’ve got to get that memory,’ she said. ‘It’s all about stopping Voldemort, isn’t it? These dreadful things that are happening are all down to him ...’ 

The bell rang overhead in the castle and both Hermione and Ron jumped to their feet, looking terrified. ‘You’ll do fine,’ Harry told them both, as they headed towards the Entrance Hall to meet the rest of the people taking their Apparition test. ‘Good luck.’ 

‘And you too!’ said Hermione with a significant look, as Harry headed off to the dungeons.

506. Harry Being Happy when Hermione Performs well In Apparition, and Both of them Following Familiar Trails of Thought and abusing The Apparition Examiner to cheer Ron up

~ ‘Harry!’ cried Hermione as she climbed through the portrait hole. ‘Harry, I passed!’ 

‘Well done!’ he said. ‘And Ron?’ 

‘He – he just failed,’ whispered Hermione, as Ron came slouching into the room looking most morose. ‘It was really unlucky, a tiny thing, the examiner just spotted that he’d left half an eyebrow behind ... how did it go with Slughorn?’ 

‘No joy,’ said Harry, as Ron joined them.

~ They spent most of their dinner roundly abusing the Apparition examiner and Ron looked fractionally more cheerful by the time they set off back to the common room, now discussing the continuing problem of Slughorn and the memory. 

507. Hermione Being Concerned for Harry when He Takes Takes Felix

~ ‘Well, here goes,’ said Harry, and he raised the little bottle and took a carefully measured gulp. 

‘What does it feel like?’ whispered Hermione. 

Harry did not answer for a moment. Then, slowly but surely, an exhilarating sense of infinite opportunity stole through him; he felt as though he could have done anything, anything at all ... and getting the memory from Slughorn seemed suddenly not only possible, but positively easy ... He got to his feet smiling, brimful of confidence. ‘Excellent,’ he said. ‘Really excellent. Right ... I’m going down to Hagrid’s.’ 

‘What?’ said Ron and Hermione together, looking aghast. ‘No, Harry – you’ve got to go and see Slughorn, remember?’ said Hermione. 

‘No,’ said Harry confidently. ‘I’m going to Hagrid’s, I’ve got a good feeling about going to Hagrid’s.’

~ Yeah,’ said Harry, pulling his Invisibility Cloak out of his bag. ‘I feel like it’s the place to be tonight, you know what I mean?’ 

‘No,’ said Ron and Hermione together, both looking positively alarmed now. 

‘This is Felix Felicis, I suppose?’ said Hermione anxiously, holding up the bottle to the light. ‘You haven’t got another little bottle full of – I don’t know –’

~ Harry laughed and Ron and Hermione looked even more alarmed. ‘Trust me,’ he said. ‘I know what I’m doing ... or at least ...’ he strolled confidently to the door, ‘Felix does.’ He pulled the Invisibility Cloak over his head and set off down the stairs, Ron and Hermione hurrying along behind him.

508. Harry telling Hagrid that was Sorry for not Coming to Hagrid's To Not Make Hagrid Get annoyed about Her

~ ‘Yeah – Ron and Hermione couldn’t, though,’ said Harry. ‘They’re really sorry.’

509. Harry Imagining Hermione's Expression when he Hears Of House-elf Abuse

~ Harry saw, in his mind’s eye, the expression on Hermione’s face if she ever heard about this abuse of house-elves, and decided never to mention it to her. 

510. Hermione Being Impressed By How Harry Got Slughorn's memory

~ Exhausted but delighted with his night’s work, Harry told Ron and Hermione everything that had happened during next morning’s Charms lesson (having first cast the Muffliato spell upon those nearest them). They were both satisfyingly impressed by the way he had wheedled the memory out of Slughorn and positively awed when he told them about Voldemort’s Horcruxes and Dumbledore’s promise to take Harry along, should he find another one.

511. Harry Noticing Hermione's Expressions

~ Lavender Brown, Harry noticed, glared at Hermione from a neighbouring table through very red eyes and Hermione immediately let go of Ron’s arm.

~ ‘Well, it was a bad night for romance all round. Ginny and Dean split up too, Harry.’ 

Harry thought there was a rather knowing look in her eye as she told him that, but she could not possibly know that his insides were suddenly dancing the conga: keeping his face as immobile and his voice as indifferent as he could, he asked, ‘How come?’ 

‘Oh, something really silly ... she said he was always trying to help her through the portrait hole, like she couldn’t climb in herself ... but they’ve been a bit rocky for ages.’ 

~  ‘Of course, this puts you in a bit of a dilemma, doesn’t it?’ said Hermione. 

‘What d’you mean?’ said Harry quickly.

 ‘The Quidditch team,’ said Hermione. ‘If Ginny and Dean aren’t speaking ...’ 

‘Oh – oh yeah,’ said Harry. 

~ Ron seemed to be positively light-hearted about the end of his relationship with Lavender and Hermione seemed cheery, too, though when asked what she was grinning about she simply said, ‘It’s a nice day.’

512. Harry Being Aware Of His Surroundings Only When Hermione Speaks

~ Harry barely noticed that they were climbing through the portrait hole into the sunny common room, and only vaguely registered the small group of seventh-years clustered together there, until Hermione cried, ‘Katie! You’re back! Are you OK?’ 

Harry stared: it was indeed Katie Bell, looking completely healthy and surrounded by her jubilant friends.

513. Harry and Hermione Discussing Theories Together

~ '... that necklace ... can you remember who gave it to you now?’ 

~  ‘You definitely went into the bathroom, then?’ said Hermione.

~ ‘So it must have been a girl or a woman who gave Katie the necklace,’ said Hermione, ‘to be in the ladies’ bathroom.’ 

‘Or someone who looked like a girl or a woman,’ said Harry. ‘Don’t forget, there was a cauldronful of Polyjuice Potion at Hogwarts. We know some of it got stolen ...’

~ ‘I think I’m going to take another swig of Felix,’ said Harry, ‘and have a go at the Room of Requirement again.’ 

‘That would be a complete waste of potion,’ said Hermione flatly, putting down the copy of Spellman’s Syllabary she had just taken out of her bag. ‘Luck can only get you so far, Harry. The situation with Slughorn was different; you always had the ability to persuade him, you just needed to tweak the circumstances a bit. Luck isn’t enough to get you through a powerful enchantment, though. Don’t go wasting the rest of that potion! You’ll need all the luck you can get if Dumbledore takes you along with him ...’ She dropped her voice to a whisper.

514. Harry Choosing not to do Stupid Stuff in front of Hermione

~ He had still not found out what it did, mainly because he did not want to test it around Hermione, but he was considering trying it out on McLaggen next time he came up behind him unawares.

515. Harry Considering Asking Hermione's Advice and Romance But Catching Her Smug Looks Because She Knows Him Too Well and Not being Able to Stand It

~  Once or twice Harry considered asking for Hermione’s help, but he did not think he could stand seeing the smug look on her face; he thought he caught it sometimes when Hermione spotted him staring at Ginny, or laughing at her jokes.

516. Harry Thinking about Stuff Hermione Says

~ All in all, the temptation to take another gulp of Felix Felicis was becoming stronger by the day, for surely this was a case for, as Hermione put it, ‘tweaking the circumstances’?

517. Harry and Hermione Arguing About Actually Important Things But Never Losing Respect For One Another, Because Hermione Was Stung When Ginny said That Hermione Should Be Glad That Harry didn't get Hurt Because she did care, Becoming A Possible Reason for Harry's Cheerfulness

~ 'I won’t say “I told you so”,’ said Hermione, an hour later in the common room.

~ He had just finished telling Ron, Hermione and Ginny what had happened, not that there seemed to have been much need.

~ ‘I told you there was something wrong with that Prince person,’ Hermione said, evidently unable to stop herself. ‘And I was right, wasn’t I?’ 

‘No, I don’t think you were,’ said Harry stubbornly. 

~  He was having a bad enough time without Hermione lecturing him; the looks on the Gryffindor team’s faces when he had told them he would not be able to play on Saturday had been the worst punishment of all.

~ Harry,’ said Hermione, ‘how can you still stick up for that book when that spell –’

 ‘Will you stop harping on about the book!’ snapped Harry. ‘The Prince only copied it out! It’s not like he was advising anyone to use it! For all we know, he was making a note of something that had been used against him!’ 

‘I don’t believe this,’ said Hermione. ‘You’re actually defending –’ 

‘I’m not defending what I did!’ said Harry quickly. ‘I wish I hadn’t done it, and not just because I’ve got about a dozen detentions. You know I wouldn’t’ve used a spell like that, not even on Malfoy, but you can’t blame the Prince, he hadn’t written “Try this out, it’s really good” – he was just making notes for himself, wasn’t he, not for anyone else ...’ 

‘Are you telling me,’ said Hermione, ‘that you’re going to go back –?’ 

‘And get the book? Yeah, I am,’ said Harry forcefully. ‘Listen, without the Prince I’d never have won the Felix Felicis. I’d never have known how to save Ron from poisoning, I’d never have –’ 

‘– got a reputation for Potions brilliance you don’t deserve,’ said Hermione nastily. 

‘Give it a rest, Hermione!’ said Ginny, and Harry was so amazed, so grateful, he looked up.

~ 'Well, of course I’m glad Harry wasn’t cursed!’ said Hermione, clearly stung, ‘but you can’t call that Sectumsempra spell good, Ginny, look where it’s landed him! And I’d have thought, seeing what this has done to your chances in the match –’

~ Harry, however, though he knew he little deserved it, felt unbelievably cheerful all of a sudden, even though none of them spoke again for the rest of the evening.

518. Harry Thinking about Things He Said To Hermione

~ By Saturday morning, whatever he might have told Hermione, Harry would have gladly exchanged all the Felix Felicis in the world to be walking down to the Quidditch pitch with Ron, Ginny and the others.

519. Hermione Beaming When She sees Harry Happy with Ginny

~ Hermione was beaming, but Harry’s eyes sought Ron.

520. Harry and Hermione Bickering About The Prince's Book and Harry Being Stung When Hermione Says that He Doesn't Think Girls are Clever Because He Thinks Very Highly Of Hermione

~ On one such evening, when Ginny had retired to the library and Harry was sitting beside the window in the common room, supposedly finishing his Herbology homework but in reality reliving a particularly happy hour he had spent down by the lake with Ginny at lunch-time, Hermione dropped into the seat between him and Ron with an unpleasantly purposeful look on her face. 

‘I want to talk to you, Harry.’ 

‘What about?’ said Harry suspiciously. Only the previous day, Hermione had told him off for distracting Ginny when she ought to be working hard for her examinations. 

‘The so-called Half-Blood Prince.’ 

‘Oh, not again,’ he groaned. ‘Will you please drop it?’ 

~ ‘I’m not dropping it,’ said Hermione firmly, ‘until you’ve heard me out. Now, I’ve been trying to find out a bit about who might make a hobby of inventing Dark spells –’ 

‘He didn’t make a hobby of it –’ 

‘He, he – who says it’s a he?’

 ‘We’ve been through this,’ said Harry crossly. ‘Prince, Hermione, Prince!’ 

‘Right!’ said Hermione, red patches blazing in her cheeks as she pulled a very old piece of newsprint out of her pocket and slammed it down on the table in front of Harry. ‘Look at that! Look at the picture!’ 

Harry picked up the crumbling piece of paper and stared at the moving photograph, yellowed with age; 

~ ‘So?’ said Harry, scanning the short news item to which the picture belonged; it was a rather dull story about inter-school competitions. 

‘Her name was Eileen Prince. Prince, Harry.’ 

They looked at each other and Harry realised what Hermione was trying to say. 

He burst out laughing. 

‘No way.’ 

‘What?’ 

‘You think she was the Half-Blood ...? Oh, come on.’ 

‘Well, why not? Harry, there aren’t any real princes in the wizarding world! It’s either a nickname, a made-up title somebody’s given themselves, or it could be their actual name, couldn’t it? No, listen! If, say, her father was a wizard whose surname was “Prince”, and her mother was a Muggle, then that would make her a “half-blood Prince”!’ 

‘Yeah, very ingenious, Hermione ...’ 

‘But it would! Maybe she was proud of being half a Prince!’

 ‘Listen, Hermione, I can tell it’s not a girl. I can just tell.'

'The truth is that you don’t think a girl would have been clever enough,’ said Hermione angrily. 

‘How can I have hung round with you for five years and not think girls are clever?’ said Harry, stung by this. ‘It’s the way he writes. I just know the Prince was a bloke, I can tell. This girl hasn’t got anything to do with it. Where did you get this, anyway?’ 

‘The library,’ said Hermione, predictably. ‘There’s a whole collection of old Prophets up there. Well, I’m going to find out more about Eileen Prince if I can.’ 

‘Enjoy yourself,’ said Harry irritably. 

‘I will,’ said Hermione. ‘And the first place I’ll look,’ she shot at him, as she reached the portrait hole, ‘is records of old Potions awards!’ 

Harry scowled after her for a moment, then continued his contemplation of the darkening sky. 

~ 'You don’t think I’m mad, wanting that book back, do you?’ 

‘Course not,’ said Ron robustly. ‘He was a genius, the Prince. Anyway ... without his bezoar tip ...’ he drew his finger significantly across his own throat, ‘I wouldn’t be here to discuss it, would I? I mean, I’m not saying that spell you used on Malfoy was great –’ 

‘Nor am I,’ said Harry quickly.

521. Harry Confiding Important Things in Hermione and Noticing Her Expressions Of Concern and Fear For Him, and Later Feeling That He should said Goodbye Properly, and Not Getting angry when Hermione apologised for Letting Snape go

~ His mind was oddly clear all of a sudden. He knew what to do. 

Ron and Hermione were sitting together in the common room when he came back. ‘What does Dumbledore want?’ Hermione said at once. ‘Harry, are you OK?’ she added anxiously. 

‘I’m fine,’ said Harry shortly, racing past them. He dashed up the stairs and into his dormitory, where he flung open his trunk and pulled out the Marauder’s Map and a pair of balledup socks. Then he sped back down the stairs and into the common room, skidding to a halt where Ron and Hermione sat, looking stunned. ‘I haven’t got much time,’ Harry panted, ‘Dumbledore thinks I’m getting my Invisibility Cloak. Listen ...’ 

Quickly he told them where he was going, and why. He did not pause either for Hermione’s gasps of horror or for Ron’s hasty questions; they could work out the finer details for themselves later. ‘... so you see what this means?’ Harry finished at a gallop. ‘Dumbledore won’t be here tonight, so Malfoy’s going to have another clear shot at whatever he’s up to. No, listen to me!’ he hissed angrily, as both Ron and Hermione showed every sign of interrupting. ‘I know it was Malfoy celebrating in the Room of Requirement. Here –’ He shoved the Marauder’s Map into Hermione’s hand. ‘You’ve got to watch him and you’ve got to watch Snape, too. Use anyone else who you can rustle up from the DA. Hermione, those contact Galleons will still work, right? Dumbledore says he’s put extra protection in the school, but if Snape’s involved, he’ll know what Dumbledore’s protection is, and how to avoid it – but he won’t be expecting you lot to be on the watch, will he?’

 ‘Harry –’ began Hermione, her eyes huge with fear. 

'I haven’t got time to argue,’ said Harry curtly. ‘Take this as well –’ He thrust the socks into Ron’s hands. 

‘Thanks,’ said Ron. ‘Er – why do I need socks?’ 

‘You need what’s wrapped in them, it’s the Felix Felicis. Share it between yourselves and Ginny too. Say goodbye to her from me. I’d better go, Dumbledore’s waiting –’ 

‘No!’ said Hermione, as Ron unwrapped the tiny little bottle of golden potion, looking awestruck. ‘We don’t want it, you take it, who knows what you’re going to be facing?’ 

‘I’ll be fine, I’ll be with Dumbledore,’ said Harry. ‘I want to know you lot are OK ... don’t look like that, Hermione, I’ll see you later ...’ 

~ The great black lake, teeming with the dead ... it seemed hours and hours ago that he had met Professor Trelawney, that he had given Ron and Hermione the Felix Felicis ... he suddenly wished he had said a better goodbye to them ... and he hadn’t seen Ginny at all ...

~ At the sound of the doors opening, they all looked up. Hermione ran to Harry and hugged him; Lupin moved forwards too, looking anxious. 

~  Harry looked over Hermione’s shoulder and saw an unrecognisable face lying on Bill’s pillow, so badly slashed and ripped that he looked grotesque.

~ 'Snape killed him,’ said Harry. ‘I was there, I saw it. We arrived back on the Astronomy Tower because that’s where the Mark was ... Dumbledore was ill, he was weak, but I think he realised it was a trap when we heard footsteps running up the stairs. He immobilised me, I couldn’t do anything, I was under the Invisibility Cloak – and then Malfoy came through the door and Disarmed him –’ 

Hermione clapped her hands to her mouth, and Ron groaned.

~ I do,’ said Harry, and he explained, briefly, about the pair of Vanishing Cabinets and the magical pathway they formed. ‘So they got in through the Room of Requirement.’

 Almost against his will he glanced from Ron to Hermione, both of whom looked devastated.

~ ‘So if Ron was watching the Room of Requirement with Ginny and Neville,’ said Harry, turning to Hermione, ‘were you –?’

 ‘Outside Snape’s office, yes,’ whispered Hermione, her eyes sparkling with tears, ‘with Luna. We hung around for ages outside it and nothing happened ... we didn’t know what was going on upstairs, Ron had taken the Marauder’s Map ... it was nearly midnight when Professor Flitwick came sprinting down into the dungeons. He was shouting about Death Eaters in the castle, I don’t think he really registered that Luna and I were there at all, he just burst his way into Snape’s office and we heard him saying that Snape had to go back with him and help and then we heard a loud thump and Snape came hurtling out of his room and he saw us and – and –’ 

‘What?’ Harry urged her. 

‘I was so stupid, Harry!’ said Hermione in a high-pitched whisper. ‘He said Professor Flitwick had collapsed and that we should go and take care of him while he – while he went to help fight the Death Eaters –’

She covered her face in shame and continued to talk into her fingers, so that her voice was muffled. ‘We went into his office to see if we could help Professor Flitwick and found him unconscious on the floor ... and, oh, it’s so obvious now, Snape must have Stupefied Flitwick, but we didn’t realise, Harry, we didn’t realise, we just let Snape go!’

~ 'So then he came upstairs,’ said Harry, who in his mind’s eye was watching Snape running up the marble staircase, his black robes billowing behind him as ever, pulling his wand from under his cloak as he ascended, ‘and he found the place where you were all fighting ...’

~ Harry stood up, murmured, ‘See you in a bit,’ to Ron, Hermione and Ginny, and followed Professor McGonagall back down the ward.

~ Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were spending all of their time together.

~ 'No,’ she said reprovingly, folding up the newspaper. ‘They’re still looking for Snape, but no sign ...’

 ‘Of course there isn’t,’ said Harry, who became angry every time this subject cropped up. ‘They won’t find Snape till they find Voldemort, and seeing as they’ve never managed to do that in all this time ...’ 

~ Harry looked at Ginny, Ron and Hermione: Ron’s face was screwed up as though the sunlight was blinding him. Hermione’s face was glazed with tears, but Ginny was no longer crying.

~ Ron, he saw, was now holding Hermione and stroking her hair while she sobbed into his shoulder, tears dripping from the end of his own long nose.

 With a miserable gesture, Harry got up, turned his back on Ginny and on Dumbledore’s tomb and walked away around the lake.

522. Draco Overhearing Harry and Hermione's Conversation in The Library

~ ‘I got the idea of poisoning the mead from the Mudblood Granger, as well, I heard her talking in the library about Filch not recognising potions ...’

523. Harry and Hermione Discussing More Theories Together, and Hermione Telling Harry that he Was Putting Too Much Blame On Himself

~ The moment the door had closed behind her, Hermione leaned forwards towards Harry with a most Hermione-ish look on her face. 

‘Harry, I found something out this morning, in the library ...’ 

‘R.A.B.?’ said Harry, sitting up straight. 

He did not feel the way he had so often felt before, excited, curious, burning to get to the bottom of a mystery; he simply knew that the task of discovering the truth about the real Horcrux had to be completed before he could move a little further along the dark and winding path stretching ahead of him, the path that he and Dumbledore had set out upon together, and which he now knew he would have to journey alone. There might still be as many as four Horcruxes out there somewhere and each would need to be found and eliminated before there was even a possibility that Voldemort could be killed. He kept reciting their names to himself, as though by listing them he could bring them within reach: ‘the locket ... the cup ... the snake ... something of Gryffindor’s or Ravenclaw’s ... the locket ... the cup ... the snake ... something of Gryffindor’s or Ravenclaw’s ...’ 

This mantra seemed to pulse through Harry’s mind as he fell asleep at night, and his dreams were thick with cups, lockets and mysterious objects that he could not quite reach, though Dumbledore helpfully offered Harry a rope ladder that turned to snakes the moment he began to climb ... 

He had shown Hermione the note inside the locket the morning after Dumbledore’s death, and although she had not immediately recognised the initials as belonging to some obscure wizard about whom she had been reading, she had since been rushing off to the library a little more often than was strictly necessary for somebody who had no homework to do. 

‘No,’ she said sadly, ‘I’ve been trying, Harry, but I haven’t found anything ... there are a couple of reasonably wellknown wizards with those initials – Rosalind Antigone Bungs ... Rupert “Axebanger” Brookstanton ... but they don’t seem to fit at all. Judging by that note, the person who stole the Horcrux knew Voldemort, and I can’t find a shred of evidence that Bungs or Axebanger ever had anything to do with him ... no, actually, it’s about ... well, Snape.’ 

She looked nervous even saying the name again.

 ‘What about him?’ asked Harry heavily, slumping back in his chair. 

‘Well, it’s just that I was sort of right about the Half-Blood Prince business,’ she said tentatively.

 ‘D’you have to rub it in, Hermione? How d’you think I feel about that now?’ 

‘No – no – Harry, I didn’t mean that!’ she said hastily, looking around to check that they were not being overheard. ‘It’s just that I was right about Eileen Prince once owning the book. You see ... she was Snape’s mother!' 

~ ‘I was going through the rest of the old Prophets and there was a tiny announcement about Eileen Prince marrying a man called Tobias Snape, and then later an announcement saying that she’d given birth to a –’ 

‘– murderer,’ spat Harry. 

‘Well ... yes,’ said Hermione. ‘So ... I was sort of right. Snape must have been proud of being “half a Prince”, you see? Tobias Snape was a Muggle from what it said in the Prophet.’ 

‘Yeah, that fits,’ said Harry. ‘He’d play up the pure-blood side so he could get in with Lucius Malfoy and the rest of them ... he’s just like Voldemort. Pure-blood mother, Muggle father ... ashamed of his parentage, trying to make himself feared using the Dark Arts, gave himself an impressive new name – Lord Voldemort – the Half-Blood Prince – how could Dumbledore have missed –?’ 

He broke off, looking out of the window. He could not stop himself dwelling upon Dumbledore’s inexcusable trust in Snape ... but as Hermione had just inadvertently reminded him, he, Harry, had been taken in just the same ... in spite of the increasing nastiness of those scribbled spells, he had refused to believe ill of the boy who had been so clever, who had helped him so much ... 

~ 'I don’t think he wanted to associate himself with that book,’ said Hermione. ‘I don’t think Dumbledore would have liked it very much if he’d known. And even if Snape pretended it hadn’t been his, Slughorn would have recognised his writing at once. Anyway, the book was left in Snape’s old classroom, and I’ll bet Dumbledore knew his mother was called “Prince”.’ 

‘I should’ve shown the book to Dumbledore,’ said Harry. ‘All that time he was showing me how Voldemort was evil even when he was at school, and I had proof Snape was, too –’ 

‘“Evil” is a strong word,’ said Hermione quietly. 

‘You were the one who kept telling me the book was dangerous!’ 

‘I’m trying to say, Harry, that you’re putting too much blame on yourself. I thought the Prince seemed to have a nasty sense of humour, but I would never have guessed he was a potential killer ...’

524. Hermione Summoning People from The DA as Harry told Her To

~ They alone of all the DA had responded to Hermione’s summons the night that Dumbledore had died, and Harry knew why: they were the ones who had missed the DA most ... probably the ones who had checked their coins regularly in the hope that there would be another meeting ...

525. Harry Complimenting Hermione Even While Having an Emotional Conversation With Ginny

~ ‘Not really. I always hoped ... Hermione told me to get on with life, maybe go out with some other people, relax a bit around you, because I never used to be able to talk if you were in the room, remember? And she thought you might take a bit more notice if I was a bit more – myself.’ 

‘Smart girl, that Hermione,’ said Harry, trying to smile.

526. Harry and Hermione Talking and Harry Feeling Grateful For Their Friendship, while Hermione Remembered what Harry Told Her Six Years Ago

~ Ron and Hermione were hurrying towards Harry, passing Scrimgeour going in the opposite direction; Harry turned and walked slowly on, waiting for them to catch up, which they finally did in the shade of a beech tree under which they had sat in happier times. 

‘What did Scrimgeour want?’ Hermione whispered.

 ‘Same as he wanted at Christmas,’ shrugged Harry. ‘Wanted me to give him inside information on Dumbledore and be the Ministry’s new poster boy.’

~ Harry laughed. Even Hermione grinned a little, though her smile faded as she looked up at the castle.

~ ‘I’m not coming back even if it does reopen,’ said Harry. 

Ron gaped at him, but Hermione said sadly, ‘I knew you were going to say that. But then what will you do?’ 

‘I’m going back to the Dursleys’ once more, because Dumbledore wanted me to,’ said Harry. ‘But it’ll be a short visit, and then I’ll be gone for good.’ 

‘But where will you go if you don’t come back to school?’ 

‘I thought I might go back to Godric’s Hollow,’ Harry muttered. He had had the idea in his head ever since the night of Dumbledore’s death. ‘For me, it started there, all of it. I’ve just got a feeling I need to go there. And I can visit my parents’ graves, I’d like that.’

~ 'You said to us once before,’ said Hermione quietly, ‘that there was time to turn back if we wanted to. We’ve had time, haven’t we?’

~ His hand closed automatically around the fake Horcrux, but in spite of everything, in spite of the dark and twisting path he saw stretching ahead for himself, in spite of the final meeting with Voldemort he knew must come, whether in a month, in a year, or in ten, he felt his heart lift at the thought that there was still one last golden day of peace left to enjoy with Ron and Hermione.

                                        ****Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows******

527. Harry Immediately Remembering Hermione and Depending On Her for Learning magic he Doesn't Know

~ . Making a mental note to ask Hermione how it was done, he used a large wad of toilet paper to mop up as much of the tea as he could, before returning to his bedroom and slamming the door behind him.

528. Harry Thinking That Hermione Being Stupid Was Hard To Imagine

~ The idea of a teenage Dumbledore was simply odd, like trying to imagine a stupid Hermione or a friendly Blast-Ended Skrewt. 

529. Hermione Hugging Harry as Soon as She Saw him, Harry Being Happy and Catching Her Eye, and Hermione Expecting That Harry would Not want To Put Others in Danger, And Harry Feeling Uncomfortable About Hermione Turning Into Him For Some Reason

~ There was a general cry of greeting as Hermione flung her arms around him, Ron clapped him on the back, and Hagrid said, 'All righ’, Harry? Ready fer the off?'

