Fic: Brave New World (20/28): Harry Potter
Title: Brave New World
Author:
patriciatepes
Artist:
twisted_slinky
Fandom: Harry Potter
Chapter: Prev | Next
Rating/Contents: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters. Making no money here, as they all still belong to their prospective owners.
Summary: Partially DH compliant, most AU. Voldemort arrived at Malfoy Manor quicker than expected, and like that, the war was over. Now, Hermione is Snape's "assigned companion," and as determined as ever to stop Voldemort and save her friends. But that's hard to do in Voldemort's new world…
Chapter Twenty: The Grand Reveal
Hermione all but leapt out of bed, pulling the top comforter with her. She whirled, noticing she had left Snape nothing but a thin bed sheet, but that didn't matter to her now. She wondered, dazedly, if it should matter, but it didn't.
"What do you mean, you knew? You all knew, you and Dumbledore? You both knew that Harry had to-and you never told him, anyone!" she turned, almost hissing the words between her teeth.
"I'm sorry… Hermione," he said, hesitating before he used her given name.
And well he should. She shook her head. "And Voldemort has to do it? Why? Why him?"
"I'm not… I'm not sure. If it's any consolation, I swear to you I had very much the same reaction to this news."
"Screw your consolation!" she spat.
She glared down at the floor, where her clothes-tangled in with Snape's-lay. She knew she had to get dressed, had to get moving, but she also knew she wasn't putting on that stupid red dress. But she was in Snape's room. None of her clothes were here. She had very few options on how to proceed, so she went with the better of the choices for herself. She dropped the comforter, gathering up her knickers and dress, stomping out toward her bedroom. The sound of extra footfalls confirmed that Snape followed behind. Which was all well and good, since she wasn't done talking.
She slipped on the cotton panties, tripping a bit as she did, and tossed the dress on the bed. She didn't bother to look behind to see the funny little dances she was sure her ex-professor was doing to get dressed. Instead, she stepped to the wardrobe, pulling out a hooded shirt and pair of jeans. She-still dutifully ignoring Snape-then went to the top drawer of the chest of drawers in her room, removing a bra. As she begin to dress, she continued her raging.
"Do you have any idea? Any clue what withholding this information could have done? We didn't know that there was another piece of Voldemort's soul out there! After destroying the Horcruxes, what was the plan then, huh? Just send Harry off on his own, laughing behind your hands? 'Oh, he'll die anyway, then we'll be good to go!' How ludicrous!"
"I was intending on sharing the information, Miss Granger!" he snapped.
Back to "Miss Granger" now? She whirled on him, dressed in all but the shirt now. He was pulling on the white, buttoned shirt he wore under the notorious black frock with a million buttons. She sneered at him.
"Oh, yes, because you have a right to be angry!"
He sighed, letting go of the top button and grabbing the frock off the floor where he had dropped it.
"You're right. But how was this going to come up in casual conversation, though? And would any of you have believed me?"
She mashed her lips together, sucking them back in like she had eaten a lemon. She pulled her shirt over her head, crossing her arms in front of it.
"No. So, how was Harry going to find out?"
Snape looked away, and she could have sworn she saw his face flush red. It was the most color she had ever seen on his sallow, pallid skin.
"I was working on something concerning a pensieve."
Hermione let her arms fall to her sides. That was fair enough, but now… now that it was all changed, all different… She came to a decision she realized she should have before even leaving the bed.
"The resistance needs to be told. And Harry. Above all, Harry needs to know."
Snape closed his eyes, screwing up his face as if Hermione was poking at him with a mildly sharp stick. Finally, he nodded, turning to look at her.
"You're right. Of course, you're right."
She felt her rigid body relax, just a bit.
"But I want my name kept out of it, just for safety's sake," he added.
She stood straighter than she ever had in her life. Her eyes narrowed like a hawk zeroing in on its prey.
"So selfish!"
"Cautious!"
