Complete silence greeted Hermione's pronouncement. Albus was the first person to find his voice.
"The wards have held for a thousand years; they were designed for longevity, and they are strengthened when necessary."
"It's true that they were designed to be self-sustaining for as long as possible," she answered, "but nothing lasts forever. They have held this long, as you have said, but that does not mean they are capable of continuing indefinitely. You test periodically to ensure that the wards have not been breached because those instructions were passed down through the ages from headmaster to headmaster. There are still areas that are worn, significantly weakened over the years, or badly damaged. I suspect that Voldemort may have made some effort at sabotage when he was here. If he were to attack at the right place with sufficient numbers, there is every chance he could break through."
Albus was regarding her with narrowed eyes that were not twinkling. "You are speaking with a great deal of certainty."
Hermione inclined her head. "I know more about the Hogwarts wards than anyone alive."
"What makes you think so?" Minerva asked mildly.
Hermione wondered if Minerva had felt it her duty to ask the question as the deputy headmistress, saving Albus the effort.
"The full information on the wards was hidden," Hermione answered. "It was revealed to me."
"You just happened across the full details of the school wards."
She had to actually stop herself from smiling. Severus's question was as dry as the Sahara; if this were a moment of school discipline, any student would know that it was about to go very, very poorly. Fortunately for Hermione, it had happened just as she said, and for all intents and purposes, she was in charge of this meeting.
"Essentially, yes," she admitted. "I saw some hidden wards that intrigued me, and when I investigated, I found the information."
No need to tell everyone about that minor "seeing magic" detail.
"Could it be found by just anyone?" Severus asked, still sounding as though he didn't believe the events or the manner in which she was saying they had occurred.
She supposed it did sound a bit like the old "A hippogriff ate my homework" excuse.
Hermione shook her head. "There were a number of requirements tied into the wards that prevented the vast majority of the population from getting through them even had they found them—which would be unlikely. To get past the first layer of the wards, you need to be a Pure Adult. Based on how they were hidden, though, and what was hidden…." Hermione sighed as she admitted, "They were left for me—specifically—to find."
The look on Severus's face was one of outright doubt. Varying degrees of scepticism were painted across the other faces in the room. Even Harry, Draco, and Ron looked rather puzzled.
"It sounds unlikely, I know," she admitted. "But when you're addressed by name when you open a thousand-year-old document, it tends to be rather convincing."
Remus and Severus started to speak at the same time, and rather than conceding to the other man, as Remus would normally have done in Hermione's experience, the Gryffindor just kept talking. Loudly.
"Isn't it possible that the document was addressing another Hermione?"
The mild tone at the overbearing volume was a little disconcerting.
"No," she denied. "They were addressed to me."
She glanced at Fawkes, and she didn't even have to say anything for him to understand.
The journals named you Berit.
She nodded mentally. I suppose I'll have to talk with Castina.
It had never occurred to her before that perhaps Castina had named her for a reason.
"They identified 'Hermione Granger' specifically?" Albus inquired shrewdly.
She gazed assessingly at Fawkes. I don't need to have a talk with you, do I?
Fawkes streaked across the room and perched upon her shoulder.
"They identified me directly, yes," she said to Albus, though this did not, of course, quite answer his question.
I was not at Hogwarts at that time, Girlicorne, Fawkes answered her.
She would accept that for now, although it did not precisely answer her question, either. Smiling at him, she asked wryly, Did I look as though I needed some support?
He shrugged. The view is better from over here.
Hermione chose to accept the support rather than correcting that ridiculous statement.
"How is it that you explain this miraculous occurrence?" Severus demanded.
With a slight grimace, she said reluctantly, "Loathe as I am to admit it, I have to concede the existence of some legitimate Seers."
Ron let out a guffaw. "Think we could get Trelawney out of her tower to hear that?"
She couldn't help grinning at him, although she refrained from making any of the comments about legitimate Seers which she was thinking very loudly.
The huff of amusement from Fawkes, the slight cough from Albus, and the wide grin from Harry said that it was entirely loud enough to broadcast to other MindSpeakers. She was sure that Severus had got it, too, he was just better at hiding it.
Oops, she thought unrepentantly.
Harry spoke up. "So you're saying one of the Founders was a Seer? And you found letters addressed to you from them?"
"I found journals," she corrected, "from the creator of the wards, from one Pure Adult to another. None of the Founders were Seers."
Albus, Severus, and Minerva spoke in union. "The Founders created the wards."
"No, they didn't, though you can see that they were successful in perpetuating that myth. In fact, none of them had a particular affinity for warding, and they accepted that an expert would be beneficial."