'Definitely,' said Harry, beaming around at them all. 'But I wasn’t expecting this many of you!'

~ Harry led them all back into the kitchen where, laughing and chattering, they settled on chairs, sat themselves upon Aunt Petunia’s gleaming work surfaces, or leaned up against her spotless appliances: Ron, long and lanky; Hermione, her bushy hair tied back in a long plait; Fred and George, grinning identically; Bill, badly scarred and long-haired; Mr. Weasley, kind-faced, balding, his spectacles a little awry; Mad-Eye, battle-worn, one-legged, his bright blue magical eye whizzing in its socket; Tonks, whose short hair was her favorite shade of bright pink; Lupin, grayer, more lined; Fleur, slender and beautiful, with her long silvery blonde hair; Kingsley, taller and broad-shouldered; Hagrid, with his wild hair and beard, standing hunchbacked to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling; and Mundungus Fletcher, small, dirty, and hangdog, with his droopy bloodhound’s eyes and matted hair. 

Harry’s heart seemed to expand and glow at the sight: He felt incredibly fond of all of them, even Mundungus, whom he had tried to strangle the last time they had met.

~ 'No!' he said loudly, his voice ringing through the kitchen. 'No way!'

 'I told them you’d take it like this,' said Hermione with a hint of complacency.

~ 'No need!' snarled Moody, 'With You-Know-Who out there and half the Ministry on his side? Potter, if we’re lucky he’ll have swallowed the fake bait and he’ll be planning to ambush you on the thirtieth, but he’d be mad not to have a Death Eater or two keeping an eye out, it’s what I’d do. They might not be able to get at you or this house while your mother’s charm holds, but it’s about to break and they know the rough position of the place. Our only chance is to use decoys. Even You-Know-Who can’t split himself into seven.'

 Harry caught Hermione’s eye and looked away at once.

~ 'Ooh, you look much tastier than Crabbe and Goyle, Harry,' said Hermione, before catching sight of Ron’s raised eyebrows, blushing slightly, and saying, 'Oh, you now what I mean — Goyle’s potion looked like bogies.' 

~ Hermione and Mundungus were shooting upward; Ron, Fred, and George were shrinking; their hair was darkening, Hermione’s and Fleur’s appearing to shoot backward into their skulls.

~ The real Harry thought this might just be the most bizarre thing he had ever seen, and he had seen some extremely odd things. He watched as his six doppelgangers rummaged in the sacks, pulling out sets of clothes, putting on glasses, and stuffing their own things away. He felt like asking them to show a little more respect for his privacy as they all began stripping off with impunity, clearly more at ease with displaying his body than they would have with their own.

~ Hermione had already been helped up onto a great black thestral by Kingsley, Fleur onto the other by Bill.

~ 'Harry, your eyesight really is awful,' said Hermione, as she put on glasses.

530. Harry Knowing That Hermione Lacked Confidence on a Broomstick

~ 'Miss Granger with Kingsley, again by thestral — '

Hermione looked reassured as she answered Kingsley’s smile; Harry knew that Hermione too lacked confidence on a broomstick.

531. Hermione Flinging Herself Into Harry's Arms as Soon as she gets Back

~ Two figures had appeared in the yard, and as Harry ran toward them he realized they were Hermione, now returning to her normal appearance, and Kingsley, both clutching a bent coat hanger. Hermione flung herself into Harry’s arms, but Kingsley showed no pleasure at the sight of any of them. Over Hermione’s shoulder Harry saw him raise his wand and point it at Lupin’s chest.

~ Hermione stifled a little moan behind her hand.

532. Hermione Being Gentle With Harry and Asking if He's Ok

~ 'It wasn’t me,' said Harry flatly. 'It was my wand. My wand acted of its own accord.'

After a few moments, Hermione said gently, 'But that’s impossible, Harry. You mean that you did magic without meaning to, you reacted instinctively.'

 'No,'  said Harry. 'The bike was falling. I couldn’t have told you where Voldemort was, but my wand spun in my hand and found him and shot a spell at him, and it wasn’t even a spell I recognized. I’ve never made gold flames appear before.'

~ It was over as quickly as it had come: Harry stood shaking in the darkness, clutching the gate into the garden, his heart racing, his scar still tingling. It was several moments before he realized that Ron and Hermione were at his side.

 'Harry, come back in the house,' Hermione whispered. 'You aren’t still thinking of leaving?'

~ 'Are you all right?' Hermione asked, close enough now to look into Harry’s face. 'You look awful!'

 'Well,' said Harry shakily, 'I probably look better than Ollivander. . . .'

 When he had finished telling them what he had seen, Ron looked appalled, but Hermione downright terrified. 

'But it was supposed to have stopped! Your scar — it wasn’t supposed to do this anymore! You mustn’t let that connection open up again — Dumbledore wanted you to close your mind!'

 When he did not reply, she gripped his arm. 'Harry, he’s taking over the Ministry and the newspapers and half the Wizarding world! Don’t let him inside your head too!' 

533. Hermione Researching Stuff For Harry, Harry Discussing Those Things With Her, Finishing Her sentence and Admiring Her Effort, while She Displayed Her Extreme Loyalty To Harry, also Mentioning That she Told Her Parents a lot about Him, while Harry found it Unusual For Ron To Be so Tactful Towards Hermione and Teach Him Tact because Hermione was Usually The one who Did That

~ 'I think Hermione’s been doing a bit of research,' said Ron. 'She said she was saving it for when you got here.' 

~ 'Mum’s been trying to get it out of Hermione and me. What we’re off to do. She’ll try you next, so brace yourself. Dad and Lupin’ve both asked us as well, but when we said Dumbledore told you not to tell anyone except us, they dropped it. Not Mum, though. She’s determined.' 

~ 'Well, frankly I think Arthur and I have a right to know and I’m sure Mr. and Mrs. Granger would agree!' said Mrs. Weasley. 

Harry had been afraid of the “concerned parent” attack.

~ From that moment on, Mrs. Weasley keep Harry, Ron, and Hermione so busy with preparations for the wedding that they hardly had any time to think.

~ All the jobs she handed out seems to keep him, Ron, and Hermione away from one another; he had not had a chance to speak to the two of them alone since the first night, when he had told them about Voldemort torturing Ollivander.

~ The room was just as messy as it had been all week; the only change was that Hermione was now sitting in the far corner, her fluffy ginger cat, Crookshanks, at her feet, sorting books, some of which Harry recognized as his own, into two enormous piles.

 'Hi, Harry,' she said, as he sat down on his camp bed.

'And how did you manage to get away?' 

'Oh, Ron’s mum forgot that she asked Ginny and me to change the sheets yesterday,' said Hermione. She threw Numerology and Grammatica onto one pile and Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts onto the other.

~ 'Listen,' said Harry. 

He had sat up straight. Ron and Hermione looked at him with similar mixtures of resignation and defiance.

 'I know you said after Dumbledore’s funeral that you wanted to come with me,' Harry began. 

'Here he goes,' Ron said to Hermione, rolling his eyes. 

'As we knew he would,' she sighed, turning back to the books. 'You know, I think I will take Hogwarts, A History. Even if we’re not going back there, I don’t think I’d feel right if I didn’t have it with — '

 'Listen!' said Harry again. 

'No, Harry, you listen,' said Hermione. 'We’re coming with you. That was decided months ago — years, really.'

 'But — '

 'Shut up,' Ron advised him. 

'— are you sure you’ve thought this through?' Harry persisted. 

'Let’s see,' said Hermione, slamming Travels with Trolls onto the discarded pile with a rather fierce look. 'I’ve been packing for days, so we’re ready to leave at a moment’s notice, which for your information has included doing some pretty difficult magic, not to mention smuggling Mad-Eye’s whole stock of Polyjuice Potion  right under Ron’s mum’s nose. I’ve also modified my parents’ memories so that they’re convinced that they’re really called Wendell and Monica Wilkins, and that their life’s ambition is to move to Australia, which they have now done. That’s to make it more difficult for Voldemort to track them down and interrogate them about me — or you, because unfortunately, I’ve told them quite a bit about you. Assuming I survive our hunt for the Horcruxes, I’ll find Mum and Dad and lift the enchantment. If I don’t — well, I think I’ve cast a good enough charm to keep them safe and happy. Wendell and Monica Wilkins don’t know that they’ve got a daughter, you see.'

Hermione’s eyes were swimming with tears again. Ron got back off the bed, put his arms around her once more, and frowned at Harry as though reproaching him for lack of tact. Harry could not think of anything to say, not least because it was highly unusual for Ron to be teaching anyone else tact. 

'I — Hermione, I’m sorry — I didn’t — '

 'Didn’t realize that Ron and I know perfectly well what might happen if we come with you? Well, we do. Ron, show Harry what you’ve done.'“ 

~ 'Go on, he needs to know!'

~ 'It is!' said Ron, clearly frustrated that Harry had not grasped the brilliance of the plan. 

'Look, when we three don’t turn up at Hogwarts again, everyone’s going to think Hermione and I must be with you, right? Which means the Death Eaters will go straight for our families to see if they’ve got information on where you are.'

 'But hopefully it’ll look like I’ve gone away with Mum and Dad; a lot of Muggle — borns are talking about going into hiding at the moment,' said Hermione.

~ There was silence in the room, broken only by gentle thuds as Hermione continued to throw books into one pile or the other. Ron sat watching her, and Harry looked from one to the other. The measures they had taken to protect their families made him realize, more than anything else could have done, that they really were going to come with him and that they knew exactly how dangerous that would be. He wanted to tell them what that meant to him, but he simply could not find words important enough.

~ 'What we really need to decide,' said Hermione, tossing Defensive Magical Theory into the bin without a second glance and picking up An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe, 'is where we’re going after we leave here. I know you said you wanted to go to Godric’s Hollow first, Harry, and I understand why, but . . . well . . . shouldn’t we make the Horcruxes our priority?'

 'If we knew where any of the Horcruxes were, I’d agree with you,' said Harry, who did not believe that Hermione really understood his desire to Godric’s Hollow. His parents graves were only part of the attraction: He had a strong, though inexplicable, feeling that the place held answers for him. Perhaps it was simply because it was there that he had survived Voldemort’s Killing Curse; now in Pajamas that he was facing the challenge of repeating the feat, Harry was drawn to the place where it happened, wanting to understand. 

'Don’t you think there’s a possibility that Voldemort’s keeping a watch on Godric’s Hollow?' Hermione asked. 'He might expect you to go back and visit your parents’ graves once you’re free to go wherever you like?'

 This had not occurred to Harry. While he struggled to find a counterargument, Ron spoke up, evidently following his own train of thought. 

~ 'Well,' said Hermione, 'I’ve been researching that.'

 'How?' asked Harry. 'I didn’t think there were any books on Horcruxes in the library?'

'There weren’t,' said Hermione, who had turned pink. 'Dumbledore removed them all, but he — he didn’t destroy them.'

~  'It — it wasn’t stealing!' said Hermione, looking from Harry to Ron with a kind of desperation. 'They were still library books, even if Dumbledore had taken them off the shelves. Anyway, if he really didn’t want anyone to get at them, I’m sure he would have made it much harder to — '

 ~ 'Well . . . it was easy,' said Hermione in a small voice. 'I just did a Summoning Charm. You know — Accio. And . . . they zoomed out of Dumbledore’s study window right into the girls’ dormitory.'

 'But when did you do this?' Harry asked, regarding Hermione with a mixture of admiration and incredulity.

'Just after his — Dumbledore’s — funeral,' said Hermione in an even smaller voice. 'Right after we agreed we’d leave school and go and look for the Horcruxes. When I went back upstairs to get my things it — it just occurred to me that the more we knew about them, the better it would be . . . and I was alone in there . . . so I tried . . . and it worked. They flew straight in through the open window and I — I packed them.'

 She swallowed and then said imploringly, 'I can’t believe Dumbledore would have been angry, it’s not as though we’re going to use the information to make a Horcrux, is it?' 

~ 'He only approached Slughorn to find out what would happen if you split your soul into seven,' said Harry. 'Dumbledore was sure Riddle already knew how to make a Horcrux but the time he asked Slughorn about them. I think you’re right, Hermione, that could easily have been where he got the information.'

 'And the more I’ve read about them,' said Hermione, 'the more horrible they seem, and the less I can believe that he actually made six. It warns in this book how unstable you make the rest of your soul by ripping it, and that’s just by making one Horcrux!'

 Harry remembered what Dumbledore had said about Voldemort moving beyond “usual evil.”

~ 'Yes,' said Hermione with a hollow smile, 'but it would be excruciatingly painful.'

 'Why? How do you do it?' asked Harry. 

'Remorse,' said Hermione. 

'You’ve got to really feel what you’ve done. There’s a footnote. Apparently the pain of it can destroy you. I can’t see Voldemort attempting it somehow, can you?'

'No,' said Ron, before Harry could answer. 'So does it say how to destroy Horcruxes in that book?'

 'Yes,' said Hermione, now turning the fragile pages as if examining rotting entrails. 'because it warns Dark wizards how strong they have to make the enchantments on them. From all that I’ve read, what Harry did to Riddle’s diary was one of the really fool-proof ways of destroying a Horcrux.'

 'What, stabbing it with a basilisk fang?' asked Harry. 

~ 'It doesn’t have to be a basilisk fang,' said Hermione patiently. 'It has to be something so destructive that the Horcrux can’t repair itself. Basilisk venom only has one antidote, and it’s incredibly rare — '

 ' — phoenix tears,' said Harry, nodding. 

'Exactly,' said Hermione, 'Our problem is that the are very few substances as destructive as basilisk venom, and they’re all dangerous to carry around with you. That’s a problem we’re going to have to solve though, because ripping, smashing, or crushing a Horcrux won’t do the trick. You’ve got to put it beyond magical repair.'

~ Seeing that Harry and Ron looked thoroughly confused, Hermione hurried on, 'Look, if I picked up a sword right now, Ron, and ran you through with it, I wouldn’t damage your soul at all.'

 'Which would be a real comfort to me, I’m sure,' said Ron. 

Harry laughed.

'It should be, actually! But my point is that whatever happens to your body, your soul will survive untouched,' said Hermione. 'But it’s the other way round with a Horcrux. The fragment of soul inside it depends on its container, its enchanted body, for survival, It can’t exist without it.'

'That diary sort of died when I stabbed it,' said Harry, remembering ink pouring like blood from the punctured pages, and the screams of the piece of Voldemort’s soul as it vanished. 

'And once the diary was properly destroyed, the bit of soul trapped in it could no longer exist. Ginny tried to get rid of the diary before you did, flushing it away, but obviously it came back good as new.'

534. Harry and Hermione Following Similar Trails of Thought, and Harry apologizing when His Joke Upsets Hermione

~ 'But Bill saw him hit by the Killing Curse,' said Harry.

 'Yeah, but Bill was under attack too,' said Ron. 'How can he be sure what he saw?'

 'Even if the Killing curse missed, Mad Eye still fell about a thousand feet,' said Hermione, now weighing Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland in her hand. 

'He could have used a Shield Charm — '

 'Fleur said his wand was blasted out of his hand,' said Harry. 

'Well, all right, if you want him to be dead,' said Ron grumpily, punching his pillow into a more comfortable shape. 

'Of course we don’t want him to be dead!' said Hermione, looking shocked. 'It’s dreadful that he’s dead! But we’re being realistic!'

~ 'Yeah,' said Harry. 'Like Barty Crouch, turned into a bone and buried in Hagrid’s front garden. They probably transfigured Moody and stuffed him — '

 'Don’t!' squealed Hermione. Startled, Harry looked over just in time to see her burst into tears over her copy of Spellman’s Syllabary. 

'Oh no,' said Harry, struggling to get up from the old camp bed. 'Hermione, I wasn’t trying to upset — '

535. Harry Instinctively Drawing Out His wand When Hermione Shrieks

~ Hermione shrieked and dropped Secrets of the Darkest Art. Crookshanks streaked under the bed, hissing indignantly; Ron jumped off the bed, skidded on a discarded Chocolate Frog wrapper, and smacked his head on the opposite wall; and Harry instinctively dived for his wand before realizing that he was looking up at Mrs. Weasley, whose hair was disheveled and whose face was contorted with rage.

~ With an anguished look at Harry and Ron, Hermione, hurried out of the room after Mrs. Weasley.

536. Harry Not wanting Hermione To Know About His Vision Because She Would Be Upset

~ 'Do me a favor and don’t tell Hermione,' said Harry. 'Although how she expects me to stop seeing stuff in my sleep . . . ' 

537. Hermione wishing Harry On His Birthday, Hoping He Likes Her Gift and Insisting to Help Him

~ 'Happy birthday, Harry!' said Hermione, hurrying into the kitchen and adding her own present to the top of the pile. 

'It’s not much, but I hope you like it. What did you get him?' she added to Ron, who seemed not to hear her. 

'Come on, then, open Hermione’s!' said Ron. 

She had bought him a new Sneakoscope.

~ 'I’ll pack these for you,' Hermione said brightly, taking Harry’s presents out of his arms as the three of them headed back upstairs. 

538. Harry Remembering The Time When He and Hermione Played as a Team In Quidditch

~ A desk stood facing the open window, which looked out over the orchard where he and Ginny had once played two-a-side Quidditch with Ron and Hermione, and which now housed a large, pearly white marquee.

539. Hermione Being Scared when Ron was Going To Tell Harry Off

~ 'Ron!' Hermione was just behind him, slightly out of breath.

~ Ron’s ears were scarlet; Hermione looked nervous.

~ Ron marched downstairs, through the still-crowded kitchen and into the yard, and Harry kept pace with him all the way, Hermione trotting along behind them looking scared. 

~ 'I’m not messing her around,' said Harry, as Hermione caught up with them.

540. Harry Grinning To Himself When Ron Compliments Hermione, leaving her Happy But Confused

~ 'Thank you, Ron!' said Hermione, looking both pleased and a little confused. Harry turned away, smiling to himself. 

He had a funny notion that he would find a chapter on compliments when he found time to peruse his copy of Twelve Fail-Safe ways to Charm Witches; he caught Ginny’s eye and grinned at her before remembering his promise to Ron and hurriedly striking up a conversation with Monsieur Delacour.

541. Harry avoiding Hermione and Ron's Gazes when Hagrid talks about new unicorns

~ “Ar, not bad. Bin busy, we got some newborn unicorns. I’ll show yeh when yeh get back — ” Harry avoided Ron’s and Hermione’s gazes and Hagrid rummaged in his pocket.

542. Harry Knowing Hermione and Ron were Thinking the same Thing as Him, and Him and Hermione Following The similar Trails of Thought while He Noticed her words and Expressions

~ As they led the way back to the house in silence, Harry knew that the other two were thinking the same as he was: Scrimgeour must, somehow, have learned that the three of them were planning to drop out of Hogwarts.

~ 'We’re not going anywhere,' said Harry, while Hermione nodded vigorously. 'You can speak to us together, or not at all.'

~ Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another

~ But Harry interrupted. 

'Dumbledore died over a month ago. Why has it taken this long to give us what he left us?'

 'Isn’t it obvious?' said Hermione, before Scrimgeour could answer. 'They wanted to examine whatever he’s left us. You had no right to do that!' she said, and her voice trembled slightly.

~ 'So why have you decided to let us have our things now? Can’t you think of a pretext to keep them?' 

'No, it’ll be because the thirty-one days are up,' said Hermione at once. 'They can’t keep the objects longer than that unless they can prove they’re dangerous. Right?'

~ 'Me? No — not really . . . It was always Harry who . . . '

 Ron looked around at Harry and Hermione to see Hermione giving him a stop — talking — now! sort of look, but the damage was done: Scrimgeour looked as though he had heard exactly what he had expected, and wanted, to hear.

~ 'You’re being modest, Ron,' said Hermione. 'Dumbledore was very fond of you.'

 This was stretching the truth to breaking points as far as Harry knew, Ron and Dumbledore had never been alone together, and direct contact between them had been negligible.

~ Hermione took it from Scrimgeour without a word. She held the book in her lap and gazed at it. Harry saw that the title was in runes; he had never learned to read them.

~ 'I notice that your birthday cake is in the shape of a Snitch,' Scrimgeour said to Harry. 'Why is that?' 

Hermione laughed derisively. 

'Oh, it can’t be a reference to the fact that Harry’s a great Seeker, that’s way too obvious,' she said. 'There must be a secret message from Dumbledore hidden in the icing!'

 'I don’t think there’s anything hidden in the icing,' said Scrimgeour, 'but a Snitch would be a very good hiding place for a small object. You know why, I’m sure?'

Harry shrugged. Hermione, however, answered: Harry thought that answering questions correctly was such a deeply ingrained habit she could not suppress the urge.

'Because Snitches have flesh memories,' she said. 

'What?' said Harry and Ron together; both considered Hermione’s Quidditch knowledge negligible.

 ~ 'No,' said Harry, still wondering how he could appear to touch the Snitch without really doing so. If only he knew Legilimency, really knew it, and could read Hermione’s mind; he could practically hear her brain whirring beside him.

~ Scrimgeour, Ron, and Hermione continued to gaze avidly at the now partially concealed ball, as if still hoping it might transform in some way. 

'That was dramatic,' said Harry coolly. Both Ron and Hermione laughed. 

'That’s all, then, is it?' asked Hermione, making to prise herself off the sofa.

~ 'The sword of Godric Gryffindor,' he said. 

Hermione and Ron both stiffened.

~ 'Unfortunately,' said Scrimgeour, 'that sword was not Dumbledore’s to give away. The sword of Godric Gryffindor is an important historical artifact, and as such, belongs — '

 'It belongs to Harry!' said Hermione hotly. 'It chose him, he was the one who found it, it came to him out of the Sorting Hat — ' 

543. Harry Inviting Hermione Upstairs To Discuss Theories

~ 'Meet us upstairs,' Harry whispered to Hermione, while they helped Mrs. Weasley restore the garden to its normal state. 'After everyone’s gone to bed.'

~ At last, Hermione tapped on the door and tiptoed inside. 

'Muffliato,' she whispered, waving her hand in the direction of the stairs.

~ 'D’you think he knew the Ministry would confiscate his will and examine everything he’d left us?' asked Harry. 

'Definitely,' said Hermione. 'He couldn’t tell us in the will why he was leaving us these things, but that still doesn’t explain . . . '

~ 'I’ve no idea,' said Hermione. 'When Scrimgeour made you take it, Harry, I was so sure that something was going to happen!'

 'Yeah, well,' said Harry, his pulse quickening as he raised the Snitch in his fingers. 'I wasn’t going to try too hard in front of Scrimgeour, was I?'

 'What do you mean?' asked Hermione. 

'The Snitch I caught in my first ever Quidditch match?' said Harry. 'Don’t you remember?'

 Hermione looked simply bemused.

~ It did not open. Frustration and bitter disappointment welled up inside him: He lowered the golden sphere, but then Hermione cried out. 'Writing! There’s writing on it, quick, look!'

 He nearly dropped the Snitch in surprise and excitement. Hermione was quite right. Engraved upon the smooth golden surface, where seconds before there had been nothing, were five words written in the thin, slanting handwriting that Harry recognized as Dumbledore’s:

~ '"I open at the close . . . " What’s that supposed to mean?'

 Hermione and Ron shook their heads, looking back. 

'I open at the close . . . at the close . . . I open at the close . . . '

 But no matter how often they repeated the words, with many different inflections, they were unable to wring any more meaning from them.

544. Harry being Surprised That Ron read a book Hermione hasn't and Hermione Saying That she and Harry were Raised By Muggles

~ Harry looked up, diverted. The circumstance of Ron having read a book that Hermione had not was unprecedented.

~ 'Come off it!' said Ron, looking in disbelief from Harry to Hermione. 'You must’ve heard of Bubbitty Rabbitty — '

 'Ron, you know full well Harry and I were brought up by Muggles!' said Hermione. 'We didn’t hear stories like that when we were little, we heard "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Cinderella" — '

545. Hermione looking Tearfully at Harry when Bill and Fleur Exchange Wedding Vows

~ 'Yes, he sounds a real charmer,' said Hermione, while Harry roared with laughter.

~ Hermione turned and beamed at Harry; her eyes too were full of tears. 

' . . . then I declare you bonded for life.'

546. Harry showing Viktor His Seat so that Ron wouldn't Fuss and Trouble Hermione

~ Harry, who had no grudge against Krum, shook hands; then, feeling that it would be prudent to remove Krum from Ron’s vicinity, offered to show him his seat.

~ Ron led the way across the empty dance floor, glancing left and right as he went: Harry felt sure that he was keeping an eye out for Krum.

555. Hermione Accidentally Kicking Harry Under The Table

~ Hermione aimed a kick at him under the table, but caught Harry instead. Eyes watering in pain, Harry lost track of the conversation for a few moments.

556. Harry Being Uncertain About Hermione and Ron Being Together

~ 'Ah, they are together now?' asked Krum, momentarily distracted. 

'Er — sort of,' said Harry.

557. Hermione Noticing That Harry wasn't ok

~ He stared ahead of him, barely noticing what was going on around him, and did not realize that Hermione had appeared out of the crowd until she drew up a chair beside him. 

'I simply can’t dance anymore,' she panted, slipping of one of her shoes and rubbing the sole of her foot. 'Ron’s gone looking to The Wedding find more butterbeers. It’s a bit odd. I’ve just seen Viktor storming away from Luna’s father, it looked like they’d been arguing — '

 She dropped her voice, staring at him. 'Harry, are you okay?'

558. Harry and Hermione Holding Hands and Sticking Together, while Hermione's Hand was All Harry Could Feel With Going somewhere else, and Hermione Displayed her Preparedness and Loyalty while Harry Appreciated It, while Harry came Up with a Plan while Hermione was Panicking

~ Harry and Hermione jumped to their feet and drew their wands.

~ Harry and Hermione threw themselves into the panicking crowd.

~ As they pushed their way across the dance floor, Harry saw cloaked and masked figures appearing in the crowd; then he saw Lupin and Tonks, their wands raised, and heard both of them shout, “Protego!”, a cry that was echoed on all sides —“Ron! Ron!” Hermione called, half sobbing as she and Harry were buffered by terrified guests: Harry seized her hand to make sure they weren’t separated as a streak of light whizzed over their heads, whether a protective charm or something more sinister he did not know —And then Ron was there. He caught hold of Hermione’s free arm, and Harry felt her turn on the spot; sight and sound were extinguished as darkness pressed in upon him; all he could feel was Hermione’s hand as he was squeezed through space and time, away from the Burrow, away from the descending Death Eaters, away, perhaps, from Voldemort himself. . .

~ 'Tottenham Court Road,' panted Hermione. 'Walk, just walk, we need to find somewhere for you to change.'

Harry did as she asked.

~ 'Why didn’t I make sure I had the Invisibility Cloak with me?' said Harry, inwardly cursing his own stupidity. 'All last year I kept it on me and — '

 'It’s okay, I’ve got the Cloak, I’ve got clothes for both of you,' said Hermione, 'Just try and act naturally until — this will do.'

~ 'When you say you’ve got the Cloak, and clothes . . . ' said Harry, frowning at Hermione, who was carrying nothing except her small beaded handbag, in which she was now rummaging. 

