"Old Moon Fades:" Chapter 21
Well, Chapter 21 is done! Thanks to professor_mary for her beta skills and helpful hints, etc.
Here it is (I still haven't fully grasped the concept of lj-cuts, so bear with me):
Old Moon Fades
Chapter Twenty-one: The Protection Charm
“Come on, Hermione… This is pointless. We aren’t going to find anything here. This kind of stuff isn’t written down in books,” Ron whined.
“Just give me a few more minutes, Ron, please. Then we can go down to dinner. I just know that there’s something here,” Hermione whispered distractedly before turning back to the stacks. “The answer must be here somewhere!”
“Face it, Granger, not every problem can be solved in the Library. Now, as much as I’ve enjoyed the last several hours we’ve spent pouring over these dusty tomes, I’ve got to admit, and I promise to curse any of you should this ever get repeated, but I happen to agree with the Weasel. This is a pointless waste of my time. I’m hungry. It’s dinnertime. I’m leaving,” Draco pronounced defiantly.
He was leaning against one of the bookcases, his eyes on his fingernails as he checked them for dust and dirt. Hermione snapped the book she held closed. Harry and Ginny had long since retreated to a nearby table where they sat, patiently waiting, for Hermione to realize the futility of the search. She was determined, however, and refused to leave until Madame Pince kicked her out.
Fed up with their childish behavior, she rounded on them. “This is not pointless! Harry’s future is not pointless! And yours isn’t either, for that matter!” she quietly screeched out, her gaze settling momentarily on Draco. “If you think that dinner is more important than trying to figure this out, then by all means, go!”
“They’re serving fried sausages and lamb chops tonight, and I don’t plan on missing it for this fool’s errand,” Draco replied smoothly, before looking up from his fingernails at Hermione. “I’ll see you around, Granger. I’m out of here.”
She missed the long look that passed between Harry and Draco.
“Fine, Malfoy, leave! Thanks for nothing!” Hermione hissed. She turned quickly to Ron and saw his pleading look of hunger, and all but yelled, “Oh, just go, Ron!”
She looked quickly over her shoulder at Ginny and Harry. “You two can leave if you want, as well. I can do this just fine on my own,” she said stubbornly.
Ginny looked at Harry, but he softly pushed her toward the door. “You go with Ron. Make sure he doesn’t try to hex Malfoy in front of a teacher or something. I’ll stay here with Hermione. I’ll be down in a bit.”
Ginny looked torn. Part of her obviously wanted to stay with Harry and the other wanted desperately to get away from the monotony of the Library. Hermione didn’t blame her; with the hours she’d required of them, she was surprised they hadn’t committed mutiny yet.
For the better part of a week, Hermione had asked the rest of them to spend as much time as their schedules would allow pouring over books in the Library. Her search for something that linked the two prophecies had, thus far, proved futile. But, Hermione was determined. The answer was just there, under the surface, and she’d been unable to uncover it. It was bothering her immensely that she couldn’t figure it out. No wonder everyone was getting annoyed with her. They had realized the truth long ago, a truth that she had pointedly ignored in foolish hope that she’d find something. Hermione hated to admit that she was wrong… and even more than that, hated to admit that she couldn’t solve the problem using a book. But, what else could she do?
Ginny said a quiet, regretful goodbye to Hermione and Harry before following quickly after her brother. Harry turned towards her, then, his face a mask of emotions.
“Thanks for staying, Harry. I’m glad at least one of you is concerned with the utter mystery of your two prophecies,” she said dryly.
“We’re all trying, Hermione. It’s just so damn hard to figure this out when we have basically nothing to go off of. We’re shooting in the dark, that’s all. Everybody is just as frustrated as you are,” Harry replied quietly.
“Oh, I know that. It’s just that I can’t manage this if I’m not trying something. This way, even if it does seem pointless, at least I’m doing something. It’s helping me cope, and having all my friends close to me, supporting each other, is helping, too,” she said, her voice low and focused.