"Oh? So that's it? You don't have any faith in my friends?"
"Well, your friends did get captured by the Death Eaters or are on the run from them, one is married to Pansy Parkinson, while the other is expecting Draco Malfoy's child!"
There was a beat of silence, and their eyes met. There was hurt in both. Those words had crossed a line neither one was going to talk about. Finally, Hermione pushed out a harsh breath.
"I'm going, now, to the resistance. I'm going to call a meeting."
"Are you quite mad? It's broad daylight! You've taken too many risks as it is!"
"They have to know!"
Snape held up his hands plaintively. "I agree. All right? I agree. But getting you, or them, captured by meeting stupidly in the bright shining sun will help no one. Wait. Wait until nightfall at least."
He was right, and Merlin, did she hate him for just a little bit. Why in hell was he always right? She nodded.
"But I'm staying in my room. Here. All day."
He could take a hint. Looking more than a little crestfallen, he turned, quietly, and left, closing the door behind him.
Hermione stood by her word. She did not leave the room all day, thanking Merlin that Snape had magicked a door attached to the upstairs loo. Snape had brought several meals to her. She was not stupid, knowing that she needed to keep up her strength. She nibbled as much as her tensed stomach could stand, leaving the rest on the small table Snape had conjured just outside her door. He came to collect them as well, never once knocking or attempting to talk to her through the door. She was glad for that.
Despite her lack of regrets for the night before-and the funny, giddy way it made her feel to think back on them-she was still angry. But not just at Snape. No, that wouldn't have been fair. After all, he had just been following the orders of the wizard orchestrating the entire thing, the dearly departed Dumbledore. No, she was angry at Albus Dumbledore too.
That man… that genius of a wizard, was the closest thing Harry had to a father figure. Everyone supposed that man to be Sirius, but no, Hermione knew the truth. Harry had looked up to Dumbledore as a boy would look up to his dad. And Dumbledore had kept practically everything from him, from the very start. That bubble of rage that seemed to have made a permanent home in her stomach just seemed to hover within her, wanting nothing more than to break free in the form of a prolonged shriek or destruction.
Finally, somewhere along her seething, night fell. She glanced at the clock. It was barely ten in the evening, but she knew she couldn't dare way a moment longer. With a deep breath, she emerged from her room. She descended the staircase, and stopped, facing the lounge, for only a moment.
"I'm going."
Snape, from his place in what Hermione deemed was truly his chair, nodded stiffly. "For Merlin's sake, please… be safe."
The nod she returned with was just as stiff. She went to the apparition point and left, arriving in Neville's room. Neville, who was gazing up at the ceiling as if he was trying to work out a puzzle in his head, jumped, nearly falling off the bed. He did, however, jerk to attention when he realized who his unexpected guest was.
"Hermione?"
"Call a meeting. I have some important news."
"More important than the potion?"
She nodded, and Neville lost no time. Using the coins, he sent the message out-the when and the where. It took only a moment, then, grabbing up his cloak, he approached her.
"The hill again," Neville said. "You remember?"
She nodded. They both apparated. It took some time, the two of them standing, silently, atop that grassy hill. Hermione had not thought to carry a watch, but she wagered it was at least an hour or longer before the other members of the resistance began to arrive. Fred and George, first, followed by Lee Jordan. Then several of the Hogwarts students that Hermione did not know by name. Ron seemed absent, and Hermione did not want to think what he would actually be up to, to miss this meeting. He had just been married. Shortly after the nameless students followed Ginny… but it was who followed Ginny that left everyone aghast.
Draco Malfoy, his white-blond hair shining in the moonlight, apparated into view, taking the smallest of steps to stand just at Ginny's elbow. Fred, George, Lee, and Neville pulled their wands, aiming it directly at him. Ginny threw herself in front of the wands, shaking her head.
"No!" she said.
"What the bloody hell is he doing here?" Hermione asked.