'Yes, they’re here,' said Hermione, and to Harry and Ron’s utter astonishment, she pulled out a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, some maroon socks, and finally the silvery Invisibility Cloak. 

'How the ruddy hell — ?'

 'Undetectable Extension Charm,' said Hermione. 'Tricky, but I think I’ve done it okay; anyway, I managed to fit everything we need in here.'

 She gave the fragile-looking bag a little shake and it echoed like a cargo hold as a number of heavy objects rolled around inside it. 'Oh, damn, that’ll be the books,' she said, peering into it, 'and I had them all stacked by subject. . . . Oh well. . . . Harry, you’d better take the Invisibility Cloak. Ron, hurry up and change. . . .'

 'When did you do all this?' Harry asked as Ron stripped off his robes. 

'I told you at the Burrow, I’ve had the essentials packed for days, you know, in case we needed to make a quick getaway. I packed your rucksack this morning, Harry, after you changed, and put it in here. . . . I just had a feeling. . . .'

~ 'Please, Harry, get that Cloak on!' Harry threw his Invisibility Cloak around his shoulders and pulled it up over his head, vanishing from sight. He was only just beginning to appreciate what had happened. 

'The others — everybody at the wedding — '

 'We can’t worry about that now,' whispered Hermione. 'It’s you they’re after, Harry, and we’ll just put everyone in even more danger by going back.'

 'She’s right,' said Ron, who seemed to know that Harry was about to argue, even if he could not see his face. 'Most of the Order was there, they’ll look after everyone.'

 Harry nodded, then remembered that they could not see him, and said, 'Yeah.'  

~ 'Never mind what they’re called!' said Hermione a little hysterically. 'How did they find us? What are we going to do?'  Somehow her panic seemed to clear Harry’s head. 

 'Lock the door,' he told her, 'and Ron, turn out the lights.' 

~ Harry could hear the men who had jeered at Hermione earlier, yelling at another girl in the distance.

~ Hermione shuddered and took a step backward. Harry shook his head.

 'We just need to wipe their memories,' said Harry. 'It’s better like that, it’ll throw them off the scent. If we killed them it’d be obvious we were here.'

~ 'Nor have I,' said Hermione, 'but I know the theory.'

 She took a deep, calming breath, then pointed her wand at Dolohov’s forehead and said, 'Obliviate.'

 At once, Dolohov’s eyes became unfocused and dreamy. 

'Brilliant!' said Harry, clapping her on the back. 'Take care of the other one and the waitress while Ron and I clear up.'

~ 'Oh, I’m so sorry,' hissed Hermione, and as she dragged the waitress out of sight of the windows, Harry heard her mutter a suggestion as to where Ron could stick his wand instead.

~ 'But how did they find us?' Hermione asked, looking from one inert man to the other. 

'How did they know where we were?' 

She turned to Harry. 

'You — you don’t think you’ve still got your Trace on you, do you, Harry?'

~ Hermione did not reply. Harry felt contaminated, tainted: Was that really how the Death Eaters had found them? 

'If I can’t use magic, and you can’t use magic near me, without us giving away our position — ' he began. 

'We’re not splitting up!' said Hermione firmly.

~ 'Grimmauld Place,' said Harry. 

The other two gaped. 

'Don’t be silly, Harry, Snape can get in there!'

 'Ron’s dad said they’ve put up jinxes against him — and even if they haven’t worked,' he pressed on as Hermione began to argue 'so what? I swear, I’d like nothing better than to meet Snape!'

 'But — '

 'Hermione, where else is there? It’s the best chance we’ve got. Snape’s only one Death Eater. If I’ve still got the Trace on me, we’ll have whole crowds of them on us wherever else we go.'

 She could not argue, though she looked as if she would have liked to.

~ Coughing, his eyes watering, Harry looked around to see Hermione crouched on the floor by the door with her arms over her head, and Ron, who was shaking from head to foot, patting her clumsily on the shoulder and saying, 'It’s all r–right. . . . It’s g–gone. . . .'

~ 'Mudbloods, filth, stains of dishonor, taint of shame on the house of my fathers —'

'SHUT UP!' Harry bellowed, directing his wand at her, and with a bang and a burst of red sparks, the curtains swung shut again, silencing her. 

'That . . . that was . . . ' Hermione whimpered, as Ron helped her to her feet. 

'Yeah,' said Harry, 'but it wasn’t really him, was it? Just something to scare Snape.'

559. Hermione Being Concerned about Harry's Visions Despite Making Him Irritated

~ Harry felt badgered, confused, and Hermione did not help as she said in a frightened voice, 'Your scar, again? But what’s going on? I thought that connection had closed!'

 'It did, for a while,' muttered Harry; his scar was still painful, which made it hard to concentrate. 'I–I think it’s started opening again whenever he loses control, that’s how it used to — '

 'But then you’ve got to close your mind!' said Hermione shrilly. 'Harry, Dumbledore didn’t want you to use that connection, he wanted you to shut it down, that’s why you were supposed to use Occlumency! Otherwise Voldemort can plant false images in your mind, remember — ' 

'Yeah, I do remember, thanks,' said Harry through gritted teeth; he did not need Hermione to tell him that Voldemort had once used this selfsame connection between them to lead him into a trap, nor that it had resulted in Sirius’s death.

560. Harry Instinctively Drawing His wand When Hermione Shrieks

~ Then Hermione shrieked: Harry drew his wand again and spun around to see a silver Patronus soar through the drawing room window and land upon the floor in front of them, where it solidified into the weasel that spoke with the voice of Ron’s father.

561. Harry Staying Calm In Front of Hermione Despite what Happened Before

~ There was a sharp rap on the door, and Harry jumped as Hermione’s voice rang out. 

'Harry, do you want your toothbrush? I’ve got it here.'

 'Yeah, great, thanks,' he said, fighting to keep his voice casual as he stood up to let her in.

562. The Idea of Hermione and Ron holding Hands Making Harry Feel Strangely Lonely

~ Harry wondered whether they had fallen asleep holding hands. The idea made him feel strangely lonely.

563. Harry and Hermione Sharing a Sweet moment when He Shows Her His Mother's Letters and she smiles, and Them Discussing theories while Hermione was Being understanding

~ 'Harry? Harry? Harry! '

 'I’m here!' he called, 'What’s happened?'

 There was a clatter of footsteps outside the door, and Hermione burst inside. 

'We woke up and didn’t know where you were!' she said breathlessly.

~ 'Harry don’t just disappear, please, we were terrified! Why did you come up here anyway?' 

She gazed around the ransacked room. 'What have you been doing?' 

'Look what I’ve just found,' He held out his mother’s letter. Hermione took it out and read it while Harry watched her. When she reached the end of the page she looked up at him. 

'Oh Harry . . . '

 'And there’s this too.' He handed her the torn photograph, and Hermione smiled at the baby zooming in and out of sight on the toy broom. 

'I’ve been looking for the rest of the letter,' Harry said, 'but it’s not here'

 Hermione glanced around. 'Did you make all this mess, or was some of it done when you got here?'

 'Someone had searched before me,' said Harry. 

'I thought so. Every room I looked into on the way up had been disturbed. What were they after, do you think?'

 'Information on the Order, if it was Snape.'

'But you’d think he’d already have all he needed. I mean was in the Order, wasn’t he?'

 'Well then,' said Harry, keen to discuss his theory, 'what about information on Dumbledore? The second page of the letter, for instance. You know this Bathilda my mum mentions, you know who she is?'

 'Who?'

 'Bathilda Bagshot, the author of — '

'A History of Magic,' said Hermione, looking interested. 'So your parents knew her? She was an incredible magic historian.'

 'And she’s still alive,' said Harry, 'and she lives in Godric’s Hollow. Ron’s Auntie Muriel was talking about her at the wedding. She knew Dumbledore’s family too. Be pretty interesting to talk to, wouldn’t she?'

 There was a little too much understanding in the smile Hermione gave him for Harry’s liking. He took back the letter and the photograph and tucked them inside the pouch around his neck, so as not to have to look at her and give himself away. 

'I understand why you’d love to talk to her about, and Dumbledore too,' said Hermione. 'But that wouldn’t really help us in our search for the Horcruxes, would it?'

 Harry did not answer, and she rushed on, 'Harry, I know you really want to go to Godric’s Hollow, but I’m scared. I’m scared at how easily those Death Eaters found us yesterday. It just makes me feel more than ever that we ought to avoid the place where your parents are buried, I’m sure they’d be expecting you to visit it.'

 'It’s not just that,' Harry said, still avoiding looking at her, 'Muriel said stuff about Dumbledore at the wedding. I want to know the truth.

He told Hermione everything that Muriel had told him. When he had finished, Hermione said, 'Of course, I can see why that’s upset you, Harry — '

 'I’m not upset,' he lied, “I’d just like to know whether or not it’s true or — “ “Harry do you really think you’ll get the truth from a malicious old woman like Muriel, or from Rita Skeeter? How can you believe them? You knew Dumbledore!” “I thought I did,” he muttered. “But you know how much truth there was in everything Rita wrote about you! Doge is right, how can you let these people tarnish your memories of Dumbledore?” He looked away, trying not to betray the resentment he felt.

~ 'Shall we go down to the kitchen?' Hermione suggested after a little pause. 'Find something for breakfast?'

He agreed, but grudgingly, and followed her out onto the landing and past the second door that led off it.

564. Harry and Hermione Discussing Theories about Regulus Black

~ Excitement trickled through Harry, but he was not immediately sure why. He read the sign again. Hermione was already a flight of stairs below him. 

 'Hermione,' he said, and he was surprised that his voice was so calm. 'Come back up here.'

 'What’s the matter?'

 'R.A.B. I think I’ve found him.'

 There was a gasp, and then Hermione ran back up the stairs. 'In your mum’s letter? But I didn’t see — '

 Harry shook his head, pointing at Regulus’s sign. She read it, then clutched Harry’s arm so tightly that he winced. 

'Sirius’s brother?' she whispered. 

'He was a Death Eater,' said Harry. 'Sirius told me about him, he joined up when he was really young and then got cold feet and tried to leave — so they killed him.'

 'That fits!' gasped Hermione. 'If he was a Death Eater he had access to Voldemort, and if he became disenchanted, then he would have wanted to bring Voldemort down!'

~ 'Let’s find out,' said Harry. He pushed the door: It was locked. Hermione pointed her wand at the handle and said, 'Alohamora.' There was a click, and the door swung open. 

They moved over the threshold together, gazing around.

~ 'He played Seeker,' said Harry. 

'What?' said Hermione vaguely; she was still immersed in Voldemort’s press clippings. \

'He’s sitting in the middle of the front row, that’s where the Seeker . . . Never mind,' said Harry, realizing that nobody was listening.

~ 'Oh, it could still be here, but under counter-enchantments,' said Hermione. 'Charms to prevent it from being summoned magically, you know.'

 'Like Voldemort put on the stone basin in the cave,' said Harry, remembering how he had been unable to Summon the fake locket.

~ As Harry and Ron had become more discouraged, she seemed to have become more determined.

 'Whether he’d manage to destroy it or not, he’d want to keep it hidden from Voldemort, wouldn’t he? Remember all those awful things we had to get rid of when we were here last time? That clock that shot bolts at everyone and those old robes that tried to strangle Ron; Regulus might have put them there to protect the locket’s hiding place, even though we didn’t realize it at . . . at . . . '

 Harry and Ron looked at her. She was standing with one foot in midair, with the dumbstruck look of one who had just been Obliviated: her eyes had even drifted out of focus. 

' . . . at the time,' she finished in a whisper. 

~  'There was a locket.'

 'What?' said Harry and Ron together.

'In the cabinet in the drawing room. Nobody could open it. And we . . . we . . . '

Harry felt as though a brick had slid down through his chest into his stomach. He remembered. He had even handled the thing as they passed it around, each trying in turn to pry it open. It had been tossed into a sack of rubbish, along with the snuffbox of Wartcap powder and the music box that had made everyone sleepy . . . 

'Kreacher nicked loads of things back from us,' said Harry. It was the only chance, the only slender hope left to them, and he was going to cling to it until forced to let go. 'He had a whole stash of stuff in his cupboard in the kitchen. C’mon.'

565. Harry Depending On Hermione to Persuade Kreacher and Getting angry when He Calls her a Mudblood

~ 'Master,' croaked Kreacher in his bullfrog’s voice, and he bowed low; muttering to his knees, 'back in my Mistress’s old house with the blood-traitor Weasley and the Mudblood — '

 'I forbid you to call anyone "blood traitor" or "Mudblood,’” growled Harry. He would have found Kreacher, with his snoutlike nose and bloodshot eyes, a distinctively unlovable object even if the elf had not betrayed Sirius to Voldemort.

~ 'Where is it now?' asked Harry jubilantly as Ron and Hermione looked gleeful.

~ Harry reacted instinctively: As Kreacher lunged for the poker standing in the grate, he launched himself upon the elf, flattening him. Hermione’s scream mingled with Kreacher’s but Harry bellowed louder than both of them: 'Kreacher, I order you to stay still!'

~ 'Harry, let him up!' Hermione whispered. 

'So he can beat himself up with the poker?' snorted Harry, kneeling beside the elf. 'I don’t think so. Right. Kreacher, I want the truth: How do you know Mundungus Fletcher stole the locket?'

~ 'Voldemort needed an elf?' Harry repeated, looking around at Ron and Hermione, who looked just as puzzled as he did.

~ There was a silence as Harry digested this. How could Voldemort have made such a mistake? But even as he thought this, Hermione spoke, and her voice was icy. 

'Of course, Voldemort would have considered the ways of house-elves far beneath his notice . . . It would never have occurred to him that they might have magic that he didn’t.'

~ Hermione’s hands leapt to her mouth: She seemed to have understood something.

~ 'The Mudblood touched Kreacher, he will not allow it, what would his Mistress say?'

 'I told you not to call her "Mudblood" !' snarled Harry, but the elf was already punishing himself. He fell to the ground and banged his forehead on the floor 

'Stop him — stop him' Hermione cried. 'Oh, don’t you see now how sick it is, the way they’ve got to obey?'

 'Kreacher — stop, stop!' shouted Harry. 

The elf lay on the floor, panting and shivering, green mucus glistening around his snot, a bruise already blooming on his pallid forehead where he had struck himself, his eyes swollen and bloodshot and swimming in tears. Harry had never seen anything so pitiful.

~ 'I don’t understand you, Kreacher,' he said finally. 'Voldemort tried to kill you, Regulus died to bring Voldemort down, but you were still happy to betray Sirius to Voldemort? You were happy to go to Narcissa and Bellatrix, and pass information to Voldemort through them . . . '

'Harry, Kreacher doesn’t think like that,' said Hermione, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand. 'He’s a slave; house-elves are used to bad, even brutal treatment; what Voldemort did to Kreacher wasn’t that far out of the common way. What do wizard wars mean to an elf like Kreacher? He’s loyal to people who are kind to him, and Mrs. Black must have been, and Regulus certainly was, so he served them willingly and parroted their beliefs. I know what you’re going to say,' she went on as Harry began to protest, 'that Regulus changed his mind . . . but he doesn’t seem to have explained that to Kreacher, does he? And I think I know why. Kreacher and Regulus’s family were all safest if they kept to the old pureblood line. Regulus was trying to protect them all.'

 'Sirius — '

 'Sirius was horrible to Kreacher, Harry, and it’s no good looking like that, you know it’s true. Kreacher had been alone for such a long time when Sirius came to live here, and he was probably starving for a bit of affection. I’m sure "Miss Cissy" and "Miss Bella" were perfectly lovely to Kreacher when he turned up, so he did them a favor and told them everything they wanted to know. I’ve said all along that wizards would pay for how they treat house elves. Well, Voldemort did . . . and so did Sirius.'

 Harry had no retort. As he watched Kreacher sobbing on the floor, he remembered what Dumbledore had said to him, mere hours after Sirius’s death: I do not think Sirius ever saw Kreacher as a being with feelings as acute as a human’s. . . . 

'Kreacher,' said Harry after a while, 'when you feel up to it, er. . . . please sit up.'

~ 'Kreacher, I am going to ask you to do something,' said Harry. 

He glanced at Hermione for assistance. He wanted to give the order kindly, but at the same time, he could not pretend that it was not an order. However, the change in his tone seemed to have gained her approval: She smiled encouragingly.

566. Hermione answering Harry's question Before He even Finishes it

~ 'Yes,' said Hermione, 'otherwise he’d have been able to tell that lot how to get in, wouldn’t he? But they’re probably watching to see whether we turn up. They know that Harry owns the house, after all.'

 'How do they — ?' began Harry.

 'Wizarding wills are examined by the Ministry, remember? They’ll know Sirius left you the place.'

567. Harry Turning To Hermione and Ron To see that their Expressions Reflected How he felt

~  Harry looked at Ron and Hermione; their expressions reflected the mingled shock and gratitude he felt.

568. Hermione Giving a Roar of Outrage when Something is written About Harry In the Newspaper

~ A huge photograph of his own face filled the front page.

~ Ron and Hermione gave roars of outrage, but Harry said nothing.

~ 'So Death Eaters have taken over the Daily Prophet too?' asked Hermione furiously. 

Lupin nodded. 

'But surely people realize what’s going on?' 

569. Harry Noticing Hermione's Expressions

~ Hermione turned the pages with much the same expression of distaste she had worn when handling Secrets of the Darkest Art.

570. Harry asking Remus about Tonks after Hermione asked, and Hermione Being Gentle With Him Even after He Shouted at Him 

~ 'Well,' said Hermione, frowning, 'you’re married: How does she feel about you going away with us?'

~ Ron and Hermione both looked at Harry. 

'Just — just to be clear,' he said. 'You want to leave Tonks at her parents’ house and come away with us?'

~ Ron stared around the room as The Bribe though he had been bidden to memorize it, while Hermione’s eyes swiveled backward and forward from Harry to Lupin.

~ 'Remus!' whispered Hermione, tears in her eyes. 'Don’t say that — how could any child be ashamed of you?'

 'Oh, I don’t know, Hermione,' said Harry.

~ 'Harry, no!' Hermione begged him, but he continued to glare into Lupin’s livid face.

~ 'Harry!' wailed Hermione. 'How could you?'

'It was easy,' said Harry.

~ 'Don’t look at me like that!' he snapped at Hermione.

~ 'Parents,' said Harry, 'shouldn’t leave their kids unless — unless they’ve got to.'

 'Harry — ' said Hermione, stretching out a consoling hand, but he shrugged it off and walked away, his eyes on the fire Hermione had conjured.

~ He felt a sickening surge of remorse.

~ 'I know I shouldn’t have called him a coward.' 

~  'But he’s acting like one.'

 'All the same . . . ' said Hermione. 

'I know,' said Harry. 'but if it makes him go back to Tonks, it’ll be worth it, won’t it?'

 He could not keep the plea out of his voice. Hermione looked sympathetic, Ron uncertain.

571. Harry Valuing Hermione's Opinion and Sensing Her Excitement

~ He was in the process of lowering the newspaper, to ask Ron’s and Hermione’s opinions, when a deafening crack echoed around the kitchen.

~ Harry’s mouth was suddenly dry. He could sense Ron and Hermione’s tensions and excitement too.

~ Harry looked up and saw his own shock reflected in Ron’s and Hermione’s faces.

572. Hermione Being Shocked When Harry Her Some Article in the Newspaper

~ He and Hermione had been poring over a sheaf of scribbled notes and hand, drawn maps that littered the end of the long kitchen table, but now they watched Harry as he strode toward them and threw down the newspaper on top of their scattered parchment.

~ 'No!' said Ron and Hermione loudly. 

Hermione was quickest; she snatched up the newspaper and began to read the accompanying story out loud.

~ '"I welcome the opportunity to uphold our finest Wizarding traditions and values — " Like committing murder and cutting off people’s ears, I suppose! Snape, headmaster! Snape in Dumbledore’s study — Merlin’s pants!' she shrieked, making both Harry and Ron jump.

573. Harry what Hermione said Immediately

~ 'Phineas Nigellus,' Hermione explained as she threw the bag onto the kitchen table with the usual sonorous, clanking crash. 

'Sorry?' said Ron, but Harry understood.

~ 'So, Harry, what else happened today?' 

'Nothing,' said Harry.

574. Harry and Hermione Discussing Important Things, and Harry addressing Hermione By seeing Her Expression, while They Finish Each Others' Sentences

~ 'You do realize, don’t you, that there’s probably no more dangerous place in the whole world for us to be right now than the Ministry of — '

 'I think we should do it tomorrow,' said Harry. 

Hermione stopped dead, her jaw hanging; Ron choked a little over his soup. 

'Tomorrow?' repeated Hermione. 'You aren’t serious, Harry?’ 

'I am,' said Harry. 'I don’t think we’re going to be much better prepared than we are now even if we skulk around the Ministry entrance for another month. The longer we put it off, the farther away that locket could be. There’s already a good chance Umbridge has chucked it away; the thing doesn’t open.' 

~ Hermione was biting her lip, deep in thought. 

'We know everything important,' Harry went on, addressing Hermione. 'We know they’ve stopped Apparition in and out of the Ministry. We know only the most senior Ministry members are allowed to connect their homes to the Floo Network now, because Ron heard those two Unspeakables complaining about it. And we know roughly where Umbridge’s office is, because of what you heard that bearded bloke saying to his mate — '

 '"I’ll be up on level one, Dolores wants to see me,"' Hermione recited immediately. 

'Exactly,' said Harry. 'And we know you get in using those funny coins, or tokens, or whatever they are because I saw that witch borrowing one from her friend — '

 'But we haven’t got any!'

 'If the plan works, we will have,' Harry continued calmly. 

'I don’t know, Harry, I don’t know. . . . There are an awful lot of things that could go wrong, so much relies on chance. . . .'

 'That’ll be true even if we spend another three months preparing,' said Harry. 'It’s time to act.'

 He could tell from Ron’s and Hermione’s faces that they were scared, he was not particularly confident himself, and yet he was sure the time had come to put their plan into operation.

575. Hermione wanting To Protect Harry By Telling Him Not To Go, Laughing at his Joke and Noticing When His Scar Hurts and being Concerned For Him Despite Causing Disagreements

~ 'All right,' said Ron slowly, 'let’s say we go for it tomorrow. . . . I think it should just be me and Harry.'

 'Oh, don’t start that again!' sighed Hermione. 'I thought we’d settled this.'

 'It’s one thing hanging around the entrances under the Cloak, but this is different, Hermione.' Ron jabbed a finger at a copy of the Daily Prophet dared ten days previously. 'You’re on the list of Muggleborns who didn’t present themselves for interrogation!'

 'And you’re supposed to be dying of spattergroit at the Burrow! If anyone shouldn’t go, it’s Harry, he’s got a ten-thousand-Galleon price on his head — '

 'Fine, I’ll stay here,' said Harry. 'Let me know if you ever defeat Voldemort, won’t you?'

 As Ron and Hermione laughed, pain shot through the scar on Harry’s forehead. His hand jumped to it: He saw Hermione’s eyes narrow; and he tried to pass off the movement by brushing his hair out of his eyes.

~ Aware that Hermione was watching him suspiciously, Harry hurried up the stairs to the hall and then to the first landing, where he dashed into the bathroom and bolted the door again.

~ 'Harry! HARRY!'

 He opened his eyes; he had sunk to the floor. Hermione was pounding on the door again. 

'Harry, open up!' 

He had shouted out, he knew it. He got up and unbolted the door; Hermione toppled inside at once, regained her balance, and looked around suspiciously.

~ 'What were you doing?' asked Hermione sternly. 

'What d’you think I was doing?' asked Harry with feeble bravado.

~ 'Oh yeah . . . I must’ve dozed off or — '

 'Harry, please don’t insult our intelligence,' said Hermione, taking deep breaths. 'We know your scar hurt downstairs, and you’re white as a sheet.'

 Harry sat down on the edge of the bath. 

'Fine, I’ve just seen Voldemort murdering a woman. By now he’s probably killed her whole family. And he didn’t need to. It was Cedric all over again, they were just there. . . .'

 'Harry, you aren’t supposed to let this happen anymore!' Hermione cried, her voice echoing through the bathroom. 'Dumbledore wanted you to use Occlumency! He thought the connection was dangerous — Voldemort can use it, Harry! What good is it to watch him kill and torture, how can it help?'

 'Because it means I know what he’s doing,' said Harry. 

'So you’re not even going to try to shut him out?' 

'Hermione, I can’t. You know I’m lousy at Occlumency, I never got the hang of it.'

'You never really tried!' she said hotly. 'I don’t get it, Harry —do you like having this special connection or relationship or what —whatever — '

 She faltered under the look he gave her as he stood up. 

'Like it?' he said quietly. 'Would you like it?'

 'I — no — I’m sorry, Harry, I didn’t mean — '

 'I hate it, I hate the fact that he can get inside me, that I have to watch him when he’s most dangerous. But I’m going to use it.'

 'Dumbledore — '

 'Forget Dumbledore. This is my choice, nobody else’s. I want to know why he’s after Gregorovitch.'

 'Who?'

 'He’s a foreign wandmaker,' said Harry. 'He made Krum’s wand and Krum reckons he’s brilliant.' 

~ 'Harry, you keep talking about what your wand did,' said Hermione, 'but you made it happen! Why are you so determined not to take responsibility for your own power?'

 'Because I know it wasn’t me! And so does Voldemort, Hermione! We both know what really happened!'

 They glared at each other; Harry knew that he had not convinced Hermione and that she was marshaling counterarguments, against both his theory on his wand and the fact that he was permitting himself to see into Voldemort’s mind.

~ Reluctantly, as the other two could tell, Hermione let the matter rest, though Harry was quite sure she would attack again at the first opportunity.

576. Harry Associating Certain Expressions Of Hermione With Exam Review

~ They found Hermione downstairs in the kitchen. She was being served coffee and hot rolls by Kreacher and wearing the slightly manic expression that Harry associated with exam review.

577. Harry and Hermione carrying Out Their Plan Together along with Ron, Harry whispering Into Hermione's ear and Encouraging her With the Patronus while Hers Moves Gracefully Next to Harry's stag, and Them Holding Hands and Hermione's Hand Being One Of The Only Things Harry Could Feel

~ Hermione disapparated with Ron first, then came back for Harry.

~ As she removed Mafalda’s spectacles and put them on, Harry checked his watch. 

'We're running late, Mr. Magical Maintenance will be here any second.' 

~ 'Now wait here,' Hermione told Harry, who was still under the Invisibility Cloak, 'and we’ll be back with some hairs for you.'

 He had to wait ten minutes, but it seemed much longer to Harry, skulking alone in the sick-splattered alleyway beside the door concealing the Stunned Mafalda.

~ 'We don’t know who he is,' Hermione said, passing Harry several curly black hairs, 'but he’s gone home with a dreadful nose-bleed! Here, he’s pretty tall, you’ll need bigger robes. . . .'

 She pulled out a set of the old robes Kreacher had laundered for them, and Harry retired to take the potion and change.

~ 'Take one of Mafalda’s tokens,' Hermione told Harry, 'and let’s go, it’s nearly nine.'

 They stepped out of the alleyway together.

~ 'See you in a moment, then,' said Hermione nervously, and she tottered off down the steps to Ladies.