“We’ll figure it out. I know we will. I just don’t know if it’ll happen in the Library. Something’s telling me that the answer isn’t in one of these books,” he said as he flipped through the pages of a book titled, “Protective Charms & Their Practical Uses.”
“Nevertheless, I can’t discount this information until I’ve exhausted it. If we don’t find the answer here specifically, maybe we’ll get an idea from one of these books. Let’s keep looking here in the Defense Spells and Charms section. I just know that there’s something here… somewhere,” she said, her attention already diverted to the rows of books in front of her.
“Look, Hermione. There’s something important I need to talk with you about,” Harry said hesitantly, trying to coax her from the books.
“Well, what is it?” she asked impatiently, eager to return to her research.
Harry shuffled on his feet before her and ran a hand through his unruly hair. He didn’t make eye-contact. “It’s about Malfoy…”
She dropped the book down to the stack of other books she’d piled on the floor, and turned to face him, an expression of confusion and fear on her face. “What? Is he alright? He just left a few minutes ago… Did Ron do something? Did something happen?!”
“He’s fine, Hermione. Sadly.”
“Oh. You had me worried there for a minute,” she replied, relief evident in her voice. “Well, what is it?” she asked when he hesitated.
“You know that I don’t like him. You know that Ron doesn’t like him…”
“I’m well aware of that fact. But, can’t you see that he’s changed? He’s really trying. All week he’s helped us, even though you and Ron have been absolutely horrible to him. You’ve got to admit that he’s been trying, at least.”
“I know that but that doesn’t mean that I trust him,” he paused. “But, I trust you. And if you think that he’s changed, then I’m willing to work with him.”
“Oh, Harry! That’s so wonderful-”
“This does NOT mean that I like him, cause frankly I don’t. But, we’re all stuck in this together, and if this is the only way that I can figure out how to defeat Voldemort, then I’m willing to work things out with Malfoy. Even though he’s an arrogant git and I’ll probably never be friends with him.”
“Really, I think that’s very mature of you to put your differences aside like this. You won’t be disappointed,” she replied happily, then regretting the tone of her voice that made it sound like she was trying to convince him of the fact. Then a look of interest crossed her face and she asked, “What caused this change of heart, Harry?”
“After the meeting in the Room of Requirement last week, he asked me if we could talk for a minute. I guess it didn’t really hit me until then just how much he’d already lost going into this. I mean, his dad was killed, and that is hard enough to go through without the knowledge that he’s responsible for it. And then, finding out his real heritage and discovering that the life he’d always led was a lie. I mean, that really struck home with me, since that’s basically what happened to me when I got my Hogwarts letter… And then, his prophecy and not knowing whatever the hell it means… It’s just he’s got a lot going on… and he’s still finding time to worry about you. I never thought he’d be the type to worry for anyone but himself.”
“What do you mean he’s worried for me?”
“That’s what he wanted to talk about after the meeting…”
* * *
“Potter, can I talk to you for a minute?” Malfoy asked before Harry could walk out the door.
Harry hesitated before nodding and quickly shutting the door before Hermione or Ginny noticed his absence. He turned around to face Malfoy slowly, unsure of what the other boy could possibly want to talk about that they hadn’t already gone over in the meeting. “So, what’s this about, Malfoy?”
“It’s no secret that I hold no warm fuzzy feelings for you, Potter. And it’s obvious that you don’t like me, either… though, I must say, I am remarkably easy to get along with. Look, I don’t want to become best mates with you, and certainly not with Weasley, but I’m willing to ignore you and try to get along in the sense of me pretending that you don’t exist.”
“How thoughtful of you,” Harry replied tersely.
“Listen, I’m not doing this for you or for me. This is not something that I want. I would much rather have absolutely nothing to do with these little Gryffindor tea parties, but it doesn’t work that way. I’m stuck with you, Potter, and you’re stuck with me. For Hermione’s sake, let’s just try to be civil.”
“Oh, so that’s what this is about. You’re going to pretend to get on with her friends so you can get into her knickers-”
Malfoy turned on him menacingly. “Don’t you even so much as mention her knickers, Scarhead, or I’ll make it to where even if you wanted to get on with a girl, you’d be incapable of performing…”
“Who do you think you are, Malfoy? What right do you have ordering me about? This is Hermione we’re talking about, my best friend, not yours.”