"Voldemort… He has to be stopped," Draco said, his voice sounding like a man who had never seen water.
"What the hell? Ginny, did you Imperius him?" Fred asked.
"No!" Ginny cried, indignant. "Of course not!"
"He killed my mother!" Draco rasped. "And, despite his promise, I doubt my-our -child is safe."
"I don't believe you," Hermione stated, plainly.
He whirled on Hermione. "I'll swear to it! Give me veritaserum! I'll drink it on the spot!"
"He's telling the truth," Ginny said, gripping her soon-to-be-husband's forearm.
"Veritaserum could be arranged," Neville said, thoughtfully. "Snape's bound to have some in his stores, back at Hogwarts."
Draco seemed to compose himself. "Fine. Go."
"Wait, how is he-?" George began, being cut off by the pop of Neville leaving.
There were several, several quiet moments that followed. Hermione began to get antsy, horribly aware that this visit to the school-unlike the one to get the book and the quill-had not been meticulously planned. But, at least a half hour later, Neville returned, brandishing a bottle that seemed to be filled with nothing but water.
"Give it here, then," Draco said.
"Three drops. It only takes three," Hermione instructed as Draco pulled the cork.
He sipped delicately at it, re-corking it and shoving the bottle at Hermione. After a moment, he sighed.
"Ask me anything."
Fred and George both opened their mouths, but Jordan held up his hand to stop them.
"I think he means something so we know he's telling the truth, boys," the former Quidditch announcer said.
The twins shrugged, and Hermione took the lead.
"You said that Voldemort needed to be stopped. Is that true?"
"Yes."
"You said you feared for your child. Is that true?"
"Yes."
Hermione pursed her lips as Ginny smiled softly. Hermione was in no mood for this. She pointed a sharp finger in Ginny's direction.
"Have you beaten her?"
The onlookers murmured amongst themselves. Draco looked pained, as if trying to fight the effect of the potion.
"Yes," he finally said, sounding as if the word had been wrangled from the very depths of his soul.
"Why should I believe that you would even love this child?"
"I love the baby even now," Draco said.
That took Hermione aback. But she pressed on.
"Would you die for your child's safety?"
"Yes."
"Will you keep the secret of this group?"
"Yes."
"Would you die for Ginny, baby or no?"
"Yes."
Gasps. Even Ginny looked shocked. Hermione ground her teeth together, a bad habit she had been broken of years ago by her dentist parents. She took a deep breath.
"Fine. Welcome to the resistance."
Neville clapped his hands together once, making sure that everyone followed his gaze as his eyes fell to Hermione.
"Now, why did you have me call this meeting, Hermione? You said it was important, more important than the potion."
She took an even deeper breath now. This was going to be the hardest thing she had ever done. But she did it. She told her friends, this resistance, everything. She told them about the Horcruxes-which she was pleased to find out that Ron had not previously told them this. She told them about destroying them, how many, and how this had been done. And, finally, she told them about Harry.
And, for reasons she could not rationally explain to herself at the moment, she heeded Snape's wishes and kept his name out of it. At the end of her explanation, no one spoke. Not for a long time. Everyone seemed properly shocked, and Ginny looked as if she were already mourning Harry's death. That little fire inside of Hermione, the one that flared up whenever she thought about Ron and Ginny's betrayals, stayed small. Draco seemed to have grown to care about Ginny… he wasn't going to hurt her anymore. She had gleaned that much, even if she hadn't asked the question directly. She found she couldn't be quite as angry as before. After all, she had already made some questionable decisions. But now was not the time to deal with those. She broke the silence.
"I've told Neville about the spare basilisk fang in the Chamber. The door has to be opened in Parseltongue, but I've just had a thought. What if we faked it?"
"What?" Neville asked.
Hermione shrugged. "I dunno. On muggle television all the time, actors are faking foreign languages and they sound real enough. Maybe that's what the door needs… not a real word in Parseltongue, but something that sounds close enough."