~ 'Psst!' said a voice, and he looked around to see a wispy little witch and the ferrety wizard from Magical Maintenance gesturing to him from over beside the statue. Harry hastened to join them.

 'You got in all right, then?' Hermione whispered to Harry.

~ 'Oh, very funny . . . It’s horrible, isn’t it?' she said to Harry, who was staring up at the statue. 'Have you seen what they’re sitting on?'

Harry looked more closely and realized that what he had though were decoratively carved thrones were actually mounds of carved human: hundreds and hundreds of naked bodies, men, women, and children, all with rather stupid, ugly faces, twisted and pressed together to support the weight of the handsomely robed wizards. 

'Muggles,' whispered Hermione. 'In their rightful place. Come on, let’s get going.'

~ He glanced over at Ron and Hermione as the lift creaked upward once more: Hermione was now whispering frantic instructions to Ron.

~ Harry saw Hermione give Ron a little push and he hurried out of the lift, followed by the other wizards, leaving Harry and Hermione alone. The moment the golden door had closed Hermione said, very fast, 'Actually, Harry, I think I’d better go after him, I don’t think he knows what he’s doing and if he gets caught the whole thing — '

~ Glancing over his shoulder, Harry saw Hermione’s anxious face sinking back out of sight, a tall wizard on either side of her, Umbridge’s velvet hair-bow level with her shoulder.

~ Now Hermione was stuck in court proceedings, which would undoubtedly last hours; Ron was struggling to do magic that Harry was sure was beyond him, a woman’s liberty possibly depending on the outcome; and he, Harry, was wandering around on the top floor when he knew perfectly well that has quarry had just gone down in the lift.

~ The first thing to do was to find Ron, and then they could work out a way of extracting Hermione from the courtroom.

~ Harry pulled out the Invisibility Cloak and put it back on. He would try to extricate Hermione on his own while Ron was dealing with the raining office.

~ Of course, he did not know whether Runcorn was sufficiently important to get away with this, and even if he managed it, Hermione’s non-reappearance might trigger a search before they were clear of the Ministry. . . .

~ So he moved forward as silently as he could, and with every step he took numbness seemed to steal over his brain, but he forced himself to think of Hermione and of Ron, who needed him.

~ Here, behind a balustrade, at The Muggleborn Registration Commission sat Umbridge, with Yaxley on one side of her, and Hermione, quite as white-faced as Mrs. Cattermole, on the other.

~ Slowly, and very carefully, he edged his way along the platform behind Umbridge, Yaxley, and Hermione, taking a seat behind the latter. He was worried about making Hermione jump. He thought of casting the Muffliato charm upon Umbridge and Yaxley, but even murmuring the word might cause Hermione alarm. Then Umbridge raised her voice to address Mrs. Cattermole, and Harry seized his chance. 

'I’m behind you,' he whispered into Hermione’s ear. As he had expected, she jumped so violently she nearly overturned the bottle of ink with which she was supposed to be recording the interview, but both Umbridge and Yaxley were concentrating upon Mrs. Cattermole, and this went unnoticed.

~ Hermione had seen it; she let out a little squeak, but Umbridge and Yaxley, still intent upon their prey, were deaf to everything else.

~ Hermione’s hands were shaking with shock.

~ 'Harry!'

 'Hermione, if you think I was going to sit here and let her pretend — '

 'Harry, Mrs. Cattermole!' Harry whirled around, throwing off the Invisibility Cloak: down below, the dementors had moved out of their corners: they were gliding toward the woman chained to the chair:

~ 'Get the Horcrux,' Harry told Hermione.

~ 'Hermione, how do I get rid of these chains?'

 'Wait, I’m trying something up here — '

 'Hermione, we’re surrounded by dementors!'

 'I know that, Harry, but if she wakes up and the locket’s gone — I need to replicate it — Geminio! There . . . That should fool her. . . .'

~ 'Harry,' said Hermione, 'how are we going to get out of here with all those dementors outside the door?'

 'Patronuses,' said Harry, pointing his wand at his own: The stag slowed and walked, still gleaming brightly, toward the door. 'As many as we can muster; do yours, Hermione.'

 'Expec — Expecto patronum,' said Hermione. Nothing happened. 

'It’s the only spell she ever has trouble with,' Harry told a completely bemused Mrs. Cattermole. 

'Bit unfortunate, really . . . Come on, Hermione. . . .'

 'Expecto patronum!' A silver otter burst from the end of Hermione’s wand and swam gracefully through the air to join the stag. 

'C’mon,' said Harry, and he led Hermione and Mrs. Cattermole to the door.

~ Hermione’s Patronus vanished with a pop as she turned a horror struck face to Harry. 

'Harry, if we’re trapped here — !' 

'We won’t be if we move fast,' said Harry.

~ 'Harry!' squeaked Hermione. 'What are we going to — ?'

~ 'Come on!' Harry shouted at Hermione; he seized her hand and they jumped into the fireplace together as Yaxley’s curse sailed over Harry’s head. They spun for a few seconds before shooting up out of a toilet into a cubicle.

~ 'LET’S GO!' Harry yelled. He seized Hermione by the hand and Ron by the arm and turned on the spot. 

Darkness engulfed them, along with the sensation of compressing hands, but something was wrong. . . . Hermione’s hand seemed to be sliding out of his grip. . . . He wondered whether he was going to suffocate; he could not breathe or see and the only solid things in the world were Ron’s arm and Hermione’s fingers, which were slowly slipping away. . . . And then he saw the door of number twelve, Grimmauld Place, with its serpent door knocker, but before he could draw breath, there was a scream and a flash of purple light. Hermione’s hand was suddenly vicelike upon his hand and everything went dark again.

578. Harry Helping Hermione Clean Ron's Wounds

~ 'What’s happened to him?'

 'Splinched,' said Hermione, her fingers already busy at Ron’s sleeve, where the blood was wettest and darkest. Harry watched, horrified, as she tore open Ron’s shirt. He had always thought of Splinching as something comical, but this . . . His insides crawled unpleasantly as Hermione laid bare Ron’s upper arm, where a great chunk of flesh was missing, scooped cleanly away as though by a knife. 

'Harry, quickly, in my bag, there’s a small bottle labeled Essence of Dittany — '

 'Bag — right — ’ Harry sped tot he place where Hermione had landed, seized the tiny beaded bag, and thrust his hand inside it. At once, object after object began presenting itself to his touch: He felt the leather spines of books, woolly sleeves of jumpers, heels of shoes —

'Quickly!' 

He grabbed his wand from the ground and pointed it into the depths of the magical bag.

 'Accio Dittany!' 

A small brown bottle zoomed out of the bag; he caught it and hastened back to Hermione and Ron, whose eyes were now halfclosed, strips of white eyeball all that were visible between his lids.

~ 'He’s fainted,' said Hermione who was also rather pale; she no longer looked like Mafalda, though her hair was still gray in places.

 'Unstopper it for me, Harry, my hands are shaking.'

 Harry wrenched the stopper off the little bottle, Hermione took it and poured three drops of the potion onto the bleeding wound. 

Greenish smoke billowed upward and when it had cleared, Harry saw that the bleeding had stopped. The wound now looked several days old; new skin stretched over what had just been open flesh. 

'Wow,' said Harry. 

'It’s all I feel safe doing,' said Hermione shakily. 'There are spells that would put him completely right, but I daren’t try in case I do them wrong and cause more damage. . . . He’s lost too much blood already. . . .'

579. Harry Telling Hermione That It wasn't Her Fault When She Blames Herself, and Both Of Them Discussing Things 

~  'How did he get hurt? I mean —' Harry shook his head, trying to clear it, to make sense of whatever had just taken place — 'why are we here? I thought were were going back to Grimmauld Place?'

Hermione took a deep breath. She looked close to tears. 'Harry, I don’t think we’re going to be able to go back there.'

 'What d’you — ?'

 'As we Disapparated, Yaxley caught hold of me and I couldn’t get rid of him, he was too strong, and he was still holding on when we arrived at Grimmauld Place, and then — well, I think he must have seen the door, and thought we were stopping there, so he slackened his grip and I managed to shake him off and I brought us here instead!'

 'But then, where’s he? Hang on. . . . You don’t mean he’s at Grimmauld Place? He can’t get in there?'

 Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears as she nodded. 'Harry, I think he can. I — I forced him to let go with a Revulsion Jinx, but I’d already taken him inside the Fidelius Charm’s protection. Since Dumbledore died, we’re Secret-Keepers, so I’ve given him the secret, haven’t I?'

 There was no pretending; Harry was sure she was right.

~ 'Harry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!'

 'Don’t be stupid, it wasn’t your fault! If anything, it was mine. . . .' Harry put his hand in his pocket and drew out Mad-Eye’s eye. Hermione recoiled, looking horrified. 

'Umbridge had stuck it to her office door, to spy on people. I couldn’t leave it there . . . but that’s how they knew there were intruders.'

 Before Hermione could answer, Ron groaned and opened his eyes.

~ He could not help remembering what had happened the last time they had Apparated to the first place Hermione had thought of — how Death Eaters had found them within minutes. Had it been Legilimency? Did Voldemort or his henchmen know, even now, where Hermione had taken them?

~ 'Let’s stay here for now,' Harry said.. Looking relieved, Hermione sprang to her feet.

~ Harry saw little disturbances in the surrounding air: It was as if Hermione had cast a heat haze upon their clearing.

~ 'Muggletum . . . Muffliato . . . You could get out the tent, Harry . . . '

 'Tent?'

 'In the bag!'

 'In the . . . of course,' said Harry.

~ 'I thought this belonged to that bloke Perkins at the Ministry?' he asked, starting to disentangle the tent pegs. 

'Apparently he didn’t want it back, his lumbago’s so bad,' said Hermione, now performing complicated figure-of-eight movements with her wand, 'so Ron’s dad said I could borrow it. Erecto! ' she added, pointing her wand at the misshapen canvas, which in one fluid motion rose into the air and settled, fully constructed, onto the ground before Harry, out of whose started hands a tent peg soared, to land with a final thud at the end of a guy rope. 

'Cave Imunicium,' Hermione finished with a skyward flourish.

~ 'With any luck, they’ll have got away,' said Hermione, clutching her hot mug for comfort. 'As long as Mr. Cattermole had his wits about him, he’ll have transported Mrs. Cattermole by Side-Along-Apparition and they’ll be fleeing the country right now with their children. That’s what Harry told her to do.'

~ She passed it to Harry, who turned it over in his fingers.

~ Mastering himself again, he tried to prise the locket apart with his fingers, then attempted the charm Hermione had used to open Regulus’s bedroom door. Neither worked. He handed the locket back to Ron and Hermione, each of whom did their best, but were no more successful at opening it than he had been.

~ 'What are we going to do with it?' Hermione asked. 

'Keep it safe till we work out how to destroy it.” Harry replied, and, little though he wanted to, he hung the chain around his own neck, dropping the locket out of sight beneath his robes, where it rested against his chest beside the pouch Hagrid had given him. 

'I think we should take it in turns to keep watch outside the tent,' he added to Hermione, standing up and stretching. 'And we’ll need to think about some food as well. You stay there,' he added sharply, as Ron attempted to sit up and turned a nasty shade of green. 

With the Sneakoscope Hermione had given Harry for his birthday set carefully upon the table in the tent, Harry and Hermione spent the rest of the day sharing the role of lookout. However, the Sneakoscope remained silent and still upon its point all day, and whether because of the protective enchantments and Muggle-repelling charms Hermione had spread around them, or because people rarely ventured this way, their patch of wood remained deserted, apart from occasional birds and squirrels. Evening brought no change; Harry lit his wand as he swapped places with Hermione at ten o’clock, and looked out upon a deserted scene, noting the bats fluttering high above him across the single patch of starry sky visible from their protected clearing.

~ He and Hermione had already decided against trying to summon him; what if someone from the Ministry came too? They could not count on elfish Apparition from being free of the same flaw that had taken Yaxley to Grimmauld Place on the hem of Hermione’s sleeve.

580. Harry Finishing Hermione's Sentence

~ 'In the woods where they held the Quidditch World Cup,' said Hermione. 'I wanted somewhere enclosed, undercover, and this was — '

 ' — the first place you thought of,' Harry finished for her, glancing around at the apparently deserted glade. 

581. Harry and Hermione Looking at each Other when Ron says not To Use Voldemort's Name

~ 'That’s as much as I can do. At the very least, we should know they’re coming. I can’t guarantee it will keep out Vol — '

 'Don’t say the name!' Ron cut across her, his voice harsh. 

Harry and Hermione looked at each other. 

'I’m sorry,' Ron said, moaning a little as he raised himself to look at them, 'but it feels like a — a jinx or something. Can’t we call him You-Know-Who — please?'

'Dumbledore said fear of a name — ' began Harry. 

'In case you hadn’t noticed, mate, calling You-Know-Who by his name didn’t do Dumbledore much good in the end,' Ron snapped back. 'Just — just show You-Know-Who some respect, will you?'

 'Respect?' Harry repeated, but Hermione shot him a warning look; apparently he was not to argue with Ron while the latter was in such a weakened condition. 

Harry and Hermione half carried, half dragged Ron through the entrance of the tent.

582. Harry Loving Hermione' s tea

~ 'I’ll make some tea,' said Hermione breathlessly, pulling kettle and mugs from the depths of her bag and heading toward the kitchen. 

Harry found the hot drink as welcome as the firewhisky had been on the night that Mad-Eye had died; it seemed to burn away a little of the fear fluttering in his chest.

583. Harry Feeling Uncomfortable When Hermione Looks at Ron with Tenderness, and Ron seeming offended when neither of the Two told him that They Got The Horcrux

~ Harry looked over at Hermione and the question he had wanted to ask — about whether Mrs. Cattermole’s lack of a wand would prevent her Apparating alongside her husband — died in his throat.

 Hermione was watching Ron fret over the fate of the Cattermoles, and there was such tenderness in her expression that Harry felt as if he had surprised her in the act of kissing him. 

'So, have you got it?' Harry asked her, partly to remind her that he was there. 

'Got — got what?' she said with a little start. 

'What did we just go through all that for? The locket! Where’s the locket?'

 'You got it?' shouted Ron, raising himself a little higher on his pillow. 'No one tells me anything! Blimey, you could have mentioned it!'

 'Well, we were running for our lives from the Death Eaters, weren’t we?' said Hermione. 'Here.'

584. Harry eating Hermione's Bad Cooking to Not Hurt Her Feelings

~ He felt hungry now, and a little lightheaded. Hermione had not packed any food in her magical bag, as she had assumed that they would be returning to Grimmauld Place that night, so they had had nothing to eat except some wild mushrooms that Hermione had collected from amongst the nearest trees and stewed in a billycan. After a couple of mouthfuls Ron had pushed his portion away, looking queasy: Harry had only persevered so as not to hurt Hermione’s feelings.

585. Hermione Being Concerned about Harry's Scar Hurting and offering To Take Over The Watch

~ A scream that went on and on and then a burst of green light —'Harry!' 

He opened his eyes, panting, his forehead throbbing. He had passed out against the side of the tent, had slid sideways down the canvas, and was sprawled on the ground. He looked up at Hermione, whose bushy hair obscured the tiny patch of sky visible through the dark branches high above them. 

'Dream,' he said, sitting up quickly and attempting to meet Hermione’s glower with a look of innocence. 'Must’ve dozed off, sorry.'

 'I know it was your scar! I can tell by the look on your face! You were looking into Vol — '

 'Don’t say his name!' came Ron’s angry voice from the depths of the tent. 

'Fine,' retorted Hermione. 'You-Know-Who’s mind, then!'

 'I didn’t mean it to happen!' Harry said. 'It was a dream! Can you control what you dream about, Hermione?'

 'If you just learned to apply Occlumency-'

But Harry was not interested in being told off; he wanted to discuss what he had just seen. 'He’s found Gregorovitch, Hermione, and I think he’s killed him, but before he killed him he read Gregorovitch’s mind and I saw — ' 

 'I think I’d better take over the watch if you’re so tired you’re falling asleep,' said Hermione coldly.

'I can finish the watch!'

 'No, you’re obviously exhausted. Go and lie down.'

 She dropped down in the mouth of the tent, looking stubborn. 

Angry, but wishing to avoid a row, Harry ducked back inside.

586. Harry and Hermione Working Together and Discussing Stuff

~ Harry and Hermione felt that it was best not to stay anywhere too long, and Ron agreed, with the sole proviso that their next move took them within reach of a bacon sandwich. 

Hermione therefore removed the enchantments she had placed around the clearing, while Harry and Ron obliterated all the marks and impressions on the ground that might show that they had camped there.

~  'Harry,' she said, crouching down in front of him and using the kind of voice he associated with visiting the very sick, 'you don’t think you’ve been possessed, do you?'

 'What? No!' he said defensively. 'I remember everything we’ve done while I’ve been wearing it. I wouldn’t know what I’d done if I’d been possessed, would I? Ginny told me there were times when she couldn’t remember anything.’ 

'Hmm,' said Hermione, looking down at the heavy gold locket. 'Well, maybe we ought not to wear it. We can just keep it at the tent.' 

'We are not leaving that Horcrux lying around,' Harry stated firmly. 'If we lose it, if it gets stolen — '

 'Oh, all right, all right,' said Hermione, and she placed it around her own neck and tucked it out of sight down the front of her shirt. 'But we’ll take turns wearing it, so nobody keeps it on for too long.'

'Great,' said Ron irritably, 'and now we’ve sorted that out, can we please get some food?'

 'Fine, but we’ll go somewhere else to find it,' said Hermione with half a glance at Harry. 'There’s no point staying where we know dementors are swooping around.'

 In the end they settled down for the night in a far flung field belonging to a lonely farm, from which they had managed to obtain eggs and bread.

~ The argument about the dementors was forgotten in the laughter that night, and Harry felt cheerful, even hopeful as he took the first of the three night watches. This was their first encounter with the fact that a full stomach meant good spirits; an empty one, bickering and gloom. Harry was least surprised by this, because he had suffered periods of near starvation at the Dursleys. Hermione bore up reasonably well on those nights when they managed to scavenge nothing but berries or stale biscuits, her temper perhaps a little shorter than usual and her silences rather dour.

~ He did not seem to have any ideas himself, but expected Harry and Hermione to come up with plans while he sat and brooded over the low food supplies. Accordingly Harry and Hermione spent fruitless hours trying to decide where they might find the other Horcruxes, and how to destroy the one they had already got, their conversations becoming increasingly repetitive as they had no new information.

~ 'I can’t see him hiding anything at Borgin and Burkes,' said Harry, who made this point many times before, but said it again simply to break the nasty silence. 'Borgin and Burke were experts at Dark objects, they would’ve recognized a Horcrux straightaway.'

 Ron yawned pointedly. Repressing a strong urge to throw something at him, Harry plowed on, 'I still reckon he might have hidden something at Hogwarts.'

 Hermione sighed. 'But Dumbledore would have found it, Harry!'

Harry repeated the argument he kept bringing out in favor of this theory. 'Dumbledore said in front of me that he never assumed he knew all of Hogwarts’s secrets. I’m telling you, if there was one place Vol — ' 

'Oi!' 

'YOU-KNOW-WHO, then!' Harry shouted, goaded past endurance. 'If there was one place that was really important to You-Know-Who, it was Hogwarts!'

~ 'You told us that You-Know-Who asked Dumbledore to give him a job after he left,' said Hermione.

 'That’s right,' said Harry. 

'And Dumbledore thought he only wanted to come back to try and find something, probably another founder’s object, to make into another Horcrux?'

 'Yeah,' said Harry. 

'But he didn’t get the job, did he?' said Hermione. 'So he never got the chance to find a founder’s object there and hide it in the school!'

 'Okay, then,' said Harry, defeated. 'Forget Hogwarts.'

~ 'We could try digging in the foundations?' Hermione suggested halfheartedly. 

'He wouldn’t have hidden a Horcrux here,' Harry said.

587. Harry feeling Ashamed When Hermione Look Dissappointed

~ Their expressions of consternation and disappointment made Harry feel ashamed.

~ 'Shut up, Ron,' snapped Hermione. 'Harry, what happened? Why do you think you couldn’t make your Patronus? You managed perfectly yesterday,'

 'I don’t know.'

 He sat low in one of Perkins’s old armchairs, feeling more humiliated by the moment. 

588. Harry Feeling Better when he Listens to Hermione

~ 'Of course!' cried Hermione, clapping a hand to her forehead and startling both of them into silence. 'Harry, give me the locket! Come on,' she said impatiently, clicking her fingers at him, when he did not react, 'the Horcrux, Harry, you’re still wearing it!'

 She held out her hands, and Harry lifted the golden chain over his head. The moment it parted contact with Harry’s skin he felt free and oddly light. He had not even realized that he was clammy or that there was a heavy weight pressing on his stomach until both sensations lifted. 

'Better?' asked Hermione. 

'Yeah, loads better!'

589. Harry Feeling Particularly Scared about Hermione Dropping Out Due To His Lack of Leadership

~ Ron was making no effort to hide his bad mood, and Harry was starting to fear that Hermione too was disappointed by his poor leadership. In desperation he tried to think of further Horcrux locations, but the only one that continued to occur to him was Hogwarts, and as neither of the other thought this at all likely, he stopped suggesting it.

~ He knew nothing, he had no ideas, and he was constantly painfully on the alert for any indication that Hermione too was about to tell him that she had had enough, that she was leaving.

590. Harry Being annoyed at Ron when He Complains About Hermione's Food

~ 'My mother,' said Ron one night, as they sat in the tent on a riverbank in Wales, 'can make good fear appear out of thin air.' 

He prodded moodily at the lumps of charred gray fish on his plate. 

Harry glanced automatically at Ron’s neck and saw, as he had expected, the golden chain of the Horcrux glinting there. He managed to fight down the impulse to swear at Ron, whose attitude, he knew, improve slightly when the time came to take off the locket. 

'Your mother can’t produce food out of thin air,' said Hermione. 'No one can. Food is one of the first of five Principal Exceptions to Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfigur — ’

~ 'Harry caught the fish and I did my best with it! I notice I’m always the one who ends up sorting out the food, because I’m a girl, I suppose!'

592. Harry and Hermione Getting Excited about Discovering Something, Looking at each other, Finishing each Others' Sentences, Causing Ron To Get Jealous while Hermione Displayed her Loyalty   

~ 'Shut up!' said Harry, leaping to his feet and holding up both hands. 'Shut up now !'

 Hermione looked outraged. 

'How can you side with him, he hardly ever does the cook — '

 'Hermione, be quiet, I can hear someone!'

~ 'You cast the Muffliato charm over us, right?' he whispered to Hermione. 

'I did everything,' she whispered back, 'Muffliato, Muggle-Repelling and Disillusionment Charms, all of it. They shouldn’t  be able to hear or see us, whoever they are.'

~ They drew their wands, waiting.

~ Hermione snatched up the beaded bag and started to rummage; after a moment she drew out three Extendable Ears and threw one each to Harry and Ron, who hastily inserted the ends of the fleshcolored strings into their ears and fed the other ends out of the tent entrance. Within second Harry heard a weary male voice.

~ 'Goblins!' Hermione mouthed at Harry, who nodded. 

~ 'Yeah,' said another voice, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared at each other, silent but beside themselves with excitement, sure they recognized the voice of Dean Thomas, their fellow Gryffindor.

~ Harry glanced toward Hermione and Ron, both of whom were clutching the Extendable Ears as tightly as lifelines.

~ Harry, who had found the need to remain silent increasingly difficult the longer they eavesdropped, now found himself unable to say more than, 'Ginny — the sword — '

 'I know!' said Hermione. 

She lunged for the tiny beaded bag, this time sinking her arm in it right up to the armpit. 'Here . . . we . . . are . . . ' she said between gritted teeth, and she pulled at something that was evidently in the depths of the bag. 

Slowly the edge of an ornate picture frame came into sight. Harry hurried to help her. As they lifted the empty portrait of Phineas Nigellus free of Hermione’s bag, she kept her wand pointing at it, ready to cast a spell at any moment. 

'If somebody swapped the real sword for the fake while it was in Dumbledore’s office,' she panted, as they propped the painting against the side of the tent, 'Phineas Nigellus would have seen it happen, he hangs right beside the case!'

 'Unless he was asleep,' said Harry, but he still held his breath as Hermione knelt down in the front of the empty canvas, her wand directed at its center, cleared her throat, then said: 'Er — Phineas? Phineas Nigellus?' Nothing happened.

 'Phineas Nigellus?' said Hermione again. 'Professor Black? Please could we talk to you? Please?'

 '"Please" always helps,' said a cold, snide voice, and Phineas Nigellus slid into his portrait. At once, Hermione cried: 'Obscura!'

 A black blindfold appeared over Phineas Nigellus’s clever, dark eyes, causing him to bump into the frame and shriek with pain. 

'What — how dare — what are you — ?'

 'I’m very sorry, Professor Black,' said Hermione, 'but it’s a necessary precaution!'

 'Remove this foul addition at once! Remove it, I say! You are ruining a great work of art! Where am I? What is going on?' 

'Never mind where we are,' said Harry, and Phineas Nigellus froze, abandoning his attempts to peel off the painted blindfold. 

 'Can that possibly be the voice of the elusive Mr. Potter?'

 'Maybe,' said Harry, knowing that this would keep Phineas Nigellus’s interest. 'We’ve got a couple of questions to ask you —about the sword of Gryffindor.'

~ Slightly crestfallen, Harry watched Phineas redouble his attempts to leave his frame. 

'Professor Black,' said Hermione, 'couldn’t you just tell us, please, when was the last time the sword was taken out of its case? Before Ginny took it out, I mean?'

 Phineas snorted impatiently. 'I believe the last time I saw the sword of Gryffindor leave its case was when Professor Dumbledore used it to break open a ring.'

 Hermione whipped around to look at Harry. Neither of them dared say more in front of Phineas Nigellus, who had at last managed to locate the exit.

~ 'Harry!' Hermione cried. 

'I know!' Harry shouted. Unable to contain himself, he punched the air: it was more than he had dared to hope for. He strode up and down the tent, feeling that he could have run a  mile: he did not even feel hungry anymore. 

Hermione was squashing Phineas Nigellus’s portrait back into the beaded bag, when she had fastened their clasp she threw the bag aside and raised a shining face to Harry.

 'The sword can destroy Horcruxes! Goblin-made blades imbibe only that which can strengthen them — Harry, that sword’s impregnated with basilisk venom!'

'“And Dumbledore didn’t give it to me because he still needed it, he wanted to use it on the locket — '

 “'— and he must have realized they wouldn’t let you have it if he put in his will — '

 ' — so he made a copy — '

 ' — and put a fake in the glass case — '

 '— and he left the real one — where?'

 They gazed at each other: Harry felt the answer was dangling invisibly in the air above them, tantalizingly close. Why hadn’t Dumbledore told him? Or had he, in fact, told Harry, but Harry had not realized it at the time?

 'Think!' whispered Hermione. 'Think! Where would he have left it?'

 'Not at Hogwarts,' said Harry, resuming his pacing.

'Somewhere in Hogsmeade?' suggested Hermione. 

'The Shrieking Shack?' said Harry. 'Nobody ever goes in there.'