“Oh, so you’re going to play that game, are you? Since she’s your friend, she can’t possibly want anything to do with me, is that it? You’re mistaken, Potter. Open your eyes, or can’t you see through all that unruly hair of yours? You can’t hoard her away as yours and Weasley’s little homework helper. You can’t tell her who to like and who to dislike. And you certainly have no right to tell me what to do, since it looks like I’m the only one who can save your sorry arse.”
“Oh, and you’re basing that off your cryptic prophecy, eh, Malfoy?”
“Ahh,” he growled. “This is not how I intended things to go when I asked you to talk to me…” he sighed in obvious frustration. “I’ve got a favor I need to ask of you.”
Harry laughed. He couldn’t help it. It was funny, really, thinking that Malfoy had a favor to ask of him. But, his curiosity was peaked. “So, what is it then?”
“It’s about Hermione,” he started, but Harry cut him off.
“There’s no way that I’m going to help you get together with her-”
“Oh, just shut up, will you?! I’m not asking you to put in a good word for me! I’m not daft, don’t mistake me for the Weasel. I’m just concerned about her safety. That’s the whole reason I’m in here talking to you,” he said angrily.
Harry was surprised at Malfoy’s forcefulness and he was still intrigued. “Well, what is this favor, then?”
“I want you to give her this. I don’t know if she’d accept it from me right now, to be honest,” Malfoy said as he pulled a little black velvet pouch from a pocket in his robes.
Harry looked at it skeptically and took it when Malfoy offered it reluctantly. He pulled the little drawstring pouch open and hesitantly dumped its contents into the palm of his hand. He raised his eyes to Malfoy’s in question.
Malfoy rolled his eyes and shifted on his feet. “It’s a protection charm. I had it made shortly after receiving the letter from Mother. Oh, close your gob, Potter. It’s just a bit of jewelry.”
But it wasn’t just ‘a bit of jewelry.’ It must have cost a tidy sum. Harry had never seen anything like it, not that he had much experience with women’s jewelry. He honestly was having trouble wording a response. “It’s green,” he said, the awe in his voice unmistakable and Harry kicked himself for it.
“Yeah, I was pretty sure you’d say that. It’s called an emerald, Potter,” he replied sarcastically. “I had a red one done up, too, just in case you wouldn’t give this one to her on account of the color,” he said as he pulled another pouch from the depths of his pocket. He handed this one over wordlessly.
Harry again dumped the contents of the pouch into his hand warily. Sure enough, this one was nearly identical to the other one, except that this one had a red stone. Harry’s brow wrinkled together. “I’m not sure I get this. What’s the point, they’re just necklaces.”
Malfoy sighed audibly and for a moment, Harry was reminded of Hermione’s reaction to his or Ron’s asking an inane question. “There are spells worked into the stone and the setting and the gold. Strong magic. That’s what took me so long to have them done. I ordered them the day after I received the letter, and that was well over a week ago. The stones themselves don’t cost too much, and neither does the gold for the chain or the setting. The bulk of the cost comes from the actual spell-casting. And it was even harder because I ordered two.”
“And you want me to give these to Hermione? What makes you think I would do something like that for you?”
“It’s simple really, Potter. I would have thought you’d have caught on, that’s why I didn’t ask to speak with the Weasel,” he said lightly, then sighed. “I don’t know what Mother has planned, but whatever it is, it can’t be good. I just want to make sure that she’s safe.”
“But, Dumbledore put up wards and stuff all over the castle. As long as she’s here at Hogwarts she’ll be fine.”
“That’s the thing, isn’t it, Potter. She’s not likely to be in the castle when the fighting begins, because she’s always chasing off after you to make sure nothing happens to Dumbledore’s Golden Boy. I just want to make sure that no matter where she is, she’s safe. I don’t trust Dumbledore’s wards, anyway.”