"It could work," Draco said, and several eyes flew to him as if he should not be speaking.
Fred and George looked particularly murderous. Neville broke the tension.
"What about the other Horcrux, the one that we don't use the fang on? And the snake, Nagini?"
"The Dark Lord is using my family's home as a base. I could just as easily poison Nagini," Draco said.
Hermione blinked, truly shocked. "That's a big risk."
Draco spared Ginny a glance that could have almost been classified as affectionate. "It's worth it."
"Then maybe we can come up with a really destructive spell for the other Horcrux," Hermione offered.
Everyone nodded. But no one was talking about the proverbial elephant in the room. No one was talking about Harry. Hermione was a Gryffindor. She was brave. She broached the subject.
"Harry deserves to know. To have a choice in this," she said.
They all nodded. Draco piped up again.
"He's more protected than anything else. I believe the Dark Lord is planning something. I don't know what. But it revolves around Potter, and he doesn't want him touched until then."
Hermione mulled this over. Then, looking up and around, she sighed.
"This isn't fair to ask of any of us, as we've all got much to lose, but… let's wait. Let's take our time, really think about this. We need to make sure no mistakes are made. We hold off. We hold off on the Horcruxes Neville found. We hold off on Nagini. We deal with Harry first. Let me… let me think. I'm… with Snape. Let me think it out."
"Right," Ginny said. "She's right. Harry comes first."
They all agreed. With a heavy heart, Neville adjourned the meeting. Slowly, people began to leave. The twins, Jordan, all of the nameless students. Finally, Neville turned to Hermione.
"How did you find all of this out?"
She smiled grimly. "You… wouldn't believe me if I told you. But I don't doubt that it's the truth. Do you trust me?"
"Of course we do," Ginny said.
"Thanks," she whispered. Raising her volume to normal, she added, "Let's all get back. It's gotten late. Can't have anyone suspecting."
And with that, the last of them apparated away, leaving the hill as solitary as it ever was.
Author:
patriciatepes
Artist:
twisted_slinky
Fandom: Harry Potter
Chapter: Prev | Next
Rating/Contents: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters. Making no money here, as they all still belong to their prospective owners.
Summary: Partially DH compliant, most AU. Voldemort arrived at Malfoy Manor quicker than expected, and like that, the war was over. Now, Hermione is Snape's "assigned companion," and as determined as ever to stop Voldemort and save her friends. But that's hard to do in Voldemort's new world…
Chapter Twenty: The Grand Reveal
Hermione all but leapt out of bed, pulling the top comforter with her. She whirled, noticing she had left Snape nothing but a thin bed sheet, but that didn't matter to her now. She wondered, dazedly, if it should matter, but it didn't.
"What do you mean, you knew? You all knew, you and Dumbledore? You both knew that Harry had to-and you never told him, anyone!" she turned, almost hissing the words between her teeth.
"I'm sorry… Hermione," he said, hesitating before he used her given name.
And well he should. She shook her head. "And Voldemort has to do it? Why? Why him?"
"I'm not… I'm not sure. If it's any consolation, I swear to you I had very much the same reaction to this news."
"Screw your consolation!" she spat.
She glared down at the floor, where her clothes-tangled in with Snape's-lay. She knew she had to get dressed, had to get moving, but she also knew she wasn't putting on that stupid red dress. But she was in Snape's room. None of her clothes were here. She had very few options on how to proceed, so she went with the better of the choices for herself. She dropped the comforter, gathering up her knickers and dress, stomping out toward her bedroom. The sound of extra footfalls confirmed that Snape followed behind. Which was all well and good, since she wasn't done talking.
She slipped on the cotton panties, tripping a bit as she did, and tossed the dress on the bed. She didn't bother to look behind to see the funny little dances she was sure her ex-professor was doing to get dressed. Instead, she stepped to the wardrobe, pulling out a hooded shirt and pair of jeans. She-still dutifully ignoring Snape-then went to the top drawer of the chest of drawers in her room, removing a bra. As she begin to dress, she continued her raging.