 'But Snape knows how to get in, wouldn’t that be a bit risky?' 

'Dumbledore trusted Snape,' Harry reminded her. 

'Not enough to tell him that he had swapped the words,' said Hermione. 

'Yeah, you’re right!' said Harry, and he felt even more cheered at the thought that Dumbledore had some reservations, however faint, about Snape’s trustworthiness. 'So, would he have hidden the sword well away from Hogsmeade then? What d’you reckon, Ron? Ron?'

 Harry looked around. For one bewildered moment he thought that Ron had left the tent, then realized that Ron was lying in the shadow of a lower bunk, looking stony. 

'Oh, remembered me, have you?' he said. 

'What?' Ron snorted as he started up at the underside of the upper bunk.

 'You two carry on. Don’t let me spoil your fun.'

Perplexed, Harry looked to Hermione for help, but she shook her head, apparently as nonplussed as he was. 

'What’s the problem?' asked Harry. 

'Problem? There’s no problem,' said Ron, still refusing to look at Harry. 'Not according to you, anyway.'

 There were several plunks on the canvas over their heads. It had started to rain. 'Well, you’ve obviously got a problem,' said Harry. 'Spit it out, will you?'

 Ron swung his long legs off the bed and sat up. He looked mean, unlike himself. 'All right, I’ll spit it out. Don’t expect me to skip up and down the tent because there’s some other damn thing we’ve got to find. Just add it to the list of stuff you don’t know.'

~ 'Ron,' Hermione said, but in such a quiet voice that Ron could pretend not to have heard it over the loud tattoo the rain was now beating on the tent.

~ 'Ron!' said Hermione, this time clearly audible over the rain thundering on the tent roof, but again, he ignored her.

~ 'Take off the locket, Ron,' Hermione said, her voice unusually high. 'Please take it off. You wouldn’t be talking like this if you hadn’t been wearing it all day.'

 'Yeah, he would,' said Harry, who did not want excuses made for Ron.

~ 'Ron!' said Hermione, forcing her way between them. 'I don’t think it means anything new has happened, anything we don’t know about: think, Ron, Bill’s already scarred; plenty of people must have seen that George has lost an ear by now, and you’re supposed to be on your deathbed with spattergroit, I’m sure that’s all he meant — '

~ Ron made a sudden movement: Harry reacted, but before either wand was clear of its owner’s pocket, Hermione had raised her own. 

'Protego!' she cried, and an invisible shield expanded between her and Harry on the one side and Ron on the other; all of them were forced backward a few steps by the strength of the spell, and Harry and Ron glared from either side of the transparent barrier as though they were seeing each other clearly for the first time.

~ 'What are you doing?'

 'What do you mean?'

 'Are you staying or what?'

 'I . . . ' She looked anguished. 'Yes — yes, I’m staying, Ron, we said we’d go with Harry, we said we’d help — '

 'I get it. You choose him.'

 593. Harry Telling Phineas Not to Call Hermione Simple

~ 'What we really wanted to know, Professor Black, is whether anyone else has, um, taken out the sword at all? Maybe it’s been taken away for cleaning or — or something?'

 Phineas Nigellus paused again in his struggles to free his eyes and sniggered.

'Muggleborns,'he said. 'Goblin-made armor does not require cleaning, simple girl. Goblins’ silver repels mundane dirt, imbibing only that which strengthens it.'

 'Don’t call Hermione simple,' said Harry.

594. Harry Never Questioning Hermione's Loyalty even when Ron Tells Him Something

~ 'D’you think I haven’t noticed the two of you whispering behind my back? D’you think I didn’t guess you were thinking this stuff?'

 'Harry we weren’t — '

 'Don’t lie!' Ron hurled at her. 'You said it too, you said you were disappointed, you said you’d thought he had a bit more to go on than — '

 'I didn’t say it like that — Harry, I didn’t!' she cried. 

The rain was pounding the tent, tears were pouring down Hermione’s face, and the excitement of a few minutes before had vanished as if it had never been, a short-lived firework that had flared and died, leaving everything dark, wet, and cold.

595. Harry Throwing a Blanket Over Hermione and Thinking of Comforting her Despite everything That Happened, but then Remembering Ron's Jealousy

~ Harry stood quite still and silent, listening to her sobbing and calling Ron’s name amongst the trees. After a few minutes she returned, her sopping hair plastered to her face. 

'He’s g–g–gone! Disapparated!'

 She threw herself into a chair, curled up, and started to cry. Harry felt dazed.  

~ He dragged blankets off Ron’s bunk and threw them over Hermione.

~ The instant they arrived, Hermione dropped Harry’s hand and walked away from him, finally sitting down on a large rock; her face on her knees, shaking with what he knew were sobs. He watched her, supposing that he ought to go and comfort her, but something kept him rooted to the spot. Everything inside him felt cold and tight: Again he saw the contemptuous expression on Ron’s face. 

Harry strode off through the heather, walking in a large circle with the distraught Hermione at its center, casting the spells she usually performed to ensure their protection.

 They did not discuss Ron at all over the next few days. Harry was determined never to mention his name again, and Hermione seemed to know that it was no use forcing the issue, although some times at night when she thought he was sleeping, he would hear her crying.

~ 596. Harry Noticng Hermione's Puffy eyes while She Hides Her Tears in front of Harry To Not Make Him Feel Bad

~ Hermione, who was already busy in the kitchen, did not wish Harry good morning, but turned her face away quickly as he went by.

~ He and Hermione ate breakfast in silence. Hermione’s eyes were puffy and red; she looked as if she had not slept. 

They packed up their things, Hermione dawdling. Harry knew why she wanted to spin out their time on the riverbank; several times he saw her look up eagerly and he was sure she had deluded herself into thinking that she heard footsteps through the heavy rain, but no red-haired figure appeared between the trees. Every time Harry imitated her, looked around (for he could not help hoping a little, himself) and saw nothing but rain-swept woods, another little parcel of fury exploded inside him.

597. Harry and Hermione Holding Hands and Dissapparating

~ Hermione seemed unable to find any more reasons to delay: She and Harry grasped hands and Disapparated, reappearing on a windswept heather-covered hillside.

598. Harry and Hermione Discussing Theories and Being Togetether Despite Everything

~ By day, they devoted themselves to trying to determine the possible locations of Gryffindor’s sword, but the more they talked about the places in which Dumbledore might have hidden it, the more desperate and far-fetched their speculation became.

~ They were spending many evenings in near silence, and Hermione took to bringing out Phineas Nigellus’s portrait and propping it up in a chair, as though he might fill part of the gaping hole left by Ron’s departure.

~ Harry was even glad to see him, because he was company, albeit of a snide and taunting kind. They relished any news about what was happening in Hogwarts, though Phineas Nigellus was not an ideal informer.

~ Indeed, Phineas Nigellus inadvertently emphasized this fact by slipping in leading questions about Harry and Hermione’s whereabouts. Hermione shoved him back inside the beaded bag every time he did this, and Phineas Nigellus invariably refused to reappear for several days after these unceremonious good-byes.

~ They did not dare remain in any one area too long, so rather than staying in the south of England, where a hard ground frost was the worst of their worries, they continued to meander up and down the country, braving a mountainside, where sleet pounded the tent; a wide, flat marsh, where the tent was flooded with chill water: and a tiny island in the middle of a Scottish loch, where snow buried the tent in the night.

 They already spotted Christmas trees twinkling from several sitting room windows before there came an evening when Harry resolved to suggest, again, what seemed to him the only unexplored avenue left to them. They had just eaten an unusually good meal: Hermione had been to a supermarket under the Invisibility Cloak (scrupulously dropping the money into an open till as she left), and Harry thought she might be more persuadable than usual on a stomach full of spaghetti Bolognese and tinned pears. He had also had the foresight to suggest that they take a few hours’ break from wearing the Horcrux, which was hanging over the end of the bank beside him. 

'Hermione?'

 'Hmm?' She was curled up in one of the sagging armchairs with The Tales of Beedle the Bard. He could not imagine how much more she could get out of the book, which was not, after all, very long, but evidently she was still deciphering something in it, because Spellman’s Syllabary lay open on the arm of the chair. 

Harry cleared his throat. He felt exactly as he had done on the occasion, several years previously, when he had asked Professor McGonagall whether he could go into Hogsmeade, despite the fact that he had not persuaded the Dursleys to sign his permission slip. 

'Hermione, I’ve been thinking, and — '

 'Harry, could you help me with something?'

Apparently she had not been listening to him. She leaned forward and held out The Tales of Beedle the Bard. 

'Look at the symbol.' She said, pointing to the top of a page. Above what Harry assumed was the title of the story (being unable to read runes, he could not be sure), there was a picture of what looked like a triangular eye, its pupil crossed with a vertical line. 

'I never took Ancient Runes, Hermione'

 'I know that, but it isn’t a rune and it’s not in the syllabary, either. All along I thought it was a picture of an eye, but I don’t think it is! It’s been inked in, look, somebody’s drawn it there, it isn’t really part of the book. Think, have you ever seen it before?'

 'No . . . No, wait a moment.' Harry looked closer. 'Isn’t it the same symbol Luna’s dad was wearing around his neck?'

 'Well, that’s what I thought too!'

'Then it’s Grindelwald’s mark'

 She stared at him, open mouthed. 'What?'

 'Krum told me . . . ' He recounted the story that Viktor Krum had told him at the wedding. 

Hermione looked astonished, 'Grindelwald’s mark?' She looked from Harry to the weird symbol and back again.'I’ve never heard that Grindelwald had a mark. There’s no mention of it in anything I’ve read about him.'

 'Well, like I say, Krum reckoned that symbol was carved on a wall at Durmstrang, and Grindelwald put it there.'

 She fell back into the old armchair, frowning. 'That’s very odd. If it’s a symbol of Dark Magic, what’s it doing in a book of children’s stories?'

 'Yeah it is weird.' Said Harry. 'And you’d think Scrimgeour would have recognized it. He was Minister, he ought to have been expert on Dark stuff'

 'I know . . . Perhaps he thought it was an eye, just like I did. All the other stories have little pictures over the titles.'

 She did not speak, but continued to pore over the strange mark. Harry tried again.

'Hermione?'

 'Hmm?'

 'I’ve been thinking. I — I want to go to Godric’s Hollow.'

 She looked up at him, but her eyes were unfocused, and he was sure she was still thinking about the mysterious mark on the book. 

'Yes.' She said. 'Yes, I’ve been wondering that too. I really think we’ll have to.'

 'Did you hear me right?' he asked.

'Of course I did. You want to go to Godric’s Hollow. I agree, I think we should. I mean, I can’t think of anywhere else it could be either. It’ll be dangerous, but the more I think about it, the more likely it seems it’s there.'

 'Er — what’s there?' asked Harry. 

At that, she looked just as bewildered as he felt. 'Well, the sword, Harry! Dumbledore must have known you’d want to go back there, and I mean, Godric’s Hollow is Godric Gryffindor’s birthplace — '

 'Really? Gryffindor came from Godric’s Hollow?'

~ 'Well as the village is named after him I’d have thought you might have made the connection.' Said Hermione. 

~ 'There’s a bit about the village in A History of Magic, wait . . . ' She opened the beaded bag and rummaged for a while, finally extracting her copy of the old school textbook. 

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot, which she thumbed through until finding the page she wanted. ' "Upon the signature of the International Statute of Secrecy in 1689, wizards went into hiding for good. It was natural, perhaps, that they formed their own small communities within a community. Many small villages and hamlets attracted several magical families, who banded together for mutual support and protection. The villages of Tinworthin Cornwald, Upper Flagley in Yorkshire, 318 Godric’s Hollow and Ottery St. Catchpole on the south coast of England were notable homes to knots of Wizarding families who lived alongside tolerant and sometimes Confunded Muggles. Most celebrated of these half-magical dwelling places is, perhaps, Godric’s Hollow, the West Country village where the great wizard Godric Gryffindor was born, and where Bowman Wright, Wizarding smith, forged the first Golden Snitch. The graveyard is full of the names of ancient magical families, and this accounts, no doubt for the stories of hauntings that have dogged the little church beside it for many centuries.” 

'You and your parents aren’t mentioned.' Hermione said, closing the book, 'because Professor Bagshot doesn’t cover anything later than the end of the nineteenth century. But you see? Godric’s Hollow, Godric Gryffindor. Gryffindor’s sword: don’t you think Dumbledore would have expected you to make the connection?'

 'Oh yeah . . . ' Harry did not want to admit that he had not been thinking about the sword at all when he suggested they go to Godric’s Hollow. For him, the lure of the village lay as his parents’ graves, the house where he had narrowly escaped death, and in the person of Bathilda Bagshot.

~ 'Harry, what if Bathilda’s got the sword ? What if Dumbledore entrusted it to her?'

 Harry considered this possibility. Bathilda would be an extremely old woman by now, and according to Muriel, she was “gaga.” Was it likely that Dumbledore would have hidden the sword of Gryffindor with her? If so, Harry felt that Dumbledore had left a great deal to chance: Dumbledore had never revealed that he had replaced the sword with a fake, nor had he so much mentioned a friendship with Bathilda. Now, however, was not the moment to cast doubt on Hermione’s theory, not when she was so surprisingly willing to fall in with Harry’s dearest wish. 

'Yeah, he might have done! So, are we going to go to Godric’s Hollow?'

 'Yes, but we’ll have to think in through carefully, Harry.'

 She was sitting up now, and Harry could tell that the prospect of having a plan again had lifted her mood as much as his.

 'We’ll need to practice Disapparating together under the Invisibility Cloak for a start, and perhaps Disillusionment Charms would be sensible too, unless you think we should go the whole hog and use Polyjuice Potion? In that case we’ll need to collect hair from somebody. I actually think we’d better do that, Harry, the thicker our disguises the better . . . '

 Harry let her talk, nodding and agreeing whenever there was a pause, but his mind had left the conversation. For the first time since he had discovered that the sword in Gringotts was a fake, he felt excited.

599. Harry Teasing Hermione about a History of Magic and Smiling for the First time In What Felt Like Months

~  'Harry, did you ever even open A History of Magic?'

 'Erm,' he said, smiling for what felt like the first time in months. The muscles in his face felt oddly stiff. 'I might’ve opened you know, when I bought it . . . just the once . . . '

600. Harry Noticing That Hermione Sounded like her old self again and Half-expecting that she would Announce that she was off to the Library

~ She sounded much more like her old self that she had done of late; Harry half expected her to announce that she was off to the library.

601. Harry Not Wanting to Say Ron's Name, and Remembering What Hermione Said About Muriel at the wedding

~ 'Remember what Muriel said?' he asked eventually. 

'Who?'

 'You know' he hesitated. He did not want to say Ron’s name. 'Ginny’s great-aunt. At the wedding. The one who said you had skinny ankles.'

 'Oh.' Said Hermione. It was a sticky moment: Harry knew that she had sensed Ron’s name in the offing. 

He rushed on: 'She said Bathilda Bagshot still lives in Godric’s Hollow.'

602. Harry's Insides Turning Over when Hermione Gasps

~ 'Bathilda Bagshot,' murmured Hermione, running her index finger over Bathilda’s embossed name on the front cover of A History of Magic. 'Well, I suppose — '

 She gasped so dramatically that Harry’s insides turned over, he drew his wand, looking around at the entrance, half expecting to see a hand forcing it sway through the entrance flap, but there was nothing there. 

'What?' he said, half angry, half relieved. 'What did you do that for? Thought you’d seen a Death Eater unzipping the tent, at least — '

603. Harry Planning and Going To Godric's Hollow Together

~ Harry would gladly have set out for Godric’s Hollow the following day, but Hermione had other ideas. Convinced as she was that Voldemort would expect Harry to return to the scene of his parents’ deaths, she was determined that they would set off only after they had ensured that they had the best disguises possible. It was therefore a full week later — once they had surreptitiously obtained hairs from innocent Muggles who were Christmas shopping, and had practiced Apparating and Disapparating while underneaththe Invisibility Cloak together — that Hermione agreed to make the journey. 

~ The beaded bag containing all of their possessions (apart from the Horcrux, which Harry was wearing around his neck) was tucked into an inside pocket of Hermione’s buttoned-up coat. Harry lowered the Invisibility Cloak over them, then they turned into the suffocating darkness once again.

~ 'All this snow!' Hermione whispered beneath the cloak. 'Why didn’t we think of snow? After all our precautions, we’ll leave prints! We’ll just have to get rid of them — you go in front, I’ll do it — '

 Harry did not want to enter the village like a pantomime horse, trying to keep themselves concealed while magically covering their traces.

 'Let’s take off the Cloak.' said Harry, and when she looked frightened, 'Oh, come on, we don’t look like us and there’s no one around.'

 He stowed the Cloak under his jacket and they made their way forward unhampered, the icy air stinging their faces as they passed more cottages.

604. Harry and Hermione Taking The Polyjuice Potion and Turning into a Couple, yet having no problem with It

~ They were to Apparate to the village under cover of darkness, so it was late afternoon when they finally swallowed Polyjuice Potion, Harry transforming into a balding, middle-aged Muggle man, Hermione into his small and rather mousy wife.

605. Hermione being Understanding by Gripping his hand and Making a wreath without him saying anything, and Harry Letting Hermione See Him Cry

~ 'Harry, I think it’s Christmas Eve!' said Hermione. 

'Is it?' He had lost track of the date; they had not seen a newspaper for weeks. 

'I’m sure it is.' Said Hermione, her eyes upon the church. ''They . . . they’ll be in there, won’t they? Your mum and dad? I can see the graveyard behind it.'

Harry felt a thrill of something that was beyond excitement, more like fear. Now that he was so near, he wondered whether he wanted to see after all. Perhaps Hermione knew how he was feeling, because she reached for his hand and took the lead for the first time, pulling him forward. Halfway across the square, however, she stopped dead. 

'Harry, look!' She was pointing at the war memorial. As they had passed it, it had transformed. Instead of an obelisk covered in names, there was a statue of three people: a man with untidy hair and glasses, a woman with long hair and a kind, pretty face, and a baby boy sitting in his mother’s arms. Snow lay upon all their heads, like fluffy white caps. Harry drew closer, gazing up into his parents’ faces. He had never imagined that there would be a statue. . . . How strange it was to see himself represented in stone, a happy baby without a scar on his forehead. . . . 

'C’mon,' said Harry, when he had looked his fill they turned again toward the church. 

~ Harry moved toward the nearest grave. 'Look at this, it’s an Abbott, could be some long-lost relation of Hannah’s!'

 'Keep your voice down.' Hermione begged him.

~ 'Harry, here!' Hermione was two rows of tombstones away: he had to wade back to her, his heart positively banging in his chest. 

'Is it — ?'

 'No, but look!' She pointed to the dark stone. Harry stooped down and saw, upon the frozen lichen-spotted granite, the words Kendra Dumbledore and, a short way below her dates of birth and death, and Her Daughter Ariana.

~ Hermione was looking at Harry, and he was glad that his face was hidden in shadow.

~ 'Are you sure he never mentioned — ?' Hermione began. 

'No,' said Harry curtly, then, 'let’s keep looking,' and he turned away, wishing he had not seen the stone. He did not want his excited trepidation tainted with resentment. 

'Here!' cried Hermione again a few moments later from out of the darkness. 'Oh no, sorry! I thought it said Potter.' She was rubbing at a crumpling, mossy stone, gazing down at it, a little frown on her face. 

'Harry, come back a moment.' He did not want to be sidetracked again, and only grudgingly made his way back through the snow toward her. 

'What?'

 'Look at this!'

 

The grave was extremely old, weathered so that Harry could hardly make out the name. Hermione showed him the symbol beneath it. 

'Harry, that’s the mark in the book!' He peered at the place she indicated: The stone was so worn that it was hard to make out what was engraved there, though there did seem to be a triangular mark beneath the nearly illegible name. 

'Yeah . . . it could be . . . '

Hermione lit her wand and pointed it at the name on the headstone. 

'It says Ig — Ignotus, I think . . . '

 'I’m going to keep looking for my parents, all right?' Harry told her, a slight edge to his voice, and he set off again, leaving her crouched beside the old grave.

~ Then Hermione’s voice came out of the blackness for the third time, sharp and clear from a few yards away. 'Harry, they’re here . . . right here.'

 And he knew by her tone that it was his mother and his father this time. He moved toward her, feeling as if something heavy were pressing on his chest, the same sensation he had had right after Dumbledore had died, a grief that had actually weighed on his heart and lungs.

~ '"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" . . . ' A horrible thought came to him, and with it a kind of panic. 

'Isn’t that a Death Eater idea? Why is that here?'

 'It doesn’t mean defeating death in the way the Death Eaters mean it, Harry,' said Hermione, her voice gentle. 'It means . . . you know . . . living beyond death. Living after death.'

But they were not living, thought Harry: They were gone. The empty words could not disguise the fact that his parents’ moldering remains lay beneath snow and stone, indifferent, unknowing. And tears came before he could stop them, boiling hot then instantly freezing on his face, and what was the point in wiping them off or pretending? He let them fall, his lips pressed hard together, looking down at the thick snow hiding from his eyes the place where the last of Lily and James lay, bones now, surely, or dust, not knowing or caring that their living son stood so near, his heart still beating, alive because of their sacrifice and close to wishing, at this moment, that he was sleeping under the snow with them. 

Hermione had taken his hand again and was gripping it tightly. He could not look at her, but returned the pressure, now taking deep, sharp gulps of the night air, trying to steady himself, trying to regain control. He should have brought something to give to them, and he had not thought of it, and every plant in the graveyard was leafless and frozen. But Hermione raised her wand, moved it in a circle through the air and a wreath of Christmas roses blossomed before them. Harry caught it and laid it on his parents’ grave.

As soon as he stood up he wanted to leave. He did not think he could stand another moment there. He put his arm around Hermione’s shoulders, and she put hers around his waist, and they turned in silence and walked away through the snow, past Dumbledore’s mother and sister, back toward the dark church and the out-of-sight kissing gate.

606. Harry and Hermione Wordlessly Communicating and Staying Close

~ 'Harry, stop.

 'What’s wrong?'

 They had only just reached the grave of the unknown Abbott. 

'There’s someone there. Someone’s watching us. I can tell. There: over by the bushes.'

 They stood quite still, holding on to each other, gazing at the dense black boundary of the graveyard. Harry could not see anything. 

'Are you sure?'

 'I saw something move, I could have sworn I did . . . '

 She broke from him to free her wand arm. 

'We look like Muggles,' Harry pointed out.

 'Muggles who’ve just been laying flowers on your parents’ grave! Harry, I’m sure there’s someone over there!'

 Harry thought of A History of Magic, the graveyard was supposed to be haunted, what if — ? But then he heard a rustle and saw a little eddy of dislodged snow in the bush to which Hermione had pointed. Ghosts could not move snow. 

'It’s a cat,' said Harry, after a second or two, 'or a bird. If it was a Death Eater we’d be dead by now. But let’s get out of here, and we can put the Cloak back on.' 

They glanced back repeatedly as they made their way out of the graveyard.

~ They pulled the Invisibility Cloak back over themselves. 

The pub was fuller than before: Many voices inside it were now singing the carol that they had heard as they approached the church. For a moment Harry considered suggesting they take refuge inside it, but before he could say anything Hermione murmured, “Let's go this way,” and pulled him down the dark street leading out of the village in the opposite direction from which they had entered. Harry could make out the point where the cottages ended and the lane turned into open country again. They walked as quickly as they dared, past more windows sparkling with multicolored light, the outlines of Christmas trees dark through the curtains. 

'How are we going to find Bathilda’s house?' asked Hermione, who was shivering a little and kept glancing back over her shoulder. 'Harry? What do you think? Harry?' She tugged at his arm, but Harry was not paying attention. He was looking toward the dark mass that stood at the very end of this row of houses. Next moment he had sped up, dragging Hermione along with him; she slipped a little on the ice. 

'Harry — '

 'Look . . . Look at it Hermione . . . '

 'I don’t . . . oh!'

~ He and Hermione stood at the gate, gazing at the wreck of what must once have been a cottage just like those that flanked it. 

'I wonder why nobody’s ever rebuilt it?' whispered Hermione. 

'Maybe you can’t rebuild it?' Harry replied, 'Maybe it’s like the injuries from Dark Magic and you can’t repair the damage?'

 He slipped a hand from beneath the Cloak and grasped the snowy and thickly rusted gate, not wishing to open it, but simply to hold some part of the house.

 'You’re not going to go inside? It looks unsafe, it might — oh, Harry, look!'

~ They watched in silence as she drew nearer.

~ He did not need Hermione’s pinch to his arm. There was next to no chance this woman was a Muggle: She was standing there gazing at a house that ought to have been completely invisible to her, if she was not a witch. Even assuming that she was a witch, however, it was odd behavior to come out on a night this cold, simply to look at an old ruin. By all the rules of normal magic, meanwhile, she ought not to be able to see Hermione and him at all. 

Nevertheless, Harry had the strangest feeling that she knew that they were there, and also who they were. Just as he had reached this uneasy conclusion, she raised a gloved hand and beckoned. 

Hermione moved closer to him under the Cloak, her arm pressed against his. 

'How does she know?' 

He shook his head.

~ Finally Harry spoke, causing Hermione to gasp and jump.

~ Beneath the Cloak Harry and Hermione looked at each other. 

Harry raised his eyebrows; Hermione gave a tiny, nervous nod. 

They stepped toward the woman and, at once, she turned and hobbled off back the way they had come. Leading them past several houses, she turned in at a gate. They followed her up the front path through a garden nearly as overgrown as the one they had just left.

~ Bathilda shuffled past them, pushing Hermione aside as though she had not seen her, and vanished into what seemed to be a sitting room. 

'Harry, I’m not sure about this,' breathed Hermione. 

'Look at the size of her, I think we could overpower her if we had to,' said Harry, 'Listen, I should have told you, I knew she wasn’t all there. Muriel called her "gaga."'

~ 'Harry, what are you doing?' asked Hermione. 

'This picture, Hermione, it’s the thief, the thief who stole from Gregorovitch! Please!' he said to Bathilda.

607. Harry Reassuring Hermione Despite Not Being Entirely Brave Himself

~ Harry, who did not feel as sanguine as he had pretended when reassuring Hermione, was glad to reach the gate and the slippery pavement.

~ Hermione jumped and clutched Harry’s arm. 

'It’s okay,' said Harry reassuringly, and he led the way into the sitting room.

~ 'Oh, right . . . Hermione, I think she wants me to go upstairs with her.'

 'All right,' said Hermione, 'let’s go.'

 But when Hermione moved, Bathilda shook her head with surprising vigor, once more pointing first at Harry, then to herself. 'She wants me to go with her, alone.'

 'Why?' asked Hermione, and her voice rang out sharp and clear in the candlelit room; the old lady shook her head a little at the loud noise. 

'Maybe Dumbledore told her to give the sword to me, and only me?'

 'Do you really think she knows who you are?'

 'Yes,' said Harry, looking down into the milky eyes fixed upon his own, 'I think she does.'

 'Well, okay then, but be quick, Harry.' 

~ Harry glanced back at Hermione with a reassuring smile, but he was not sure she had seen it; she stood hugging herself in the midst of the candlelit squalor, looking toward the bookcase.