Even though Harry didn’t like what Malfoy was saying, he had to agree with the logic. Hermione really wasn’t likely to be in the castle when the fighting began, and whose fault was that? Mine. He started to feel the guilt gnawing away at his conscience.
“I don’t know, Malfoy…” Harry replied hesitantly.
“Take them to Flitwick if you feel like having them tested. He’ll be able to tell you that they’re legitimate.”
“Why can’t you give them to her yourself?”
“Because, the last time I tried giving her anything she accused me of trying to ‘buy her off!’ If they’re coming from you then she can’t get mad at me. Plus, you’ve got the money to buy this sort of thing, too, don’t you? You could just make her think that you bought them instead of me. That way, you’re still the hero, I’m not trying to buy forgiveness, and she’s protected. See, Potter, it’s a win-win situation all around.”
Harry spent a moment trying to decide what to do. He didn’t really want to help Malfoy, but he did want to protect Hermione. “Fine, I’ll take them to Flitwick. But, I’m not promising anything,” Harry said finally.
Malfoy smiled and Harry didn’t even think the blonde boy realized it. “Good. I knew you’d do the right thing. You Gryffindors, always so foolishly noble,” he said and seeing Harry’s scowl, replied, “Sorry. Habit. Just let me know what you plan on doing. If you decide not to give them to her, then I’ll have to come up with something else.”
Then the other boy swept out of the room leaving Harry standing in the middle of the Room of Requirement with his hands filled with the jewelry. He quickly replaced the necklaces into their individual pouches and hid them away in his pockets.
Harry was surprised at Malfoy’s request. He’d never thought that the other boy would be concerned with anyone other than himself. He was still unsure about what to do, but at that moment, it didn’t matter because it was dinner time and he was hungry.
The next afternoon he had time to go see Flitwick about the charms. But he chose to spend his free time playing Wizarding Chess with Ron in the Common Room. The entire time, he could feel the weight of the jewelry in his pocket and it distracted him from his game. Ron easily beat him within the first half-hour.
The following night they had Quidditch practice and that gave him enough excuse not to take the necklaces by Flitwick’s office. But when practice let out early on account of Ron’s head connecting with the goal post, he again had no excuse. Instead he asked Hermione if she wanted to do some research in the library on the prophecies. Ginny had joined them happily and the evening was spent again discussing the possibilities of the individual prophecies. Hermione asked if they could invite Malfoy but none of them had any idea where he might have been.
By the third day, he’d run out of excuses. Hermione was spending every free second she had in the Library. Sometimes with Malfoy, but usually not. It seemed that the Slytherin was trying to stay away until Harry decided what to do.
That’s why he was surprised when he was practically accosted in the hallway on the evening of the fourth day, as he made his way back up to the Common Room alone after dinner. Hermione had convinced Ron and Ginny to go with her to the Library and Harry had faked a headache to get out of it.
A pale hand snaked out and latched onto his arm and all but dragged him into the stairwell. Harry fidgeted as Malfoy stared him down. He didn’t know why he felt so guilty.
“So, have you given it to her, then?”
“No. I’ve been busy and haven’t had the chance to take them by Flitwick’s office. I planned on doing it tomorrow-”
“Don’t you get it, Potter? This isn’t about you and me, and our little mutual hatred. This is about Hermione and keeping her safe. There is a war going on, Potter. Or have you forgotten?”
“I haven’t forgotten, Malfoy,” he snapped back, his pride and sense of loyalty injured. “I’ll do it tomorrow. I mean it.”
“See that you do. If anything happens to her because you were too proud to do this, then you haven’t the faintest idea what I would do to you. She needs to be protected. If I wasn’t afraid that she wouldn’t accept them from me, then I’d have given them to her myself.”
“I’ll do it, Malfoy. Tomorrow. I’ll let you know how it goes,” he said. He was surprised at the tone of his voice. Malfoy was worried and nervous and that made Harry nervous, too.
“Fine. See you around, Potter.”
“Malfoy, we’re all meeting up in the library tomorrow after classes,” Harry said before he could really think about it. He instantly regretted it.