"They wouldn't trust someone off the street to cast the wards that were going to protect Hogwarts for centuries," Severus said dismissively.
She was beginning to seriously prefer Kingsley and Tonks's style of meeting attendance, silently listening to all the information she had to share before offering commentary of any kind.
"Nor did they," she responded. "The wards were cast by Salazar's daughter, Solace."
"He didn't have a daughter." This was Draco.
"Salazar had only sons." Severus.
She shook her head. "Solace was his youngest, his only daughter. His sons were all in their teens, and she was a late baby. He and his wife had been travelling, I do not know the precise details, but he was away when she went into labour. She died giving birth to Solace while attended by a Muggle midwife. He was … distraught, but his daughter was a solace to him. He'd always wanted a little girl, and he spoiled her tremendously. They were very happy."
Solace had conjured very strong images of that time, and Hermione wondered if she had known that she would have to counter a millennium of misinformation and the ingrained prejudices of a Gryffindor. It had at least worked so far in preventing any of the Slytherins in the room from telling her off further.
"She wished to stay at the school with her father, and he indulged her, considering no marriage contracts. But once she became a Pure Adult, he began to contemplate the unions she could make that would strengthen two pure-blood lines and which would bring his family glory and power."
"That's barbaric!" Harry couldn't seem to contain himself.
Draco stiffened at his side, as did Severus across the room. The former, Hermione was pretty sure, had been bound in a similar contract until he broke with his family, and Severus no doubt saw Harry's words as an attack against Salazar in particular.
You're going to owe Draco an apology for that, Hermione told Harry quietly.
She hurried on, struggling for a diplomatic explanation since all her feminist hackles had been raised when she had read about it, no matter all the mitigating circumstances she also understood. "It was an established practice at the time. Unfortunately for all Salazar's plans, Solace fell in love with a Muggle. She squandered her gift, as her father saw it. He forbade her to marry, but she did so anyway. He disowned her, striking her from all records." She eyed Draco and Severus. "This left even those who proudly live in his House to believe he had no daughters, for Solace left the castle and went to live with her husband."
Hermione noticed that Harry's hand had curled around Draco's, and the blond had allowed the contact.
"Solace had four children, three of whom were magical. Years passed, but even a decade didn't reconcile Salazar to this desertion, and he wasn't prepared to admit the suitability of his daughter's choice even in the face of his clever, magical grandchildren. In his bitterness and anger, he tried to have them barred from the school. Since Solace had been disowned, she had ceased to have any status in the wizarding community."
Severus was the first to catch on. "Leaving Salazar free to argue against the inclusion of Muggle-borns at the school."
Hermione nodded. "The resentment that had started with the death of his wife burned only brighter because of the Muggle who'd stolen his daughter. The other Founders refused to be swayed by his arguments, and Helga and Godric invited Solace back to the castle with her husband and children, the safest environment for such a magical family. Salazar resented this and eventually broke with the school completely."
"You're saying the entire issue of pure-blood is based on a ... misunderstanding?" Draco said, sounding horrified.
"Yes," she said, "and no."
Harry had a sudden coughing fit, and she realized exactly who she sounded like in that moment. It was turning out to be quite handy that she'd taught Harry Occlumency because she wouldn't otherwise have understand half of the things he found funny. Albus was looking awfully twinkly.
She resumed. "Salazar did have a strong belief in the superiority of wizards; this was exacerbated by what happened to his wife and daughter. Blaming Muggles was the easy way to assign fault. He may well have decided to try to block Muggle-borns from the school without further prompting, as he saw it as weakening strong wizarding lines and important wizarding traditions. Solace was a catalyst."
Severus broke in. "If any of this is true. The person whose journals you were reading claims to have been conveniently disowned, allowing her story to rely on the fact that no information about her exists. Very clever."
"Although it is true that there is room for doubt," she agreed, "I would not bring this information to you if I did not believe it to be true. You might like to know, as a point of interest, Severus, that everything she said about you has been perfectly accurate."
There was no damn way she was going to call him "professor" when everyone in the room knew that they'd slept together. Solace's prophetic remarks about her difficult "mate" had, indeed, been spot on.
She had to wonder what it must have been like for the woman, seeing events and people this far into the future. The Slytherin hadn't written much about the experience itself, just included those details which made Hermione, however reluctantly at first, believe in her.
Severus's eyes had narrowed to slits, and Kingsley spoke up. Hermione was pretty sure it was solely so that Severus didn't manage it first.
"Perhaps it would be beneficial for others to examine these journals."