608. Harry Beaming at Hermione when She's Indignant about people Writing on the sign

~ 'They shouldn’t have written on the sign!' said Hermione, indignant. But Harry beamed at her. 'It’s brilliant. I’m glad they did. I . . . '

609. Harry Trying To Protect Hermione when They were Being Attacked

~ From below he heard Hermione call, 'Harry?'

 He could not get enough breath into his lungs to call back.

~ It struck, and Hermione dived aside with a shriek; her deflected curse hit the curtained window, which shattered. Frozen air filled the room as Harry ducked to avoid another shower of broken glass and his foot slipped on a pencil-like something — his wand —He bent and snatched it up, but now the room was full of the snake, its tail thrashing; Hermione was nowhere to be seen and for a moment Harry thought the worst, but then there was a loud bang and a flash of red light, and the snake flew into the air, smacking Harry hard in the face as it went, coil after heavy coil rising up to the ceiling. Harry raised his wand, but as he did so his scar seared more painfully, more powerfully than it had done in years. 

'He’s coming! Hermione, he’s coming!'

 As he yelled the snake fell, hissing wildly. Everything was chaos; It smashed shelves from the wall, and splintered china flew everywhere as Harry jumped over the bed and seized the dark shape he knew to be Hermione. She shrieked with pain as he pulled her back across the bed. The snake reared again, but Harry knew that worse than the snake was coming, was perhaps already at the gate, his head was going to split open with pain from his scar. 

The snake lunged as he took a running leap, dragging Hermione with him; as it struck, Hermione screamed, “Confringo!” and her spell flew around the room, exploding the wardrobe mirror and ricocheting back at them, bouncing from floor to ceiling; Harry felt the heat of it sear the back of his hand. Glass cut his cheek as, pulling Hermione one with him, he leapt from bed to broken dressing table and then straight out of the smashed window into nothingness, her scream reverberating through the night as they twisted in midair.

610. Hermione Taking Care of Harry, and Harry apologizing for Getting them both Into that Situation

~ 'No . . . '

 'Harry, it’s all right, you’re all right.'

 He stooped down and picked up the smashed photograph. There he was, the unknown thief he was seeking. . . . 

'No . . . I dropped it . . . I dropped it . . . '

 'Harry, it’s okay, wake up, wake up!'

 He was Harry . . . Harry, not Voldemort . . . and the thing that was rustling was not a snake . . . He opened his eyes. 

'Harry,' Hermione whispered. 'Do you feel all — all right?'

 'Yes,' he lied. 

~ 'We got away.'

 'Yes,'  said Hermione, 'I had to use a Hover Charm to get you into your bunk, I couldn’t lift you. You’ve been . . . Well, you haven’t been quite . . . '

 There were purple shadows under her brown eyes and he noticed a small sponge in her hand. She had been wiping his face. 

'You’ve been ill,' she finished, 'Quite ill.'

 'How long ago did we leave?'

 'Hours ago. It’s nearly morning.'

 'And I’ve been . . . what, unconscious?'

 'Not exactly,' said Hermione uncomfortably, 'You’ve been shouting and moaning and . . . things,' she added in a tone that made Harry feel uneasy. What had he done? Screamed curses like Voldemort, cried like the baby in the crib? 

'I couldn’t get the Horcrux off you,' Hermione said, and he knew she wanted to change the subject. 'It was stuck, stuck to your chest. You’ve got a mark; I’m sorry, I had to use a Severing Charm to get it away. The snake bit you too, but I’ve cleaned the wound and put some dittany on it.'

~ 'Where’ve you put the Horcrux?'

 'In my bag. I think we should keep it off for a while.'

 He lay back on his pillow and looked into her pinched gray face. 

'We shouldn’t have gone to Godric’s Hollow. It’s my fault, it’s all my fault, Hermione, I’m sorry.'

 

'It’s not your fault, I wanted to go too, I really thought Dumbledore might have left the sword there for you.'

 'Yeah, well. . . . we got that wrong, didn’t we?'

611. Harry and Hermione Discussing What Happened

 ~ 'What happened, Harry? What happened when she took you upstairs? Was the snake hiding somewhere? Did it just come out and kill her and attack you?'

 'No,'  he said. 'She was the snake . . . or the snake was her . . . all along.'

 'W — what?'

~ 'Bathilda must’ve been dead a while. The snake was . . . was inside her. You-Know-Who put it there in Godric’s Hollow, to wait. You were right. He knew I’d go back.'

 'The snake was inside her?'

 He opened his eyes again. Hermione looked revolted, nauseated. 'Lupin said there would be magic we’d never imagined,'

 Harry said, 'She didn’t want to talk in front of you, because it was Parseltongue, all Parseltongue, and I didn’t realize, but of course I could understand her. One we were up in the room, the snake sent a message to You-Know-Who. I heard it happen inside my head, I felt him get excited, he said to keep me there . . . and then. . . .'

 He remembered the snake coming out of Bathilda’s neck; Hermione did not need to know the details. 

'. . . she changed, changed into the snake, and attacked.'

 He looked down at the puncture marks. 'It wasn’t supposed to kill me, just keep me there till You-Know-Who came.'

 If he had only managed to kill the snake, it would have been worth it, all of it . . . Sick at heart, he sat up threw back the covers. 

612. Harry Telling Hermione That she Needs Rest

~ 'Harry, no, I’m sure you ought to rest!'

 'You’re the one who needs sleep. No offense, but you look terrible. I’m fine. I’ll keep watch for a while. Where’s my wand?' 

~ As darkness drew in again Harry refused Hermione’s offer to keep watch and told her to go to bed.

613. Harry Calling Hermione Incredible Despite Her Breaking Harry's wand

~ She did not answer, she merely looked at him. 

'Where’s my wand, Hermione?'

 She was biting her lip, and tears swam in her eyes. 

'Harry . . . '

 'Where’s my wand?'

She reached down beside the bed and held it out to him. 

~ He could not think properly. Everything was a blur of panic and fear. Then he held out the wand to Hermione. 

'Mend it. Please.'

 'Harry, I don’t think, when it's broken like this — '

 'Please, Hermione, try!'

 'R-Reparo.' 

The handling half of the wand resealed itself. Harry held it up. 

'Lumos!' 

The wand sparked feebly, then went out. Harry pointed it at Hermione. 

'Expelliarmus!' 

Hermione’s wand gave a little jerk, but did not leave her hand.

~ 'Harry,' Hermione whispered so quietly he could hardly hear her. 'I’m so, so sorry. I think it was me. As we were leaving,  you know, the snake was coming for us, and so I cast a Blasting Curse, and it rebounded everywhere, and it must have — must have hit — '

 'It was an accident,' said Harry mechanically. He felt empty, stunned. 'We’ll — we’ll find a way to repair it.'

 'Harry, I don’t think we’re going to be able to,' said Hermione, the tears trickling down her face.

~ 'Well,' he said, in a falsely matter-of-fact voice, 'well, I’ll just borrow yours for now, then. While I keep watch.'

 Her face glazed with tears, Hermione handed over her wand, and he left her sitting beside his bed, desiring nothing more than to get away from her.

614. Harry Knowing Exactly what Hermione would say without Even Telling Her

~ He knew exactly what Hermione would say if he expressed any of this: The wand is only as good as the wizard.

~ 'Harry?' 

Hermione looked frightened that he might curse her with her own wand. Her face streaked with tears, she crouched down beside him, two cups of tea trembling in her hands and something bulky under her arm.

 'Thanks,' he said, taking one of the cups.

 'Do you mind if I talk to you?'

 'No,' he said because he did not want to hurt her feelings.

~ 'You’re still really angry at me, aren’t you?' said Hermione; he looked up to see fresh tears leaking out of her eyes, and knew that his anger must have shown in his face. 

'No,' he said quietly. 'No, Hermione, I know it was an accident. You were trying to get us out of there alive, and you were incredible. I’d be dead if you hadn’t been there to help me.'  

 He tried to return her watery smile, then turned his attention to the book.

615. Harry and Hermione Discussing More Theories and working together

~ 'Harry, you wanted to know who that man in the picture was. Well . . . I’ve got the book.'

 Timidly she pushed it onto his lap, a pristine copy of The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. 

'Where — how — ?'

 'It was in Bathilda’s sitting room, just lying there. . . . This note was sticking out of the top of it.'

 Hermione read the few lines of spiky, acid-green writing aloud, ' “Dear Batty, Thanks for the help. Here’s a copy of the book, hope you like it. You said everything, even if you don’t remember it, Rita." I think it must have arrived while the real Bathilda was alive, but perhaps she wasn’t in any fit state to read it?'

 'No, she probably wasn’t.'

~ Harry gasped at the last word for several long moments. Grindelwald. His friend Grindelwald. He looked sideways at Hermione, who was still contemplating the name as though she could not believe her eyes. Slowly she looked up at Harry. 

'Grindelwald? '

 Ignoring the remainder of the photographs, Harry searched the pages around them for a recurrence of that fatal name. He soon discovered it and read greedily, but became lost: It was necessary to go farther back to make sense of it all, and eventually he found himself at the start of a chapter entitled “The Greater Good.” Together, he and Hermione started to read: 

~ Finally he got up in the darkness and joined Hermione, who was huddled in the entrance to the tent reading A History of Magic by the light of the wand. The snow was still falling thickly, and she greeted with relief his suggestion of packing up early and moving on.

 'We’ll go somewhere more sheltered,' she agreed, shivering as she pulled on a sweatshirt over her pajamas. 'I kept thinking I could hear people moving outside, I even thought I saw somebody once or twice.'

~ 'I’m sure I imagined it,' said Hermione, looking nervous. 'The snow in the dark, it plays tricks on your eyes. . . . But perhaps we ought to Disapparate under the Invisibility Cloak, just in case?'

 Half an hour later, with the tent packed, Harry was wearing the Horcrux, and Hermione clutching the beaded bag, they Disapparated.

~ 'Where are we?' he asked, peering around at a fresh mass of trees as Hermione opened the beaded bag and began tugging at tent poles. 

'The Forest of Dean,' she said. 'I came camping here once with my mum and dad.'

616. Hermione Telling Harry That Dumbledore Loved Him, Brushing The Top of His head lightly while Harry Closed his eyes at Her Touch, and Seeming To Have Heard His Thoughts without Him Saying anything, while didn't want His anger To Spill Out At Hermione and Tried to keep His Voice Steady and Also Thanked Her For the Tea and Told her to Get Back in the warm

~ 'Harry — '

 But he shook his head. Some inner certainty had crashed down inside him; it was exactly as he had felt after Ron left. He had trusted Dumbledore, believed him the embodiment of goodness and wisdom. All was ashes: How much more could he lose? Ron, Dumbledore, the phoenix wand . . . 

'Harry.' She seemed to have heard his thoughts. 'Listen to me. It — it doesn’t make very nice reading — '

 'Yeah, you could say that — '

 ' — but don’t forget, Harry this is Rita Skeeter writing.'

 'You did read that letter to Grindelwald, didn’t you?'

 'Yes, I — I did.' She hesitated, looking upset, cradling her tea in her cold hands. 'I think that’s the worst bit. I know Bathilda thought it was all just talk, but ‘For the Greater Good’ became Grindelwald’s slogan, his justification for all the atrocities he committed later. And . . . from that . . . it looks like Dumbledore gave him the idea. They say ‘For the Greater Good’ was even carved over the entrance to Nurmengard.'

 'What’s Nurmengard?'

 'The prison Grindelwald had built to hold his opponents. He ended up in there himself, once Dumbledore had caught him. Anyway, it’s — it’s an awful thought that Dumbledore’s ideas helped Grindelwald rise to power. But on the other hand, even Rita can’t pretend that they knew each other for more than a few months one summer when they were both really young, and — '

 'I thought you’d say that,' said Harry. He did not want to let his anger spill out at her, but it was hard to keep his voice steady. 'I thought you’d say "They were young." They were the same age as we are now. And here we are, risking our lives to fight the Dark Arts, and there he was, in a huddle with his new best friend, plotting their rise to power over the Muggles.'

 His temper would not remain in check much longer: He stood up and walked around, trying to work some of it off. 

'I’m not trying to defend what Dumbledore wrote,' said Hermione. 'All that ‘right to rule’ rubbish, it’s ‘Magic Is Might’ all over again. But Harry, his mother had just died, he was stuck alone in the house — '

 'Alone? He wasn’t alone! He had his brother and sister for company, his Squib sister he was keeping locked up — '

 'I don’t believe it,' said Hermione. She stood up too. 'Whatever was wrong with that girl, I don’t think she was a Squib. The Dumbledore we know would never, ever have allowed — '

 'The Dumbledore we thought we knew didn’t want to conquer Muggles by force!' Harry shouted, his voice echoing across the empty hilltop, and several blackbirds rose into the air, squawking and spiraling against the pearly sky. 

'He changed, Harry, he changed! It’s as simple as that! Maybe he did believe those things when he was seventeen, but the whole of the rest of his life was devoted to fighting the Dark Arts! Dumbledore was the one who stopped Grindelwald, the one who always voted for Muggle protection and Muggle born rights, who fought You-Know-Who from the start, and who died trying to bring him down!'

~ 'Harry, I’m sorry, but I think the real reason you’re so angry is that Dumbledore never told you any of this himself.'

'Maybe I am!' Harry bellowed, and he flung his arms over his head, hardly knowing whether he was trying to hold in his anger or protect himself from the weight of his own disillusionment. 'Look what he asked from me, Hermione! Risk your life, Harry! And again! And again! And don’t expect me to explain everything, just trust me blindly, trust that I know what I’m doing, trust me even though I don’t trust you! Never the whole truth! Never!'

 His voice cracked with the strain, and they stood looking at each other in the whiteness and the emptiness, and Harry felt they were as insignificant as insects beneath that wide sky. 

'He loved you,' Hermione whispered. 'I know he loved you.'

 Harry dropped his arms. 'I don’t know who he loved, Hermione, but it was never me. This isn’t love, the mess he’s left me in. He shared a damn sight more of what he was really thinking with Gellert Grindelwald than he ever shared with me.'

 Harry picked up Hermione’s wand, which he dropped in the snow, and sat back down in the entrance to the tent. 

'Thanks for the tea. I’ll finish the watch. You get back in the warm.'

 She hesitated, but recognized the dismissal. She picked up the book and then walked back past him into the tent, but as she did so, she brushed the top of his head lightly with her hand. He closed his eyes at her touch, and hated himself for wishing that what she said was true: that Dumbledore had really cared.

617. Harry and Hermione Spending a Whole day Huddled for Warmth

~  Here too snow lay on the trees all around and it was bitterly cold, but they were at least protected from the wind. They spent most of the day inside the tent, huddled for warmth around the useful bright blue flames that Hermione was so adept at producing, and which could be scooped up and carried around in a jar. Harry felt as though he was recuperating from some brief but severe illness; an impression reinforced by Hermione’s solicitousless. That afternoon fresh flakes drifted down upon them, so that even their sheltered clearing had a fresh dusting of powdery snow.

618. Harry Initially wanting To Call Out For Hermione

~ His impulse to shout for Hermione, which had been so strong a moment ago, had gone.

~ Had some unknown magic drawn Hermione to this spot, or was the doe, which he had taken to be a Patronus, some kind of guardian of the pool?

619. Harry Thinking It Chivalrous To Do Something Without Hermione

~ Where “chivalry” entered this, he thought ruefully, he was not entirely sure, unless it counted as chivalrous that he was not calling for Hermione to do it in his stead.

620. Harry being Able understand Whether it was Hermione or not Just By The Weight of their Footsteps

~ Somewhere close by, another person was panting and coughing and staggering around. Hermione had come again, as she had come when the snake attacked. . . . Yet it did not sound like her, not with those deep coughs, not judging by the weight of the footsteps. . . .

621. Harry seeing the Horcrux Vision, Not looking at Ron and saying He Loved Hermione Like A Sister

~ 'Least loved, always, by the mother who craved a daughter . . . Least loved, now, by the girl who prefers your friend . . . Second best, always, eternally overshadowed . . . ' 

'Ron, stab it now!' Harry bellowed; He could feel the locket quivering in his grip and was scared of what was coming. 

~ 'Why return? We were better without you, happier without you, glad of your absence. . . . We laughed at your stupidity, your cowardice, your presumption — '

 'Presumption! ' echoed the Riddle-Hermione, who was more beautiful and yet more terrible than the real Hermione. She swayed, cackling, before Ron, who looked horrified yet transfixed, the sword hanging pointlessly at his side. 'Who could look at you, who would ever look at you, beside Harry Potter? What have you ever done, compared with the Chosen One? What are you, compared with the Boy Who Lived?'  

'Ron, stab it, STAB IT!' Harry yelled, but Ron did not move. His eyes were wide, and the Riddle-Harry and the Riddle-Hermione were reflected in them, their hair swirling like flames, their eyes shining red, their voices lifted in an evil duet.

~ 'Who wouldn’t prefer him, what woman would take you, you are nothing, nothing, nothing to him,' crooned Riddle-Hermione, and she stretched like a snake and engulfed herself around Riddle-Harry, wrapping him in a close embrace: Their lips met. 

On the ground in front of them, Ron’s face filled with anguish. He raised the sword high, his arms shaking. 

'Do it, Ron!' Harry yelled. 

Ron looked toward him, and Harry thought he saw a trace of scarlet in his eyes.

~ Slowly, Harry walked back to him, hardly knowing what to say or do.

~ 'After you left,' he said in a low voice, grateful for the fact that Ron’s face was hidden, 'she cried for a week. Probably longer, only she didn’t want me to see. There were loads of nights when we never even spoke to each other. With you gone . . . '

 He could not finish; it was only now that Ron was here again that Harry fully realized how much his absence had cost them. 

'She’s like my sister,' he went on. 'I love her like a sister and I reckon she feels the same way about me. It’s always been like that, I thought you knew.'

622. Harry Trying To Calm Hermione When She Hits Ron

~ Harry could not wait to wake Hermione, and it was with a quickening excitement that he entered the tent, Ron lagging a little behind him.

~ Hermione was fast asleep, curled up under her blankets, and did not move until Harry had said her name several times. 

'Hermione! '

 She stirred, then sat up quickly, pushing her hair out of her face. 

'What’s wrong? Harry? Are you all right?'

 'It’s okay, everything’s fine. More than fine. I’m great. There’s someone here.'

 'What do you mean? Who — ?'

 She saw Ron, who stood there holding the sword and dripping onto the threadbare carpet. Harry backed into a shadowy corner, slipped off Ron’s rucksack, and attempted to blend in with the canvas. 

~ She looked as though ready to wrestle it out of Harry’s hands and he reacted instinctively. 

'Protego!' 

The invisible shield erupted between Ron and Hermione. The force of it knocked her backward onto the floor. Spitting hair out of her mouth, she leapt up again. 

'Hermione!' said Harry. 'Calm — '

 'I will not calm down!' she screamed. Never before had he seen her lose control like this; she looked quite demented. 'Give me back my wand! Give it back to me! '

 'Hermione, will you please — '

 'Don’t you tell me what to do, Harry Potter!' she screeched. 'Don’t you dare! Give it back now! And YOU!'

~ She laughed, a high-pitched, out-of-control sound; Ron looked at Harry for help, but Harry merely grimaced his helplessness.

~ 'Hermione,' interjected Harry who considered this a low blow, 'he just saved my — '

 'I don’t care!' she screamed. 'I don’t care what he’s done! Weeks and weeks, we could have been dead for all he knew — '

~ 'Gosh, what a gripping story,' Hermione said in the lofty voice she adopted when wishing to wound.

 'You must have been simply terrified. Meanwhile we went to Godric’s Hollow and, let’s think what happened there, Harry? Oh yes, You-Know-Who’s snake turned up, it nearly killed both of us, and then You-Know-Who himself arrived and missed us by about a second.'

 'What?' Ron said, gaping from her to Harry, but Hermione ignored him. 

'Imagine losing fingernails, Harry! That really puts our sufferings into perspective doesn’t it?'

 'Hermione,' said Harry quietly. 'Ron just saved my life.'

 She appeared not to have heard him.

623. Harry Remembering What Hermione Talked About In The Deluminator

~ Hermione turned a fiery shade of scarlet. Harry remembered. It had been the first time Ron’s name had been said aloud by either of them since the day he had left; Hermione had mentioned it when talking about repairing Harry’s wand.

624. Harry and Hermione being So In Sync that they said The Same Thing Automatically

~ 'Yeah,' said Harry and Hermione together automatically.

~ 'No, actually,' said Hermione. 'We’ve been Disapparating under the Invisibility Cloak as an extra precaution. And we left really early, because as Harry says, we’d heard somebody blundering around.'

625. Harry Showing Hermione The Locket and Not wanting to Tell her what Came out of it

~ ' — and Ron stabbed it with the sword.'

 'And . . . it went? Just like that?' she whispered. 

'Well, it — screamed,' said Harry with half a glance at Ron. 

'Here.'

He threw the locket into her lap; gingerly she picked it up and examined its punctured windows. Deciding that it was at last safe to do so, Harry removed the Shield Charm with a wave of Hermione’s wand and turned to Ron.

626. Harry Guessing Hermione's Reactions and Knowing Why She was Acting The Way She Was

~ Harry had not expected Hermione’s anger to abate overnight, and was therefore unsurprised that she communicated mainly by dirty looks and pointed silences the next morning. Ron responded by maintaining an unnaturally somber demeanor in her presence as an outward sign of continuing remorse. In fact, when all three of them were together Harry felt like the only non-mourner at a poorly attended funeral.

~ 'You just need to practice,' said Hermione, who had approached them noiselessly from behind and had stood watching anxiously as Harry tried to enlarge and reduce the spider. 'It’s all a matter of confidence, Harry.'

 He knew why she wanted to be right: She still felt guilty about breaking his wand. He bit back the retort that sprang to his lips, that she could take the blackthorn wand if she thought it made no difference, and he would have hers instead. Keen for them all to be friends again, however, he agreed; but when Ron gave Hermione a tentative smile, she stalked off and vanished behind her book once more.

627. Harry Telling Ron that He and Hermione Have No Problem Using Voldemort's Name

~ 'You and Hermione have stopped saying You-Know-Who’s name!'

 'Oh, yeah. Well, it’s just a bad habit we’ve slipped into,' said Harry. 'But I haven’t got a problem calling him V — '

 “NO!” roared Ron, causing Harry to jump into the hedge and Hermione (nose buried in a boot at the tent entrance) to scowl over at them.

628. Harry Remembering His Conversations with Hermione and Using The same Words for Ron

~ 'Our age,' said Harry, just as he had retorted to Hermione, and something in his face seemed to decide Ron against pursuing the subject.

629. Hermione Talking to Harry about her Plans, and Harry being Embarassed on her behalf When says something Unneccesary

~ Hermione did not deign to respond, but approached Harry. 

'We need to talk' she said. 

He looked at the book still clutched in her hand. It was The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. 

'What?' he said apprehensively. It flew through his mind that there was a chapter on him in there; he was not sure he felt up to hearing Rita’s version of his relationship with Dumbledore. Hermione’s answer, however, was completely unexpected. 

'I want to go and see Xenophilius Lovegood.'

 He stared at her.

 'Sorry?'

 'Xenophilius Lovegood, Luna’s father. I want to go and talk to him!'

 'Er — why?'

 She took a deep breath, as though bracing herself, and said 'It’s that mark, the mark in Beedle the Bard. Look at this!'

 She thrust The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore under Harry’s unwilling eyes as he saw a photograph of the original letter than Dumbledore had written Grindelwald, with Dumbledore’s familiar thin, slanting handwriting. He hated seeing absolute proof that Dumbledore really had written those words, that they had not been Rita’s invention.

 'The signature,' said Hermione. 'Look at the signature, Harry!'

 He obeyed. For a moment he had no idea what she was talking about, but, looking more closely with the aid of his lit wand, he saw that Dumbledore had replaced the A of Albus with a tiny version of the same triangular mark inscribed upon The Tales of Beedle the Bard. 

'Er — what are you — ?' said Ron tentatively, but Hermione quelled him with a look and turned back to Harry. 

'It keeps cropping up, doesn’t it?' she said. 'I know Viktor said it was Grindelwald’s mark, but it was definitely on that old grave in Godric’s Hollow, and the dates on the headstone were long before Grindelwald came along! And now this! Well, we can’t ask Dumbledore or Grindelwald what it means — I don’t even know if Grindelwald’s still alive — but we can ask Mr. Lovegood. He was wearing the symbol at the wedding. I’m sure this is important, Harry!'

 Harry did not answer immediately. He looked into her intense, eager face and then out into the surrounding darkness, thinking. After a long pause he said, 'Hermione, we don’t need another Godric’s Hollow. We talked ourselves into going there, and — '

'But it keeps appearing, Harry! Dumbledore’s left me The Tales of Beedle the Bard, how do you know we’re not supposed to find out about the sign?'

 'Here we go again!' Harry felt slightly exasperated. 'We keep trying to convince ourselves Dumbledore left us secret signs and clues — '

 'The Deluminator turned out to be pretty useful,' piped up Ron. 'I think Hermione’s right, I think we ought to go and see Lovegood.'

 Harry threw him a dark look. He was quite sure that Ron’s support of Hermione had little to do with a desire to know the meaning of the triangular rune.

~ 'I’m sure this is important!' said Hermione earnestly. 

'But don’t you think if it was, Dumbledore would have told me about it before he died?'

 'Maybe . . . maybe it’s something you need to find out for yourself,' said Hermione with a faint air of clutching at straws. 

'Yeah,' said Ron sycophantically, 'that makes sense.'

 'No, it doesn’t,' snapped Hermione, 'but I still think we ought to talk to Mr. Lovegood. A symbol that links Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Godric’s Hollow? Harry, I’m sure we ought to know about this!'

 'I think we should vote on it,' said Ron. 'Those in favor of going to see Lovegood — ' 

His hand flew into the air before Hermione’s. Her lips quivered suspiciously as she raised her own. 

'Outvoted, Harry, sorry,' said Ron, clapping him on the back. 

'Fine,' said Harry, half amused, half irritated. 'Only, once we’ve seen Lovegood, let’s try and look for some more Horcruxes,  shall we? Where do the Lovegoods live, anyway? Do either of you know?'

~ When Hermione had returned to her bunk, Harry lowered his voice. 

'You only agreed to try and get back in her good books.'

~ They walked for a few hours, Harry, at Hermione’s insistence, hidden beneath the Invisibility Cloak.

~ When Harry and Hermione caught up with him, panting and clutching stitches in their sides, they found him grinning broadly. 

 ~ 'You’d better take off the Invisibility Cloak, Harry,' said Hermione. 'It’s you Mr. Lovegood wants to help, not us.'

 He did as she suggested, handing her the Cloak to stow in the beaded bag.

~ He then faced Harry. 

'Why have you come here?'

 Before Harry could speak, however, Hermione let out a small cry of shock.

 'Mr. Lovegood — what’s that?' She was pointing at an enormous, gray spiral horn, not unlike that of a unicorn, which had been mounted on the wall, protruding several feet into the room. 

'It is the horn of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack,' said Xenophilius. 

'No it isn’t!' said Hermione. 