“Fine. Just don’t forget about the charms,” he said as he disappeared around the curve of the staircase.
Harry made up his mind then. If Malfoy could be putting the past behind them and trying to at least be civil, then he could at least try to do the same. He started walking to Flitwick’s office, hoping that the ancient professor would have made it there so quickly after dinner.
He knocked lightly on the small wooden door and almost turned to go when he heard Flitwick’s squeaky voice beckoning him inside. He bent low so as to fit through the door and shuffled inside. The office was small, as was the professor. Flitwick sat behind a tiny desk and appeared to be grading papers.
“Good evening, Professor. I hope I’m not interrupting you,” he said reluctantly.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, after all.
“Nonsense, Mr. Potter! I’m glad to help my students in any way. What can I do for you this evening?” Flitwick asked cheerfully.
Harry shifted his weight from foot to foot nervously. Finally he asked, “Would you examine something for me? I have some jewelry that I’d like your opinion on…”
Flitwick’s eyes lit up and danced merrily. His hands reached forward eagerly to accept the velvet pouches that had been burning holes in Harry’s pocket for four days. Carefully the professor dumped the contents of the pouches onto the surface of his desk. Harry heard a tiny squeak of excitement.
“Mr. Potter, you must really like this girl to have spent so much money on these protective charms. I’ve honestly never seen the like,” he said in awe.
Harry fidgeted again. “I uh… They’re not… Well, you see, Professor… Yeah.” He said finally, his face he knew to be as red as Ginny’s hair.
“Come here, Mr. Potter. Let me show you,” Flitwick requested as he beckoned with an old, wrinkled finger. Harry took the few steps closer. “The stone, by itself, has no real powers, but certain stones have an affinity for a particular charm. In this case,” he said as he held up the emerald, “the emerald has an affinity for protective and healing charms. The more flawless the stone, the better it takes the charm. Emeralds can also sharpen the mind and quicken intelligence if charmed properly.”
“I see,” Harry said. “What about the charms themselves? How strong are they?”
“Well, Mr. Potter, I believe that you got what you paid for. These are very strong and while they can’t exactly prevent an Unforgivable, they can shield the wearer from the brunt of the curse. In this case, the charms are sensitive to only the initial wearer, so they would only protect the first person to put them on. After the necklace goes around the first person’s neck, it will only protect her, never anyone else. This is to ward away theft,” Flitwick responded happily, oblivious to Harry’s discomfort.
“What about the other one? The red one?” Harry asked.
“Oh, the ruby. You see, the ruby, like the emerald has an affinity for protective charms. The charms placed on this particular necklace are just as strong as those on the emerald. Really, they are about equal in terms of protective qualities. It’s really up to you, or your lady friend, which one she wears,” Flitwick said conspiratorially, his thick white eyebrows waggling.
“I see… Well, thanks, Professor. Glad to know the money was well spent,” he said as he packed the necklaces back into their pouches. He made his way to the door again, eagerly intent on leaving. However, Flitwick’s voice called him back.
“I’m not sure what you’re afraid of, Mr. Potter, but these charms will certainly protect your loved ones. I’m really very impressed by your obvious desire for their safekeeping. It shows what type of man you are becoming, Mr. Potter, that you care friends to this extent,” Flitwick said quietly.
Harry sighed inaudibly and nodded his head, for none of this was his doing. “Thank you, Professor.”
The door shut behind him and he felt his heart, heavy in chest. Flitwick’s praise was not meant for him, but for Malfoy. He wasn’t responsible for any of it. If he wanted to be honest with himself, he’d acknowledge that Malfoy really did deserve some sort of credit for trying to make things work. He hadn’t really tried to instigate any big fights with Ron and had actually seemed semi-friendly with Ginny. And it was obvious that he liked Hermione. And that she liked him back. That was a scary thought… It was strange to think of Hermione having romantic feelings toward anybody.