She shook her head. "That's not possible."
It was Severus who snarled, "And why not?"
"The journals have a variety of protections on them. Only Pure Adults can touch them and—"
"Mr Potter, then," Severus snapped.
As though hearing it from Harry would convince him.
"That was only one of the protections," she said sharply. If he'd let her finish a sentence, he would know that. "None of you can read them."
As she'd understood the spells, she could, in fact, cast the proper inclusion charms—and it would be especially easy to do for her "mate"—but she wasn't about to go there right now.
"We've come across some charmed belongings in our line of work," Tonks said, indicating herself and Kingsley, "possessions that can only be accessed by certain people. But normally it's either charmed to the owner or charmed to a family line. I've never heard of a possession being charmed to a person who doesn't exist yet."
She looked to Kingsley, who shook his head in agreement, and they both looked to Hermione, who tried not to sigh, because she was pretty sure this wasn't going to go over terribly well.
"As I told you, Solace had one unmagical child. This was her youngest, Serenity. Serenity married a Muggle, just as her mother had done before her, but since she wasn't magical herself, she eventually chose to join the Muggle world rather than remain in the magical one. Serenity had only one child, who possessed no magical talents either, and so it continued down and down the line with only one child, one daughter, who was always born without magic, until the fact that there was ever any magical blood in the line was lost completely." She smiled faintly. "Many pure-bloods would no doubt tell you that the tainted Muggle blood had obliterated all magical ability forever."
Severus looked as though he wanted to ask what the hell this spurious history lesson had to do with anything.
"But they would be wrong?" Harry prompted.
"But on September nineteenth, 1979, they were proved wrong," Hermione answered.
Harry blinked. "When you were born."
She nodded.
"You're descended from Salazar Slytherin," Draco repeated flatly.
She nodded again. "With the veriest fraction of a percent of Salazar's blood in me."
Without warning, Draco dissolved into laughter. They watched with surprise as his aesthetic features gave way to complete and utter mirth, and Hermione found herself grinning stupidly just like Harry was doing. Ron looked stunned.
The Slytherin finally wiped tears from the corner of his eyes and sat up properly again. "Sorry. But please tell me we're going to let the Dark Lord know that before he dies."
"I'll put it down on the list," Harry promised as solemnly as he could.
Hermione resumed her explanation feeling considerably better than she had done before Draco's attack of laughter. "There are blood protections on the journals excluding those without Slytherin blood. The Pure Adult qualifier, as you might have guessed, ensures that Voldemort couldn't have accessed them."
"About that," Harry spoke up, sounding confused. "I thought Voldemort was the last of Slytherin's line. That was the whole point about Parseltongue and his being the Heir of Slytherin, right?"
Hermione nodded. "Yes, but you forget that Solace was disowned."
Draco, Ron, and the other pure-bloods in the room were nodding faintly. They understood a magical disownment better than she and Harry ever could.
"On top of that, Serenity went to live in the Muggle world. They were always daughters and thus being married into other families with names changing every generation. They were never prolific, and they … slipped between the cracks, I guess you could say, beyond the observation of the wizarding world and out of memory really."
"Then how did you gather this family tree?" Harry questioned.
Hermione smiled. "Solace outlined it in her journals."
"But how could she possibly write down her entire line after her when she was the beginning of it?"
Hermione smiled. "Because she was a witch. Because she was a Seer. You've seen magical family trees before."
"It can't be wrong?" Harry asked.
"It's not impossible," Hermione conceded, "but these sorts of spells are usually pretty accurate. I can attest to the fact that she got my name right, as well as those of my parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and great greats. I haven't had the chance to investigate further than that yet. I know it's a lot to accept, but you can't really doubt that she cast the wards because she outlined exactly how they were made, how to access them, and how to re-cast them; if I wished, I could bring them down right now."
"Impossible," Severus said, and Albus looked as though he were thinking it.
"Unlikely, I know, but what do you think happened this morning? Before I came to you, I wanted to verify that I could do what would be necessary. I can. Therefore, once all the students have left at the end of the school year, we'll prepare to re-cast the wards."
"You mean to leave Hogwarts completely unprotected? Are you insane?" Severus asked.
Hermione smiled brightly and answered, "Yes. What better opportunity for Voldemort to attack than that?"
Even Severus didn't immediately rally, and she was able to continue with no interruptions.
"Voldemort will arrive with his Death Eaters and all the foul creatures he's dragged into the fight. He'll find all the wards down. He'll find that he can reach the grounds without resistance and will think he can take us by surprise or at least overpower us with his numbers."