'Hermione,' muttered Harry, embarrassed, 'now’s not the moment — '

 'But Harry, it’s an Erumpent horn! It’s a Class B Tradeable Material and it’s an extraordinarily dangerous thing to have in a house!'

~ 'We need some help,' said Harry, before Hermione could start again.

~ 'Well,' said Harry, glancing at Hermione, who nodded encouragingly. 'it’s about that symbol you were wearing around your neck at Bill and Fleur’s wedding. Mr. Lovegood. We wondered what it meant.'

~ Harry turned to look at Ron and Hermione. Neither of them seemed to have understood what Xenophilius had said either.

~ 'So the Elder Wand,' said Harry quickly, before Hermione could retort, 'you think that exists too?'

630. Harry being Irritated When Ron Interrupted Hermione's Story

~ 'I assume that you are all familiar with the “Tale of the Three Brothers’ ?'

 Harry said, 'No,' but Ron and Hermione said, 'Yes.'

~ He glanced vaguely around the room, at the piles of parchment and books, but Hermione said, 'I’ve got a copy, Mr. Lovegood, I’ve got it right here.' And she pulled out The Tales of Beedle the Bard from the small, beaded bag. 

'The original?' inquired Xenophilius sharply, and when she nodded, he said, 'Well then, why don’t you read it out loud? Much the best way to make sure we all understand.'

 'Er . . . all right,' said Hermione nervously. She opened the book, and Harry saw that the symbol they were investigating headed the top of the page as she gave a little cough, and began to read. 

“‘There were once three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight — ’”   

'Midnight, our mum always told us,' said Ron, who had stretched out, arms behind his head, to listen. Hermione shot him a look of annoyance. 

'Sorry, I just think it’s a bit spookier if it’s midnight!' said Ron. 

'Yeah, because we really need a bit more fear in our lives,' said Harry before he could stop himself. Xenophilius did not seem to be paying much attention, but was staring out of the window at the sky. 'Go on, Hermione.'

 ~ '"And Death spoke to them — ’” 

'Sorry,' interjected Harry, 'but Death spoke to them?' 

'It’s a fairy tale, Harry!'

 'Right, sorry. Go on.'

~ ' "And then Death asked the third and youngest brother what he would like. The youngest brother was the humblest and also the wisest of the brothers, and he did not trust Death. So he asked for something that would enable him to go forth from that place without being followed by Death. And Death, most unwillingly, handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility.’” 

'Death’s got an Invisibility Cloak?' Harry interrupted again. 

631. Harry Paying Attention To Hermione and Knowing Her Too Well

~ 'But then . . . do you mean . . . ' said Hermione slowly, and Harry could tell that she was trying to keep any trace of skepticism out of her voice, 'that you believe these objects — these Hallows — actually exist?'

~ 'But,' said Hermione, and Harry could hear her restraint starting to crack, 'Mr. Lovegood, how can you possibly believe — ?'

~ Harry glanced at Hermione. She was frowning at Xenophilius, but she did not contradict him.

~ Finally, Hermione asked stiffly, 'Mr. Lovegood, does the Peverell family have anything to do with the Deathly Hallows?'

 Xenophilius looked taken aback as something shifted in Harry’s memory, but he could not locate it. Peverell . . . he had heard that name before. . . .

632. Harry Knowing that He, Hermione and Ron were thinking the Same Thing

~ Hermione opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again, looking more confused than ever. She, Harry, and Ron glanced at one another, and Harry knew that they were all thinking the same thing. It so happened that a cloak exactly like the one Xenophilius had just described was in the room with them at that very moment.

633. Ron Not Knowing Of the Peverells as he did not Come With Harry and Hermione To Godric's Hallow

~ 'Who are the Peverells?' asked Ron. 

'That was the name on the grave with the mark on it, in Godric’s Hollow,' said Hermione, still watching Xenophilius. 'Ignorus Peverell.'

634. Harry Immediately Seeking Hermione's Opinion

~ Harry waited until they could hear Xenophilius moving about in the kitchen downstairs before speaking.

 'What do you think?' he asked Hermione. 

'Oh, Harry,' she said wearily, 'it’s a pile of utter rubbish. This can’t be the what the sign really means. This must be his weird take on it. What a waste of time.'

635. Hermione Having To Remind Ron and Hers and Harry's Common Upbringing

~ 'Harry and I were raised by Muggles,' Hermione reminded him. 'We were taught different superstitions.' She sighed deeply as a rather pungent smell drifted up from the kitchen. The one good thing about her exasperation with Xenophilius was that it seemed to make her forget that she was annoyed with Ron.

636. Harry Discussing The Deathly Hallows with Hermione and Ron, and Noticing Hermione's Expression

~ 'I think you’re right,' she told him. 'It’s just a morality tale, it’s obvious which gift is best, which one you’d choose — ' 

 The three of them spoke at the same time; Hermione said, 'the Cloak,' Ron said, 'the wand,' and Harry said, 'the stone.'

 They looked at each other, half surprised, half amused.

~ 'The Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny, they crop up under different names through the centuries, usually in the possession of some Dark wizard who’s boasting about them. Professor Binns mentioned some of them, but — oh, it’s all nonsense. Wands are only as powerful as the wizards who use them. Some wizards just like to boast that theirs are bigger and better than other people’s.'

 'But how do you know,' said Harry, 'that those wands — the Deathstick and the Wand of Destiny — aren’t the same wand, surfacing over the centuries under different names?'

~ 'But according to Beedle the Bard, they wouldn’t want to come back, would they?' said Harry, thinking about the tale they had just heard. 'I don’t suppose there have been loads of other stories about a stone that can raise the dead, have there?' he asked Hermione. 

'No,' she replied sadly. 'I don’t think anyone except Mr. Lovegood could kid themselves that’s possible. Beedle probably took the idea from the Philosopher's Stone; you know, instead of a stone to make you immortal, a stone to reverse death.'

~ 'The Tale of the Three Brothers’ is a story,' said Hermione firmly. 'A story about how humans are frightened of death. If surviving was as simple as hiding under the Invisibility Cloak, we’d have everything we need already!'

 'I don’t know. We could do with an unbeatable wand,' said Harry, turning the blackthorn wand he so disliked over in his fingers. 

'There’s no such thing, Harry!'

 'You said there have been loads of wands — the Deathstick and whatever they were called —'

'All right, even if you want to kid yourself the Elder Wand’s real, what about the Resurrection Stone?'

 Her fingers sketched quotation marks around the name, and her tone dripped sarcasm. 'No magic can raise the dead, and that’s that!'

 'When my wand connected with You-Know-Who’s, it made my mum and dad appear . . . and Cedric . . . ' 

'But they weren’t really back from the dead, were they?' said Hermione. “Those kind of — of pale imitations aren’t the same as imitations aren’t the same as truly bringing someone back to life.'

 'But she, the girl in the tale, didn’t really come back, did she? The story says that once people are dead, they belong with the dead. But the second brother still got to see her and talk to her, didn’t he? He even lived with her for a while . . . '

 He saw concern and something less easily definable in Hermione’s expression. Then, as she glanced at Ron, Harry realized that it was fear: He had scared her with his talk of living with dead people.

 'So that Peverell bloke who’s buried in Godric’s Hollow,' he said hastily, trying to sound robustly sane, 'you don’t know anything about him, then?'

 'No,' she replied, looking relieved at the change of subject. 'I looked him up after I saw the mark on his grave; if he’d been anyone famous or done anything important, I’m sure he’d be in one of our books. The only place I’ve managed to find the name ‘Peverell’ is Nature’s Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy. I borrowed it from Kreacher,' she explained as Ron raised his eyebrows. 

~ And then it came to Harry in one shining piece, the memory that had stirred at the sound of the name “Peverell”: a filthy old man brandishing an ugly ring in the face of a Ministry official, and he cried aloud, 'Marvolo Gaunt!'

 'Sorry,' said Ron and Hermione together.

 'Marvolo Gaunt! You-Know-Who’s grandfather! In the Pensieve! With Dumbledore! Marvolo Gaunt said he was descended from the Peverells!'

 Ron and Hermione looked bewildered.

 'The ring, the ring that became the Horcrux, Marvolo Gaunt said it had the Peverell coat of arms on it! I saw him waving it in the bloke from the Ministry’s face, he nearly shoved it up his nose!'

 'The Peverell coat of arms?' said Hermione sharply. 'Could you see what it looked like?'

 'Not really,' said Harry, trying to remember. 'There was nothing fancy on there, as far as I could see; maybe a few scratches. I only ever saw it really close up after it had been cracked open.'

 Harry saw Hermione’s comprehension in the sudden widening of her eyes. 

~ 'Why not?' said Harry excitedly, 'Marvolo Gaunt was an ignorant old git who lived like a pig, all he cared about was his ancestry. If that ring had been passed down through the centuries, he might not have known what it really was. There were no books in that house, and trust me, he wasn’t the type to read fairy tales to his kids. He’d have loved to think the scratches on the stone were a coat of arms, because as far as he was concerned, having pure blood made you practically royal.'

 'Yes . . . and that’s all very interesting,' said Hermione cautiously, 'but Harry, if you’re thinking what I think you’re think — '

 'Well, why not? Why not?' said Harry, abandoning caution. 'It was a stone, wasn’t it?'

~ 'What if it was the Resurrection Stone?' 

~ Hermione leapt to her feet, looking exasperated and angry. 'Harry, you’re trying to fit everything into the Hallows story —'

' “Fit everything in? ”' he repeated. 'Hermione, it fits of its own accord! I know the sign of the Deathly Hallows was on that stone! Gaunt said he was descended from the Peverells!'

 'A minute ago you told us you never saw the mark on the stone properly!' 

~ 'Harry?' But he scarcely heard Hermione: He had pulled out his Invisibility Cloak and was running it through his fingers, the cloth supple as water, light as air.

~ 'Harry,' said Hermione again, but he was busy undoing the pouch around his neck, his fingers shaking hard. 

'Read it,' he told her, pushing his mother’s letter into her hand. 'Read it! Dumbledore had the Cloak, Hermione! Why else would he want it? He didn’t need a Cloak, he could perform a Disillusionment Charm so powerful that he made himself completely invisible without one!'

~ The change in his voice made Ron and Hermione look even more scared. 

'You-Know-Who’s after the Elder Wand.'

 He turned his back on their strained, incredulous faces. He knew it was the truth.

~ 'Harry,' said Hermione, moving across to him and handing him back Lily’s letter, 'I’m sorry, but I think you’ve got this wrong, all wrong.'

 'But don’t you see? It all fits — '

 'Not, it doesn’t,' she said. 'It doesn’t. Harry, you’re just getting carried away. Please,' she said as he started to speak, 'please just answer me this: If the Deathly Hallows really existed, and Dumbledore knew about them, knew that the person who possessed all of them would be master of Death — Harry, why wouldn’t he have told you? Why?'

 He had his answer ready. 'But you said it, Hermione! You’ve got to find out about them for yourself! It’s a Quest!'

 'But I only said that to try and persuade you to come to the Lovegoods’ !' cried Hermione in exasperation. 'I didn’t really believe it!'

~ 'Dumbledore usually let me find out stuff for myself. He let me try my strength, take risks. This feels like the kind of thing he’d do.'

 'Harry, this isn’t a game, this isn’t practice! This is the real thing, and Dumbledore left you very clear instructions: Find and destroy the Horcruxes! That symbol doesn’t mean anything, forget the Deathly Hallows, we can’t afford to get sidetracked — '

 Harry was barely listening to her. He was turning the Snitch over and over in his hands, half expecting it to break open, to reveal the Resurrection Stone, to prove to Hermione that he was right, that the Deathly Hallows were real.

~ 'Obsession?' said Hermione in a low fierce voice, when Harry was careless enough to use the word one evening, after Hermione had told him off for his lack of interest in locating more Horcruxes. 'We’re not the one with an obsession, Harry! We’re the ones trying to do what Dumbledore wanted us to do!'

~ '"The last enemy shall be destroyed is death,"' Harry quoted calmly. 

'I thought it was You-Know-Who we were supposed to be fighting?' Hermione retorted, and Harry gave up on her.

~ He was worried that the connection between himself and Voldemort had been damaged, a connection that he both feared and, whatever he had told Hermione, prized.

~ Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, the Riddle House, Borgin and Burkes, Albania, every place that they knew Tom Riddle had ever lived or worked, visited or murdered, Ron and Hermione raked over them again, Harry joining in only to stop Hermione pestering him.

~ 'But did you hear what Fred said?' asked Harry excitedly; now the broadcast was over, his thoughts turned around toward his all consuming obsession. 'He’s abroad! He’s still looking for the Wand, I knew it!'

 'Harry — '

 'Come on, Hermione, why are you so determined not to admit it? Vol — '

~ — demort’s after the Elder Wand!'

637. Harry Grinning When Notices Hermione's Familiar Expression

~ 'You know, the only true thing he said to us was that there have been stories about extra-powerful wands for hundreds of years.'

 'There have?' asked Harry. Hermione looked exasperated: The expression was so endearingly familiar that Harry and Ron grinned at each other. 

638. Hermione Noticing What Harry Does Even While Arguing With Ron

~ 'Harry, what are you doing? I don’t think you should look around when he’s not here!'

~ 'What’s wrong?' Hermione asked as Harry descended the staircase, but before he could respond, Xenophilius reached the top of the stairs from the kitchen, now holding a tray laden with bowls.

639. Hermione Informing Harry Of the Quibbler's New Articles

~ 'Harry, look at this.'  

He strode to her as quickly as he could through all the clutter.

~ 'Because of what I’ve been writing. They took my Luna and I don’t know where she is, what they’ve done to her. But they might give her back to me if I — if I — '

 'Hand over Harry?' Hermione finished for him.

640. Hermione Protecting Harry and asking Him to Hold her hand While He Trusts her Completely

~ 'HARRY!' Hermione screamed. 

~ He heard Hermione’s scream, Ron’s yell, and a series of sickening metallic thuds, which told him that Xenophilius had been blasted off his feet and fallen backward down the spiral stairs.

~ Then another whit shape moved close by, and Hermione, coated in dust like a second statue, pressed her finger to her lips.

~ 'Homenum revelio,' said the voice at the foot of the stairs. 

Harry heard Hermione gasp, and he had the odd sensation that something was swooping low over him, immersing his body in its shadow.

~ Ron was buried deepest: Harry and Hermione climbed, as quietly as they could, over all the wreckage to where he lay, trying to prise a heavy chest of drawers off his legs.

~ She was still white with dust. 'Do you trust me, Harry?'

 Harry nodded.

 'Okay then,' Hermione whispered, 'give me the Invisibility Cloak. Ron, you’re going to put it on.'

 ~ 'Please, Ron! Harry, hold on tight to my hand, Ron, grab my shoulder.'

 Harry held out his left hand.

~ Harry did not know what Hermione was waiting for.

 'Hold tight,' she whispered. 'Hold tight . . . any second . . . ' 

~ 'Obliviate! ' cried Hermione, pointing her wand first into his face, and then at the floor beneath them. 

'Deprimo!' She had blasted a hole in the sitting room floor. 

They fell like boulders, Harry still holding onto her hand for dear life; there was a scream from below, and he glimpsed two men trying to get out of the way as vast quantities of rubble and broken furniture rained all around them from the shattered ceiling. Hermione twisted in midair and the thundering of the collapsing house rang in Harry’s ears as she dragged him once more into darkness.

641. Hermione Smiling When Harry Fervently Tells Her That He doesn't Know What They'd Do without Her

~  Harry fell, panting, onto grass and scrambled up at once. They seemed to have landed in the corner of a field at dusk; Hermione was already running in a circle around them, waving her wand. 

'Protego Totalum . . . Salvio Hexia . . . '

~ 'You’re a genius,' Ron repeated, looking awed. 

'Yeah, you are, Hermione,' agreed Harry fervently. 'I don’t know what we’d do without you.'

 She beamed, but became solemn at once.

642. Harry Convincing Himself and Hermione that Luna will be ok

~ 'She will,' said Harry. He could not bear to contemplate the alternative. 'She’s tough, Luna, much tougher than you’d think. She’s probably teaching all the inmates about Wrackspurts and Nargles.'

 'I hope you’re right,' said Hermione. She passed a hand over her eyes.  

643. Hermione Saying That Harry was Right

~ 'Oh, why did we go there?' groaned Hermione after a few minutes’ silence. 'Harry, you were right, it was Godric’s Hollow all over again, a complete waste of time! The Deathly Hallows . . . such rubbish . . . although actually,' a sudden thought seemed to have struck her, 'he might have made it all up, mightn’t he? He probably doesn’t believe in the Deathly Hallows at all, he just wanted to keep us talking until the Death Eaters arrived!' 

644. Harry Noticing Hermione's Tearful Face

~ 'I’d tell him we’re all with him in spirit' said Lupin, then hesitated slightly, 'And I’d tell him to follow his instincts, which are good and nearly always right.'

 Harry looked at Hermione, whose eyes were full of tears. 

'Nearly always right,' she repeated.

645. Harry and Hermione both Appealing To Potterwatch

~ Harry, Ron, and Hermione were still beaming.  

~ 'Brilliant,' said Harry. 'It’s so brave of them,' sighed Hermione admiringly. 'If they were found . . . '

646. Harry Feeling Hermione's Screams Like Physical Pain, and shutting Out Voldemort Immediately

~ Harry looked around at the other two, now mere outlines in the darkness. He saw Hermione point her wand, set toward the outside, but into his face; there was a bang, a burst of white light, and he buckled in agony, unable to see. He could feel his face swelling rapidly under his hands as heavy footfalls surrounded him.

~ 'Delicious girl . . . what a treat . . . I do enjoy the softness of the skin. . . .'

 Harry’s stomach turned over. He knew who this was, Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf who was permitted to wear Death Eater robes in return for his hired savagery.

~ 'So you’re related to blood traitors even if you’re not a Mudblood. And lastly, your pretty little friend . .' The relish in his voice made Harry’s flesh crawl.

~ 'Anyone still got a wand?'

 'No.' Said Ron and Hermione from either side of him. 

'This is all my fault. I said the name. I’m sorry — '

~ And it came from directly behind Harry, from the person tied to Hermione’s left. 

~ '"’ermione Granger,"'Scabior was saying, '"the Mudblood who is known to be traveling with ’arry Potter."' 

Harry’s scar burned in the silence, but he made a supreme effort to keep himself present, not to slip into Voldemort’s mind. He heard the creak of Greyback’s boots as he crouched down, in front of Hermione.

A stillness had settled over the scene. 

Harry’s scar was exquisitely painful, but he struggled with all his strength against the pull of Voldemort’s thoughts. It had never been so important to remain in his own right mind. 

'Well, this changed things, doesn’t it?' whispered Greyback. Nobody spoke: Harry sensed the gang of Snatchers watching, frozen, and felt Hermione’s arm trembling against his.

~ Harry could hear Hermione’s breathing, fast and terrified.

~ Harry struggled, trying to throw off Greyback’s hand, but it was hopeless: Ron and Hermione were squeezed tightly against him on either side; he could not separate from the group, and as the breath was squeezed out of him his scar seared more painfully still —— as he forced himself through the slit of a window like a snake and landed, lightly as vapor inside the cell-like room —The prisoners lurched into one another as they landed in a country lane.

 ~ His face was huge, shiny, and pink, every feature distorted by Hermione’s jinx.

~ 'What about the Mudblood, then?' growled Greyback. Harry was nearly thrown off his feet as the Snatchers forced the prisoners to swivel around again, so that the light fell on Hermione instead. 

~ Hermione was screaming again: The sound went through Harry like physical pain. Barely conscious of the fierce prickling of his scar, he too started to run around the cellar, feeling the walls for he hardly knew what, knowing in his heart that it was useless.

~ Hermione’s screams echoed off the walls upstairs, Ron was half sobbing as he pounded the walls with his fists, and Harry in utter desperation seized Hagrid’s pouch from around his neck and groped inside it: He pulled out Dumbledore’s Snitch and shook it, hoping for he did not know what — nothing happened — he waved the broken halves of the phoenix wand, but they were lifeless — the mirror fragment fell sparkling to the floor, and he saw a gleam of brightest blue —Dumbledore’s eye was gazing at him out of the mirror. 

'Help us!' he yelled at it in mad desperation. 'We’re in the cellar of Malfoy Manor, help us!'

 ~ He felt Voldemort’s fury, but as Hermione screamed again he shut it out, returning to the cellar and the horror of his own present.

 ~ Ron had burst into the drawing room; Bellatrix looked around, shocked; she turned her wand to face Ron instead —“Expelliarmus!” he roared, pointing Wormtail’s wand at Bellatrix, and hers flew into the air and was caught by Harry, who had sprinted after Ron.

~ Panting, Harry peered around the edge of the sofa. Bellatrix was supporting Hermione, who seemed to be unconscious, and was holding her short silver knife to Hermione’s throat. 'Drop your wands,' she whispered. 'Drop them, or we’ll see exactly how filthy her blood is!'

~ 'I said, drop them!' she screeched, pressing the blade into Hermione’s throat: Harry saw beads of blood appear there. 

'All right!' he shouted, and he dropped Bellatrix’s wand onto the floor at his feet, Ron did the same with Wormtail’s. 

~ He had learned control at last, learned to shut his mind to Voldemort, the very thing Dumbledore had wanted him to learn from Snape. Just as Voldemort had not been able to possess Harry while Harry was consumed with grief for Sirius, so his thoughts could not penetrate Harry now while he mourned Dobby. 

Grief, it seemed, drove Voldemort out . . . though Dumbledore, of course, would have said that it was love.

647. Harry being Concerned for Hermione's Well-being and calling her Incredible, making her Smile

~ 'Hermione,' he said suddenly. 'Where is she?'

~ 'How’s Hermione?'

~ 'How are you?' Harry asked Hermione. 'You were amazing —coming up with that story when she was hurting you like that — ' Hermione gave a weak smile as Ron gave her a one-armed squeeze.

648. Harry Remembering Hermione When He digs Dobby's grave

~ He knew that Hermione could have done it more neatly, and probably more quickly, but he wanted to mark the spot as he had wanted to dig the grave.

649. Harry Working Together With Hermione and Ron Regarding Griphook

~ 'I need you two as well!' he called to Ron and Hermione, who had been skulking, half concealed, in the doorway of the sitting room.

~ Ron and Hermione were staring at Harry as though he had gone mad. 

'Harry — ' said Hermione, but she was cut off by Griphook.

~ 'Did you know that it was Harry who set Dobby free?' she asked. 'Did you know that we’ve wanted elves to be freed for years?'

~ The goblin gazed at Hermione with the same curiosity he had shown Harry.

~ The goblin stroked the sword, and his black eyes roved from Harry to Hermione to Ron and then back again.

~ 'But — ' Ron started angrily; Hermione nudged him in the ribs. 

'Thank you,' said Harry. 

~ 'Harry,' whispered Hermione, pulling them both away from the door, into the middle of the still-dark landing, 'are you saying what I think you’re saying? Are you saying there’s a Horcrux in the Lestranges vault?'

 'Yes,' said Harry. 'Bellatrix was terrified when she thought we’d been in there, she was beside herself. Why? What did she think we’d seen, what else did she think we might have taken? Something she was petrified You-Know-Who would find out about.' 

~ Harry’s scar throbbed, but he ignored it; he wanted Ron and Hermione to understand about Gringotts before they spoke to Ollivander.

~ Harry glanced sideways at Hermione. She looked flabbergasted.

~ 'But he’ll know soon, if he doesn’t already, that mine’s broken beyond repair,' said Harry quietly. 

'No!' said Hermione, sounding frightened. 'He can’t know that, Harry, how could he — ?'

 'Priori Incantatem,' said Harry. 'We left your wand and the blackthorn wand at the Malfoys’, Hermione. If they examine them properly, make them re-create the spells they’ve cast lately, they’d see that yours broke mine, they’ll see that you tried and failed to mend it, and they’ll realize that I’ve been using the blackthorn one ever since.'

~ The odd thing was that Hermione’s support made him feel just as confused as Ron’s doubts. Now forced to accept that the Elder Wand was real, she maintained that it was an evil object, and that the way Voldemort had taken possession of it was repellent, not to be considered. 

'You could never have done that, Harry,' she said again and again. 'You couldn’t have broken into Dumbledore’s grave.'

~ 'Harry admits he could have imagined the eye! Don’t you, Harry?'

 'I could have,' said Harry without looking at her.

~ Harry glanced at the other two, then said, 'We need to discuss this, Griphook, if that’s all right. Could you give us a few minutes?'

~ 'It is true?' Harry asked Hermione. 'Was the sword stolen by Gryffindor?'

 'I don’t know,' she said hopelessly. 'Wizarding history often skates over what the wizards have done to other magical races, but there’s no account that I know of that says Gryffindor stole the sword.'

~ 'Maybe he’s lying,' Harry said, opening his eyes again. 'Griphook. Maybe Gryffindor didn’t take the sword. How do we know the goblin version of history’s right?'

 'Does it make a difference?' asked Hermione. 

'Changes how I feel about it,' said Harry. He took a deep breath. 'We’ll tell him he can have the sword after he’s helped us get into that vault — but we’ll be careful to avoid telling him exactly when he can have it.'

 ~ Hermione, however, looked alarmed. 'Harry, we can’t — '

 'He can have it,' Harry went on, 'after we’ve used it on all of the Horcruxes. I’ll make sure he gets it then. I’ll keep my word.'

 'But that could be years!' said Hermione. 

'I know that, but he needn’t. I won’t be lying . . . really.' Harry met her eyes with a mixture of defiance and shame. He remembered the words that had been engraved over the gateway to Nurmengard: For the Greater Good. He pushed the idea away. What choice did they have? 

'I don’t like it,' said Hermione. 

'Nor do I, much,' Harry admitted.

~ Hermione frowned at the floor while he was speaking; he felt irritated at her, afraid that she might give the game away.

~ 'There’s really only enough left for one of us,' said Hermione, tilting the thick mudlike potion against the lamplight. 

'That’ll be enough,' said Harry, who was examining Griphook’s handdrawn map of the deepest passageways.

650. Harry Saying That Hermione Is Right

~ 'No,' said Harry, and he sank to his knees in the grass. 'Hermione’s right. Dumbledore didn’t want me to have it. He didn’t want me to take it. He wanted me to get the Horcruxes.'

 'The unbeatable wand, Harry!' moaned Ron. 

'I’m not supposed to . . . I’m supposed to get the Horcruxes. . . .'

651. Harry and Hermione Working Together

~ Their plans were made, their preparations complete ;in the smallest bedroom a single long, coarse black hair (plucked from the sweater Hermione had been wearing at Malfoy Manor) lay curled in a small glass phial on the mantelpiece. 

'And you’ll be using her actual wand,' said Harry, nodding toward the walnut wand, 'so I reckon you’ll be pretty convincing.'

 Hermione looked frightened that the wand might sting or bit her as she picked it up. 'I hate that thing,' she said in a low voice. 'I really hate it. It feels all wrong, it doesn’t work properly for me . . . It’s like a bit of her.'

 Harry could not help but remember how Hermione has dismissed his loathing of the blackthorn wand, insisting that he was imagining things when it did not work as well as his own, telling him to simply practice. He chose not to repeat her own advice back to her, however, the eve of their attempted assault on Gringotts felt like the wrong moment to antagonize her.