"Do you have any idea? Any clue what withholding this information could have done? We didn't know that there was another piece of Voldemort's soul out there! After destroying the Horcruxes, what was the plan then, huh? Just send Harry off on his own, laughing behind your hands? 'Oh, he'll die anyway, then we'll be good to go!' How ludicrous!"
"I was intending on sharing the information, Miss Granger!" he snapped.
Back to "Miss Granger" now? She whirled on him, dressed in all but the shirt now. He was pulling on the white, buttoned shirt he wore under the notorious black frock with a million buttons. She sneered at him.
"Oh, yes, because you have a right to be angry!"
He sighed, letting go of the top button and grabbing the frock off the floor where he had dropped it.
"You're right. But how was this going to come up in casual conversation, though? And would any of you have believed me?"
She mashed her lips together, sucking them back in like she had eaten a lemon. She pulled her shirt over her head, crossing her arms in front of it.
"No. So, how was Harry going to find out?"
Snape looked away, and she could have sworn she saw his face flush red. It was the most color she had ever seen on his sallow, pallid skin.
"I was working on something concerning a pensieve."
Hermione let her arms fall to her sides. That was fair enough, but now… now that it was all changed, all different… She came to a decision she realized she should have before even leaving the bed.
"The resistance needs to be told. And Harry. Above all, Harry needs to know."
Snape closed his eyes, screwing up his face as if Hermione was poking at him with a mildly sharp stick. Finally, he nodded, turning to look at her.
"You're right. Of course, you're right."
She felt her rigid body relax, just a bit.
"But I want my name kept out of it, just for safety's sake," he added.
She stood straighter than she ever had in her life. Her eyes narrowed like a hawk zeroing in on its prey.
"So selfish!"
"Cautious!"
"Oh? So that's it? You don't have any faith in my friends?"
"Well, your friends did get captured by the Death Eaters or are on the run from them, one is married to Pansy Parkinson, while the other is expecting Draco Malfoy's child!"
There was a beat of silence, and their eyes met. There was hurt in both. Those words had crossed a line neither one was going to talk about. Finally, Hermione pushed out a harsh breath.
"I'm going, now, to the resistance. I'm going to call a meeting."
"Are you quite mad? It's broad daylight! You've taken too many risks as it is!"
"They have to know!"
Snape held up his hands plaintively. "I agree. All right? I agree. But getting you, or them, captured by meeting stupidly in the bright shining sun will help no one. Wait. Wait until nightfall at least."
He was right, and Merlin, did she hate him for just a little bit. Why in hell was he always right? She nodded.
"But I'm staying in my room. Here. All day."
He could take a hint. Looking more than a little crestfallen, he turned, quietly, and left, closing the door behind him.
Hermione stood by her word. She did not leave the room all day, thanking Merlin that Snape had magicked a door attached to the upstairs loo. Snape had brought several meals to her. She was not stupid, knowing that she needed to keep up her strength. She nibbled as much as her tensed stomach could stand, leaving the rest on the small table Snape had conjured just outside her door. He came to collect them as well, never once knocking or attempting to talk to her through the door. She was glad for that.
Despite her lack of regrets for the night before-and the funny, giddy way it made her feel to think back on them-she was still angry. But not just at Snape. No, that wouldn't have been fair. After all, he had just been following the orders of the wizard orchestrating the entire thing, the dearly departed Dumbledore. No, she was angry at Albus Dumbledore too.
That man… that genius of a wizard, was the closest thing Harry had to a father figure. Everyone supposed that man to be Sirius, but no, Hermione knew the truth. Harry had looked up to Dumbledore as a boy would look up to his dad. And Dumbledore had kept practically everything from him, from the very start. That bubble of rage that seemed to have made a permanent home in her stomach just seemed to hover within her, wanting nothing more than to break free in the form of a prolonged shriek or destruction.