But they were all growing up, and as their current predicament showed, they were capable of handling problems as adults, as well. Except him. He’d acted immaturely all week, putting childish animosity before protecting his friends. Harry made a second decision then. He’d try to be civil toward Malfoy, and encourage Ron and Ginny to as well, if only for the sole purpose of everyone’s safety. It didn’t do any good for them to fight when what was needed was unity. Hadn’t Dumbledore been preaching that since first year? Why did it always take a crisis to make him see the truth? Harry felt angry with himself for being so blind.
With the velvet pouches tucked safely into his pocket, he strode back to Gryffindor Tower with purpose and determination for the future. He would make things work. He would see that the feelings between Malfoy and himself would not jeopardize his friend’s futures, as it already had with Hermione that summer. He would ensure that nothing like that would happen again, if he was capable of preventing it.
* * *
“So, that’s what happened,” Harry said quietly, after relaying the events of the previous week to Hermione.
Hermione stood absolutely still, a book still clutched tightly in her fingers. Finally, after considerable effort, she looked up at him. “And you still have the charms? They’re in your pocket? You’ve been carrying them around all week?”
Harry sighed and scratched at the side of his face, his mouth contorted in a guilty scowl. “Yeah, do you want them now?”
She couldn’t decide. Of course she wanted them. But it was strange taking jewelry from Harry, even if it was really from Draco. Slowly she nodded her head. Harry reluctantly pulled two black velvet pouches from a pocket in his robes and handed them over. She felt the weight shift from his palm to her own.
She didn’t open them. She couldn’t. Draco hadn’t given them to her, yet. She wouldn’t open it until he had given it to her himself. She was not accepting jewelry through a messenger. Even if it was Harry. In all truth, she was touched at Draco’s thoughtfulness. And a little excited. It was a rather romantic gesture, after all…
Slowly, Hermione dropped the pouches down into the pocket of her own robes and smiled up at Harry. He was still staring at her, a mixture of guilt and determination on his face. Upon seeing her reassuring smile, he laughed quietly and rolled his eyes.
“I never thought I’d see the day when Malfoy would ask me the favor of delivering expensive jewelry to my best friend. Next thing you know, pigs will fly through the Great Hall at Christmas, and Snape will ask us to tea…” he said jokingly. Then the smile dropped from his face and he got quiet again. “I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you. I’m just having trouble adjusting to the idea of Malfoy being… well, nice. And especially nice to you. I think he likes you, you know…”
“Really? You think so? I don’t know, Harry…” she asked, attempting to disguise the hopefulness in her voice.
Harry laughed. “Oh, come on, Hermione. He buys you expensive jewelry laced with the strongest protection charms that money can buy, and then he not only buys one, but two, so that you can pick which one you want… Most blokes will settle for a date at Madame Puddifoots. Not Malfoy. No, he’s got to do everything bigger and better than everybody else at Hogwarts. I’m actually quite worried, cause he’s certainly set the bar pretty high for the rest of us.”
She laughed and felt the blood rushing to her cheeks, no doubt staining them a vivid red. “Stop it, Harry. You’re teasing me!”
“I know,” he said happily. Then his voice lowered and took on a more serious tone. “Just be careful, okay? I don’t want to see you get hurt. I would have done the same thing for you and Ginny had I thought of it myself.”
She quickly pulled him in for a tight, reassuring hug. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.” She pulled back from the embrace and smiled conspiratorially at him. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you… What’s going on with you and Ginny?”
A look of morbid horror crossed his face and he turned rather purple.
She laughed. “You know, there are two of these things… you still have the opportunity of giving one to her. That is, if Malfoy doesn’t get to her first.”
His expression changed, then. It turned from purple to jealous and protective in a matter of moments. He still hadn’t said anything.
“It’s not too late, you know, Harry,” she teased. Then she panicked. “Oh, no! What time is it?! My goodness, dinner is almost over! I’ve got to go thank Draco! Harry, I’ll see you later in the Common Room. You’ll put these books away won’t you? Thanks. See you!”
And she practically ran from the Library down to the Great Hall, leaving Harry staring after her confusedly.
A/N: I've already written about half of Chapter 22 and will have that uploaded once Professor Mary gets back from vacation... I'm so jealous. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
~ Taigan