652. Harry Thinking about Hermione's Wand

~ He had been surprised, but pleased to discover that it worked for him at least as well as Hermione’s had done. Remembering what Ollivander had told them of the secret workings of wands, Harry thought he knew what Hermione’s problem was: She had not won the walnut wand’s allegiance by taking it personally from Bellatrix.

~ They had been firm on this point, because Hermione would need to transform in Bellatrix before they left, and the less that Bill and Fleur knew or suspected about what they were about to do, the better.

~ It was now packed inside the beaded bag, which, Harry was impressed to learn, Hermione had protected from the Snatchers by the simple expedient of stuffing it down her sock.

~ Hermione disapproved so heartily of the planned double-cross that Harry had given up attempting to pick her brains on how best to do it: Ron, on the rare occasions that they had been able to snatch a few Griphook-free moments, had come up with nothing better than 'We’ll just have to wing it, mate.'

~ It was a relief when six o’clock arrived and they could slip out of their sleeping bags, dress in the semidarkness, then creep out into the garden, where they were to meet Hermione and Griphook.

~ Bellatrix Lestrange was striding across the lawn toward them, accompanied by Griphook. As she walked, she was tucking the small, beaded bag into the inside pocket of another set of the old robes they had taken from Grimmauld Place. Though Harry knew perfectly well that it was really Hermione, he could not suppress a shiver of loathing. She was taller than he was, her long black hair rippling down her back, her heavily lidded eyes disdainful as they rested upon him; but then she spoke, and he heard Hermione through Bellatrix’s low voice.

~ 'There,' said Hermione, 'how does he look, Harry?'

~ 'Well, he’s not my type, but he’ll do,' said Harry. 'Shall we go, then?'

 All three of them glanced back at Shell Cottage, lying dark and silent under the fading stars, then turned and began to walk toward the point, just beyond the boundary wall, where the Fidelius Chard stopped working and they would be able to Disapparate. 

~ Hermione pulled the Invisibility Cloak out of the beaded bag and threw it over them both. 'Perfect,' she said, bending down to check Harry’s feet. 'I can’t see a thing. Let’s go.'

~ 'Good morning,' said Hermione, and as Harry crept past, still carrying Griphook piggyback under the Cloak, he saw Tom look surprised. 

'Too polite,' Harry whispered in Hermione’s ear as they passed out of the Inn into the tiny backyard. 'You need to treat people like they’re scum!'

 'Okay, okay!'

~ 'It’s Travers,' hissed the goblin into Harry’s ear, but at that moment Harry could not think who Travers was. Hermione had drawn herself up to full height and said with as much contempt as she could muster: 

'And what do you want?' Travers stopped in his tracks, clearly affronted.

 'He’s another Death Eater!' breathed Griphook, and Harry sidled sideways to repeat the information into Hermione’s ear.

~ Harry willed Hermione to keep her head. 

~ A watchful Death Eater was the very last thing they needed, and the worst of it was, with Travers matching at what he believed to be Bellatrix’s side, there was no means for Harry to communicate with Hermione or Ron.

~ Harry glanced around. 

Not only was Travers hanging back, watching, but several other goblins had looked up from their work to stare at Hermione.

~ The goblin took Bellatrix’s wand, examined it closely, and then said, 'Ah, you have had a new wand made, Madam Lestrange!'

 'What?' said Hermione, 'No, no, that’s mine — '

 'A new wand?' said Travers, approaching the counter again; still the goblins all around were watching. 'But how could you have done, which wandmaker did you use?'

 Harry acted without thinking. Pointing his wand at Travers, he muttered, 'Imperio!' once more. 

'Oh yes, I see,' said Travers, looking down at Bellatrix’s wand, 'yes, very handsome. and is it working well? I always think wands require a little breaking in, don’t you?'

 Hermione looked utterly bewildered, but to Harry’s enormous relief she accepted the bizarre turn of events without comment.

~ Harry looked back at Travers, who was still rooted to the spot looking abnormally vacant, and made his decision.

~ 'We’re in trouble; they suspect,' said Harry as the door slammed behind them and he pulled off the Invisibility Cloak. 

~ 'They’re Imperiused,' he added, in response to Hermione and Ron’s confused queries about Travers and Bogrod, who were both now standing there looking blank.

~ 'If we can,' said Hermione, looking back toward the door into the main hall, beyond which who knew what was happening. 

'We’ve got this far, I say we go on,' said Harry.

~ Harry heard the cart smash into pieces against the passage wall, heard Hermione shriek something, and felt himself glide back toward the ground as though weightless, landing painlessly on the rocky passage floor. 

'C–Cushioning Charm,'  Hermione spluttered, as Ron pulled her to her feet, but to Harry’s horror he saw that she was no longer Bellatrix; instead she stood there in overlarge robes, sopping wet and completely herself; Ron was red-haired and beardless again.

They were realizing it as they looked at each other, feeling their own faces. 

~ Harry saw Hermione checking that she still had the beaded bag, and hurriedly thrust his own hand under his jacket to make sure he had not lost the Invisibility Cloak.

~ 'Imperio!' Harry said again; his voice echoed through the stone passage as he felt again the sense of heady control that flowed from brain to wand.

~ 'Harry, I think I can hear people coming!' said Hermione, and she pointed Bellatrix’s wand at the waterfall and cried, 'Protego! ' They saw the Shield Charm break the flow of enchanted water as it flew up the passageway. 

'Good thinking,' said Harry

~ ~ 'If you want the sword, Griphook, then you’ll have to help us more than — wait! Can I touch stuff with the sword? Hermione, give it here!' 

Hermione fumbled insider her robes, drew out a beaded bag, rummaged for a few seconds, then removed the shining sword. Harry seized it by its rubied hilt and touched the tip of the blade to a silver flagon nearby, which did not multiply. 

'If I can just poke the sword through a handle — but how am I going to get up there?'

~ Harry looked at Ron and Hermione and saw terror in their faces. 

'Hermione,' said Harry, as the clanking grew louder, 'I’ve got to get up there, we’ve got to get rid of it — ' 

She raised her wand, pointed it at Harry, and whispered, 'Levicorpus.'

 Hoisted into the air by his ankle, Harry hit a suit of armor and replicas burst out of it like white-hot bodies, filling the cramped space.

~ Then the worst scream yet made Harry look down: Ron and Hermione were waist deep in treasure, struggling to keep Bogrod from slipping beneath the rising tide, but Griphook had sunk out of sight; and nothing but the tips of a few long fingers were left in view.

~ 'Harry — Harry — what are you doing?' cried Hermione. 

'Get up, climb up, come on — '

~ He stretched out an arm; Hermione hoisted herself up; Ron climbed on behind them, and a second later the dragon became aware that it was untethered.

~ Harry’s eyes were shut tight against the heat and dust: Deafened by the crash of rock and the dragon’s roars, he could only cling to its back, expecting to be shaken off at any moment; then he heard Hermione yelling, 'Defodio! '

 She was helping the dragon enlarge the passageway, carving out the ceiling as it struggled upward toward the fresher air, away from the shrieking and clanking goblins: Harry and Ron copied her, blasting the ceiling apart with more gouging spells.

~ Ron kept swearing at the top of his voice, and Hermione seemed to be sobbing.

~ 'I say we jump when it gets low enough!' Harry called back to the others. 'Straight into the water before it realizes we’re here!'

They agreed, Hermione a little faintly, and now Harry could see the dragon’s wide yellow underbelly rippling in the surface of the water.

~ Hermione handed Harry the bottle, then pulled out three bottles of pumpkin juice she had brought from Shell Cottage and clean, dry robes for all of them.

653. Harry Instinctively Pulling Out His Wand When He Hears Hermione Scream

~ Hermione screamed in pain, and Harry turned his wand on her in time to see a jeweled goblet tumbling from her grip.

~ 'It burned me!' moaned Hermione, sucking her blistered fingers. 

'They have added Germino and Flagrante Curses!' said Griphook. 'Everything you touch will burn and multiply, but the copies are worthless — and if you continue to handle the treasure, you will eventually be crushed to death by the weight of expanding gold!'

 654. Hermione being Concerned when Harry's Scar hurts, and Them Discussing Stuff

~ He was lying on the bank of the lake in the setting sun, and Ron and Hermione were looking down at him. Judging by their worried looks, and by the continued pounding of his scar, his sudden excursion into Voldemort’s mind had not passed unnoticed.

~ 'He knows.'

 His own voice sounded strange and low after Voldemort’s high screams. 

'He knows and he’s going to check where the others are, and the last one,' he was already on his feet, 'is at Hogwarts. I knew it. I knew it.'

~ Ron was gaping at him; Hermione sat up, looking worried. 'But what did you see? How do you know?'

 'I saw him find out about the cup, I–I was in his head, he’s' —Harry remembered the killings — 'he’s seriously angry, and scared too, he can’t understand how we knew, and now he’s going to check the others are safe, the ring first. He thinks the Hogwarts one is safest, because Snape’s there, because it’ll be so hard not to be seen getting in. I think he’ll check that one last, but he could still be there within hours — '

~  'Wait, wait !' cried Hermione as Ron caught up to the Horcrux and Harry pulled out the Invisibility Cloak again. 'We can’t just go, we haven’t got a plan, we need to — '

 'We need to get going,' said Harry firmly. He had been hoping to sleep, looking forward to getting into the new tent, but that was impossible now, 'Can you imagine what he’s going to do once he realizes the ring and the locket are gone? What if he moves the Hogwarts Horcrux, decides it isn’t safe enough?'

 'But how are we going to get in?'

 'We’ll go to Hogsmeade,' said Harry, 'and try to work something out once we see what the protection around the school’s like. Get under the Cloak, Hermione, I want to stick together this time.'

 'But we don’t really fit —'

 'It’ll be dark, no one’s going to notice our feet.'

~ Then Hermione walked forward and took her place between the other two, Harry pulled the Cloak down as far as it would go, and together they turned on the spot into the crushing darkness. 

~ Harry’s feet touched the road. He saw the achingly familiar Hogsmeade High Street: dark shop fronts, and the mist line of black mountains beyond the village and the curve in the road ahead that led off toward Hogwarts, and light spilling from the windows of the Three Broomsticks, and with a lurch of the heart, he remembered with piercing accuracy, how he had landed here nearly a year before, supporting a desperately weak Dumbledore, all this in a second, upon landing — and then, even as he relaxed his grip upon Ron’s and Hermione’s arms, it happened.

655. Harry Noticing Hermione Taking His Arm Even In The Dark and Thinking of Her and Ron to Conjure a Patronus

~ 'We’re going to have to try to Disapparate, Harry!' Hermione whispered. 

Even as she said it, he felt the unnatural cold being spread over the street. Light was sucked from the environment right up to the stars, which vanished. In the pitch blackness, he felt Hermione take hold of his arm and together, they turned on the spot.

~ It was of Ron and Hermione that he thought as he whispered 'Expecto Patronum!'

656. Hermione being Relieved When The Death Eaters Leave Harry alone

~ The Death Eaters strode back towards the High Street. Hermione moaned with relief, wove out from under the Cloak, and sat down on a wobble-legged chair.

657. Harry Hastily Speaking to Try and Spare Hermione From Being questioned By Aberforth

~ 'Did he now?' said Aberforth. 'Nice job, I hope? Pleasant? Easy? Sort of thing you’d expect an unqualified wizard kid to be able to do without overstretching themselves?'

~ Hermione was looking strained.

~ 'Been reading Rita Skeeter, have you, missy?'

Even by the rosy light of the fire it was clear that Hermione had turned red. 

'Elphias Doge mentioned her to us,' said Harry, trying to spare Hermione.

658. Hermione Being Bothered When Aberforth Insists That Dumbledore Didn't Really Love Harry

~ 'How can you be sure, Potter, that my brother wasn’t more interested in the greater good than in you? How can you be sure you aren’t dispensable, just like my little sister?'

 A shard of ice seemed to pierce Harry’s heart. 

'I don’t believe it. Dumbledore loved Harry,' said Hermione. 

'Why didn’t he tell him to hide, then?' shot back Aberforth. 'Why didn’t he say to him, "Take care of yourself, here’s how to survive" ?'

 'Because,' said Harry before Hermione could answer, 'sometimes you’ve got to think about more than your own safety! Sometimes you’ve got to think about the greater good! This is war!' 

659. Harry Wordlessly Communicating With Hermione and Ron, and Them Working Together

~ He looked at Ron and Hermione, trying to tell them without words that Voldemort has just discovered the loss of one of the other Horcruxes. Time was running out fast: If Voldemort chose to visit Hogwarts next, they would miss their chance. 

'We need to get going,' he said, and their expression told him that they understood.

~ Harry looked at Ron and Hermione and his own disappointment was mirrored back at him.

~ 'He’s on the move,' he said quietly to Ron ad Hermione. He glanced at Cho and then back at them. 'Listen, I know it’s not much of a lead, but I’m going to go and look at this statue, at least find out what the diadem looks like. Wait for me here and keep, you know — the other one — safe,'

~ 'Where’s Ron?' asked Harry. 'Where’s Hermione?'

~ Harry moved up the Hall alongside the Gryffindor table, still looking for Ron and Hermione.

~ 'Where are Ron and Hermione?'

660. Hermione Telling Harry That He doesn't Need to Do Everything Alone

~ Harry looked from Ron to Hermione, who murmured, 'I think Ron’s right. We don’t even know what we’re looking for, we need them.' And when Harry looked unconvinced, 'You don’t have to do everything alone, Harry.'

~ 'All right,' he said quietly to the other two.

661. The absence Of Hermione and Ron Temporarily Driving everything From Harry's Mind

~ He had almost forgotten about the Horcrux, almost forgotten that the battle was being fought so that he could search for it: The inexplicable absence of Ron and Hermione had momentarily driven every other thought from his mind.

~ He could not see Ron’s or Hermione’s names anywhere on it, though the density of the crowd of dots now making its way to the Room of Requirement might, he thought, be concealing them.

~ 'Voice carried, didn’ it? "Yeh got till midnight ter gimme Potter." Knew yeh mus’ be here, knew what mus’ be happenin’. Get down, Fang. So we come ter join in, me an’ Grawpy an’ Fang. Smashed our way through the boundary by the forest, Grawpy was carryin’ us, Fang an’ me. Told him ter let me down at the castle, so he shoved me through the window, bless him. Not exac’ly what I meant, bu’ — where’s Ron an’ Hermione?'

 'That,' said Harry, 'is a really good question. Come on.'

~ 'I dunno exactly,' said Harry, making another random turn, 'but Ron and Hermione must be around here somewhere. . . .'

~ And then he skidded around a final corner and with a yell of mingled relief and fury he saw them: Ron and Hermione, both with their arms full of large, curved, dirty yellow objects, Ron with a broomstick under his arm. 

'Where the hell have you been?' Harry shouted.

~ 'It was Ron, all Ron’s idea!' said Hermione breathlessly. 'Wasn’t it absolutely brilliant? There we were, after you left, and I said to Ron, even if we had the other one, how are we going to get rid of it? We still hadn’t gotten rid of the cup! And then he thought of it! The basilisk!'

 'What the — ?'

 ~  Harry’s eyes dropped to the objects clutched in Ron and Hermione’s arms: great curved fangs, torn, he now realized, from the skull of a dead basilisk.

~ 'Hermione stabbed it. Thought she should. She hasn’t had the pleasure yet.'

 'Genius!' yelled Harry.

662. Harry Getting Irritated When Ron and Hermione Kiss

~  'Is this the moment?' Harry asked weakly, and when nothing happened except that Ron and Hermione gripped each other still more firmly and swayed on the spot, he raised his voice. 

'OI! There’s a war going on here!'

~ 'Never mind that, what about the Horcrux?' Harry shouted. 'D’you think you could just — just hold it in until we’ve got the diadem?' 

663. Harry Driving Everything Out Of His Mind When Someone Tries To Kill Hermione, and The Two of them Protecting Each Other Back to back and Working Together

~ 'He could not hear Ron or Hermione anymore. They seemed to have run out of earshot, searching for the diadem.

~ Ron!' Harry bellowed, as somewhere out of sight Hermione screamed, and Harry heard innumerable objects crashing to the floor on the other side of the destabilized wall: He pointed his wand at the rampart, cried, 'Finite!' and it steadied.

~ A jet of scarlet light shot past Harry by inches: Hermione had run around the corner behind him and sent a Stunning Spell straight at Crabbe’s head. It only missed because Malfoy pulled him out of the way. 

'It’s that Mudblood! Avada Kedavra! ' Harry saw Hermione dive aside, and his fury that Crabbe had aimed to kill wiped all else from his mind. He shot a Stunning Spell at Crabbe, who lurched out of the way, knocking Malfoy’s wand out of his hand; it rolled out of sight beneath a mountain of broken furniture and bones.

~ 'It’s somewhere here!' Harry yelled at her, pointing at the pile of junk into which the old tiara had fallen. 'Look for it while I go and help R — '

 'HARRY!' she screamed.

~ 'Aguamenti!' Harry bawled, but the jet of water that soared from the tip of his wand evaporated in the air. 

'RUN!'

~ 'What can we do?' Hermione screamed over the deafening roars of the fire. 'What can we do?'

 'Here!' Harry seized a pair of heavy-looking broomsticks from the nearest pile of junk and threw one to Ron, who pulled Hermione onto it behind him.

~ 'No,' said Hermione, getting to her feet too. Malfoy and Goyle remained slumped hopelessly on the corridor floor; neither of them had wands. 'Let’s stick together. I say we go — Harry, what’s that on your arm?'

 'What? Oh yeah — '

 He pulled the diadem from his wrist and held it up.

~ 'It must have been Fiendfyre!' whimpered Hermione, her eyes on the broken piece. 

'Sorry?'

 'Fiendfyre- cursed fire — it’s one of the substances that destroy Horcruxes, but I would never, ever have dared use it, it’s so dangerous — how did Crabbe know how to — ?'

 'Must’ve learned from the Carrows,' said Harry grimly. 

664. Harry Grabbing Hermione's Hand When He Sees Her Staggering, and Staying Close To Her

~ And Hermione was struggling to her feet in the wreckage, and three redheaded men were grouped on the ground where the wall had blasted apart. Harry grabbed Hermione’s hand as they staggered and stumbled over stone and wood.

~ 'Get down!' Harry shouted, as more curses flew through the night: He and Ron had both grabbed Hermione and pulled her to the floor, but Percy lay across Fred’s body, shielding it from further harm, and when Harry shouted 'Percy, come on, we’ve got to move!' he shook his head.

~ Hermione screamed, and Harry, turning, did not need to ask why. A monstrous spider the size of a small car was trying to climb through the huge hole in the wall.

~ Pushing Hermione ahead of him with Ron, Harry stooped to seize Fred’s body under the armpit.

~ 'Harry, in here!' Hermione screamed. 

She had pulled Ron behind a tapestry. They seemed to be wrestling together, and for one mad second Harry thought that they were embracing again; then he saw that Hermione was trying to restrain Ron, to stop him running after Percy.

~ She was crying too, and she wiped her face on her torn and singed sleeve as she spoke, but she took great heaving breaths to calm herself as, still keeping a tight hold on Ron, she turned to Harry. 'You need to find out where Voldemort is, because he’ll have the snake with him, won’t he? Do it, Harry — look inside him!'

Why was it so easy? Because his scar had been burning for hours, yearning to show him Voldemort’s thoughts? He closed his eyes on her command, and at once, the screams and bangs and all the discordant sounds of the battle were drowned until they became distant, as though he stood far, far away from them. . . .

~ 'He’s in the Shrieking Shack. The snake’s with him, it’s got some sort of magical protection around it. He’s just sent Lucius Malfoy to find Snape.'

 'Voldemort’s sitting in the shrieking Shack?' said Hermione, outraged. 'He’s not — he’s not even fighting? ?' 

 'He doesn’t think he needs to fight,' said Harry. 'He thinks I’m going to go to him.'

 'But why?'

 'He knows I’m after Horcruxes — he’s keeping Nagini close beside him — obviously I’m going to have to go to him to get near the thing — '

~ 'No,' said Hermione, 'it makes much more sense if I take the Cloak and — '

~ Two masked Death Eaters stood there, but even before their wands were fully raised, Hermione shouted 'Glisseo!' 

The stairs beneath their feet flattened into a chute and she, Harry, and Ron hurtled down it, unable to control their speed but so fast that the Death Eaters’ Stunning Spells flew far over their heads. They shot through the concealing tapestry at the bottom and spun onto the floor, hitting the opposite wall. 

'Duro!' cried Hermione, pointing her wand at the tapestry, and there were two loud, sickening crunches as the tapestry turned to stone and the Death Eaters pursuing them crumpled against it.

~ 'Come on, Harry!' said Hermione’s voice from a very long way away. 

'Patronuses, Harry, come on!' he raised his wand, but a dull hopelessness was spreading throughout him: How many more lay dead that he did not yet know about? He felt as though his soul had already half left his body. . . . 

'HARRY, COME ON!' screamed Hermione.

~ Ron and Hermione caught up, Hermione so out of breath that she could not speak.

~ Hermione tugged at his ankle. 

'The Cloak!' she whispered. 'Put the Cloak on!'

 He groped behind him and she forced the bundle of slippery cloth into his free hand.

~ 'Harry!' breathed Hermione behind him, but he had already pointed his wand at the crate blocking his view.

~ Silvery blue, neither gas nor liquid, it gushed form his mouth and his ears and his eyes, and Harry knew what it was, but did not know what to do —A flask, conjured from thin air, was thrust into his shaking hand by Hermione.

~ Harry saw Hermione approach Ginny, whose face was swollen and blotchy, and hug her.

665. Harry throwing The Cloak On Hermione and Ron as he wanted to stick together

~ 'Harry, you get the Cloak on,' said Hermione. 'Never mind us —'

But he threw it over all three of them; large though they were he doubted anyone would see their disembodied feet through the dust that clogged the air, the falling stone, the shimmer of spells.

666. Harry Remembering What Hermione said

~ Somehow he walled it all up in his mind, crammed it into a small space into which he could not look now: thoughts of Fred and Hagrid, and his terror for all the people he loved, scattered in and outside the castle, must all wait, because they had to run, had to reach the snake and Voldemort, because that was, as Hermione said, the only way to end it —He sprinted, half — believing he could outdistance death itself, ignoring the jets of light flying in the darkness all around him, and the sound of the lake crashing like the sea, and the creaking of the Forbidden Forest though the night was windless; through grounds that seemed themselves to have risen in rebellion, he ran faster than he had ever moved in his life, and it was he who saw the great tree first, the Willow that protected the secret at its roots with whiplike, slashing branches.

667. Hermione Not Wanting Harry To Give Himself Up

 ~ Both Ron and Hermione shook their heads frantically, looking at Harry. 

~ 'It’ll be all right,' said Hermione wildly. 'Let’s — let’s get back to the castle, if he’s gone to the forest we’ll need to think of a new plan — ' 

668. Harry Thinking of Hermione First When He Thinks Of Those Who Loves

~ Ron and Hermione seemed a long way away, in a far-off country; he felt as though he had parted from them long ago. There would be no good-byes and no explanations, he was determined of that.

~ People were moving around, trying to comfort each other, drinking, kneeling beside the dead, but he could not see any of the people he loved, no hint of Hermione, Ron, Ginny, or any of the other Weasleys, no Luna. He felt he would have given all the time remaining to him for just one last look at them; but then, would he ever have the strength to stop looking? It was better like this.

~ 'It’s got to be killed. Ron and Hermione know that, but just in case they — '

 The awfulness of that possibility smothered him for a moment, made it impossible to keep talking.

~ The dead who walked beside him through the forest were much more real to him now that the living back at the castle: Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and all the others were the ones who felt like ghosts as he stumbled and slipped toward the end of his life, toward Voldemort. . . .

669. Harry Looking at Hagrid's Cabin and Remembering When He Saved Norbert With Hermione

~ There were no lights, no sound of Fang scrabbling at the door, his bark booming in welcome. All those visits to Hagrid, and the gleam of the copper kettle on the fire, and rock cakes and giant grubs, and his great bearded face, and Ron vomiting slugs, and Hermione helping him save Norbert . . .

670. Dumbledore Depending On Hermione To Slow Harry up and Knowing Of Their Strong Bond and Closeness

~ 'But if my wand was so powerful, how come Hermione was able to break it?' asked Harry.

~ Dumbledore’s smile was tremulous. 

'I am afraid I counted on Miss Granger to slow you up, Harry. I was afraid that your hot head might dominate your good heart. I was scared that, if presented outright with the facts about those tempting objects, you might seize the Hallows as I did, at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons. If you laid hands on them, I wanted you to possess them safely. You are the true master of death, because the true master does not seek to run away from Death. He accepts that he must die, and understands that there are far, far worse things in the living world than dying.'

671. Harry being Unable To Bear Hermione's The Others' Shouts when They Believed He was Dead

~ 'No!'

 'No!'

 'Harry! HARRY!' Ron’s, Hermione’s, and Ginny’s voices were worse than McGonagall’s; Harry wanted nothing more than to call back, yet he made himself lie silent, and their cries acted like a trigger; the crowd of survivors took up the cause, screaming and yelling abuse at the Death Eaters, until —'SILENCE!'  cried Voldemort, and there was a bang and a flash of bright light, and silence was forced upon them all. 'It’s over!' 

672. Hermione and Ron being The First Ones To Reach Harry

~ The fierce new sun dazzled the windows as they thundered toward him, and the first to reach him were Ron and Hermione, and it was their arms that were wrapped around him, their incomprehensible shouts that deafened him.

673. Harry Craving Hermione and Ron's Company the most, and Hermione Understanding His Decision

~ Everywhere he looked he saw families reunited, and finally, he saw the two whose company he craved most. 

'It’s me,' he muttered, crouching down between them. 'Will you come with me?'

 They stood up at once, and together he, Ron, and Hermione left the Great Hall.

~ 'Really gives a feeling for the scope and tragedy of the thing, doesn’t it?' said Ron, pushing open a door to let Harry and Hermione through.

~ But first he owed an explanation to Ron and Hermione, who had stuck with him for so long, and who deserved the truth. Painstakingly he recounted what he had seen in the Pensieve and what had happened in the forest, and they had not even begun to express all their shock and amazement when at last they arrived at the place to which they had been walking, though none of them had mentioned their destination.

~ 'And then there’s this.' Harry held up the Elder Wand, and Ron and Hermione looked at it with a reverence that, even in his befuddled and sleep-deprived state, Harry did not like to see. 

'I don’t want it.' said Harry.

~ 'I know it’s powerful,' said Harry wearily. 'But I was happier with mine. So . . . '

 He rummaged in the pouch hung around his neck, and pulled out the two halves of holly still just connected by the finest thread of phoenix feather. Hermione had said that they could not be repaired, that the damage was too severe. All he knew was that if this did not work, nothing would.

~ 'I think Harry’s right,' said Hermione quietly. 

'That wand’s more trouble than it’s worth,' said Harry. 'And quite honestly,” he turned away from the painted portraits, thinking now only of the four-poster bead lying waiting for him in Gryffindor Tower and wondering whether Kreacher might bring him a sandwich there, 'I’ve had enough trouble for a lifetime.' 

                                                        ***********************