Finally, somewhere along her seething, night fell. She glanced at the clock. It was barely ten in the evening, but she knew she couldn't dare way a moment longer. With a deep breath, she emerged from her room. She descended the staircase, and stopped, facing the lounge, for only a moment.
"I'm going."
Snape, from his place in what Hermione deemed was truly his chair, nodded stiffly. "For Merlin's sake, please… be safe."
The nod she returned with was just as stiff. She went to the apparition point and left, arriving in Neville's room. Neville, who was gazing up at the ceiling as if he was trying to work out a puzzle in his head, jumped, nearly falling off the bed. He did, however, jerk to attention when he realized who his unexpected guest was.
"Hermione?"
"Call a meeting. I have some important news."
"More important than the potion?"
She nodded, and Neville lost no time. Using the coins, he sent the message out-the when and the where. It took only a moment, then, grabbing up his cloak, he approached her.
"The hill again," Neville said. "You remember?"
She nodded. They both apparated. It took some time, the two of them standing, silently, atop that grassy hill. Hermione had not thought to carry a watch, but she wagered it was at least an hour or longer before the other members of the resistance began to arrive. Fred and George, first, followed by Lee Jordan. Then several of the Hogwarts students that Hermione did not know by name. Ron seemed absent, and Hermione did not want to think what he would actually be up to, to miss this meeting. He had just been married. Shortly after the nameless students followed Ginny… but it was who followed Ginny that left everyone aghast.
Draco Malfoy, his white-blond hair shining in the moonlight, apparated into view, taking the smallest of steps to stand just at Ginny's elbow. Fred, George, Lee, and Neville pulled their wands, aiming it directly at him. Ginny threw herself in front of the wands, shaking her head.
"No!" she said.
"What the bloody hell is he doing here?" Hermione asked.
"Voldemort… He has to be stopped," Draco said, his voice sounding like a man who had never seen water.
"What the hell? Ginny, did you Imperius him?" Fred asked.
"No!" Ginny cried, indignant. "Of course not!"
"He killed my mother!" Draco rasped. "And, despite his promise, I doubt my-our -child is safe."
"I don't believe you," Hermione stated, plainly.
He whirled on Hermione. "I'll swear to it! Give me veritaserum! I'll drink it on the spot!"
"He's telling the truth," Ginny said, gripping her soon-to-be-husband's forearm.
"Veritaserum could be arranged," Neville said, thoughtfully. "Snape's bound to have some in his stores, back at Hogwarts."
Draco seemed to compose himself. "Fine. Go."
"Wait, how is he-?" George began, being cut off by the pop of Neville leaving.
There were several, several quiet moments that followed. Hermione began to get antsy, horribly aware that this visit to the school-unlike the one to get the book and the quill-had not been meticulously planned. But, at least a half hour later, Neville returned, brandishing a bottle that seemed to be filled with nothing but water.
"Give it here, then," Draco said.
"Three drops. It only takes three," Hermione instructed as Draco pulled the cork.
He sipped delicately at it, re-corking it and shoving the bottle at Hermione. After a moment, he sighed.
"Ask me anything."
Fred and George both opened their mouths, but Jordan held up his hand to stop them.
"I think he means something so we know he's telling the truth, boys," the former Quidditch announcer said.
The twins shrugged, and Hermione took the lead.
"You said that Voldemort needed to be stopped. Is that true?"
"Yes."
"You said you feared for your child. Is that true?"
"Yes."
Hermione pursed her lips as Ginny smiled softly. Hermione was in no mood for this. She pointed a sharp finger in Ginny's direction.
"Have you beaten her?"
The onlookers murmured amongst themselves. Draco looked pained, as if trying to fight the effect of the potion.
"Yes," he finally said, sounding as if the word had been wrangled from the very depths of his soul.
"Why should I believe that you would even love this child?"
"I love the baby even now," Draco said.
That took Hermione aback. But she pressed on.
"Would you die for your child's safety?"
"Yes."
"Will you keep the secret of this group?"
"Yes."
"Would you die for Ginny, baby or no?"
"Yes."
Gasps. Even Ginny looked shocked. Hermione ground her teeth together, a bad habit she had been broken of years ago by her dentist parents. She took a deep breath.
"Fine. Welcome to the resistance."
Neville clapped his hands together once, making sure that everyone followed his gaze as his eyes fell to Hermione.
"Now, why did you have me call this meeting, Hermione? You said it was important, more important than the potion."
She took an even deeper breath now. This was going to be the hardest thing she had ever done. But she did it. She told her friends, this resistance, everything. She told them about the Horcruxes-which she was pleased to find out that Ron had not previously told them this. She told them about destroying them, how many, and how this had been done. And, finally, she told them about Harry.
And, for reasons she could not rationally explain to herself at the moment, she heeded Snape's wishes and kept his name out of it. At the end of her explanation, no one spoke. Not for a long time. Everyone seemed properly shocked, and Ginny looked as if she were already mourning Harry's death. That little fire inside of Hermione, the one that flared up whenever she thought about Ron and Ginny's betrayals, stayed small. Draco seemed to have grown to care about Ginny… he wasn't going to hurt her anymore. She had gleaned that much, even if she hadn't asked the question directly. She found she couldn't be quite as angry as before. After all, she had already made some questionable decisions. But now was not the time to deal with those. She broke the silence.
"I've told Neville about the spare basilisk fang in the Chamber. The door has to be opened in Parseltongue, but I've just had a thought. What if we faked it?"
"What?" Neville asked.
Hermione shrugged. "I dunno. On muggle television all the time, actors are faking foreign languages and they sound real enough. Maybe that's what the door needs… not a real word in Parseltongue, but something that sounds close enough."
"It could work," Draco said, and several eyes flew to him as if he should not be speaking.
Fred and George looked particularly murderous. Neville broke the tension.
"What about the other Horcrux, the one that we don't use the fang on? And the snake, Nagini?"
"The Dark Lord is using my family's home as a base. I could just as easily poison Nagini," Draco said.
Hermione blinked, truly shocked. "That's a big risk."
Draco spared Ginny a glance that could have almost been classified as affectionate. "It's worth it."
"Then maybe we can come up with a really destructive spell for the other Horcrux," Hermione offered.
Everyone nodded. But no one was talking about the proverbial elephant in the room. No one was talking about Harry. Hermione was a Gryffindor. She was brave. She broached the subject.
"Harry deserves to know. To have a choice in this," she said.
They all nodded. Draco piped up again.
"He's more protected than anything else. I believe the Dark Lord is planning something. I don't know what. But it revolves around Potter, and he doesn't want him touched until then."
Hermione mulled this over. Then, looking up and around, she sighed.
"This isn't fair to ask of any of us, as we've all got much to lose, but… let's wait. Let's take our time, really think about this. We need to make sure no mistakes are made. We hold off. We hold off on the Horcruxes Neville found. We hold off on Nagini. We deal with Harry first. Let me… let me think. I'm… with Snape. Let me think it out."
"Right," Ginny said. "She's right. Harry comes first."
They all agreed. With a heavy heart, Neville adjourned the meeting. Slowly, people began to leave. The twins, Jordan, all of the nameless students. Finally, Neville turned to Hermione.
"How did you find all of this out?"
She smiled grimly. "You… wouldn't believe me if I told you. But I don't doubt that it's the truth. Do you trust me?"
"Of course we do," Ginny said.
"Thanks," she whispered. Raising her volume to normal, she added, "Let's all get back. It's gotten late. Can't have anyone suspecting."
And with that, the last of them apparated away, leaving the hill as solitary as it ever was.