"The castle wards can't be re-cast quickly enough to protect us," Albus pointed out.
"No, they can't," she agreed. "But if I buffer them and render them inert, then they will appear to be down. They will be in abeyance rather than actually removed, but no one will be able to tell the difference. I can then restore the wards, trap everyone, and we can defeat Voldemort once and for all."
Severus sneered a question once more. "In the midst of reading these outdated journals, you've come up with a way to defeat the Dark Lord, have you?"
"This is why I've brought you here," she said, ignoring the tone in which the question had been asked. "This is why I risked accessing the wards. When we get Voldemort here, we will defeat him once and for all."
"How?" Harry asked.
She faced them bleakly. "Using a spell that was hidden immediately upon its creation a thousand years ago. I shan't explain to you how it works, but I assure you that it will defeat Voldemort."
Solace had been certain that it would.
"You can't know that," Albus said, eyes piercingly blue. "I have searched for years for such a spell."
"And did not find this one for it was hidden for me. Fuelled by our magic and our intent, the spell will pass judgement on one of our family members. And when Voldemort is found wanting, he will be destroyed utterly."
"What 'our'?" Draco asked. "You're the only one related to Voldemort."
Harry gave him a sharp nudge in the ribs which Draco protested with a hissed, "It's true."
"You're mostly right," she answered with a sad smile. "It takes the blood of three magical blood relatives to enact this spell. She left me enough of her blood for the spell."
"That's two, then," Draco pointed out. "You said you needed three, and as Harry pointed out already, Voldemort was the last of the Slytherin line bar you."
She nodded. "And this is where Voldemort has spelled his own doom."
"My blood," Harry said suddenly. "You mean to use my blood."
Hermione nodded at him, and there was a restless shuffle around the room as everyone else seemed to remember just how Voldemort had resurrected himself.
"So that's what I've asked you all here for," Hermione summarized. "I have a plan, and I believe it will succeed. I put it before you."
She had every intention of going through with the plan whether they agreed to it or not; she could manipulate the wards without them if she had to, and she was certain that she could convince Harry to go along with her. But she believed that there was a better chance of success with everyone's support.
Albus was still regarding her with eyes that were much sharper than normal. "This certainly gives us a great deal to consider, Hermione. I'm sure you'll understand if we need some time."
"Of course," she said agreeably.
He wasn't going to refuse her; he'd been looking for a way to completely defeat Voldemort for years, and she was presenting it to him.
The headmaster continued, "I'm sure we don't need to tell anyone that this information is extremely sensitive and must be kept strictly confidential."
There was a murmur of agreement around the room as the meeting broke up at the clear dismissal. Kingsley and Remus left together, the latter man not even trying to come with a reason to stay with Tonks under the circumstances.
Ron was the next to go, rather apologetically, because he had Quidditch practice the next day. He thanked her and gave her a squeeze on the arm on the way out, and she was not sure if this was for being included in the meeting or to reassure her that he didn't mind that she had some Slytherin blood in her.
She supposed if there was anyone she'd thought would react really badly to the news, it would have been him.
Minerva stayed to speak with Albus, Fawkes flew back to his perch, and that left Hermione, Draco, Harry, and Severus to leave together and head down those long stairs. She was caught again in the hum of the centre of the castle but didn't have the opportunity to seriously consider pausing because Severus took hold of her arm and simply pulled her past the griffin and on down the corridor.
"You and I are going to have a discussion," he snarled.
Erm, should I be cursing him for you? Harry asked, confused by the sudden turn of events.
She sent him a reassuring smile. It's all right. I was fairly certain this was going to happen, and I'm prepared for it. It wouldn't go better if you decided to curse him first; I'd like to leave his quarters with all my limbs attached, thank you.
If you're sure.
Of course, she answered reassuringly because protecting Harry and Severus from one another had become second nature by now.
Severus didn't even say goodbye to Draco when the younger Slytherin and Harry stopped at their quarters; Severus just kept going with her in tow.
Once they were inside his quarters and he'd flung her in the direction of a chair, he began to pace with frantic energy.
She stood there and watched him, and he whirled on her finally. "Are you completely out of your mind?"
"It's a good plan, Severus," she argued. "It's going to work."
"How do you know that?" he demanded.
"It's not foolproof," she answered, making sure her voice remained calm and serious. "No plan that we come up with that's the least bit realistic would be impervious to problems and errors. But I've come up with the best realistic plan possible. Voldemort's not going to be prepared for it; it's using 'power that the Dark Lord knows not', and I believe in my heart that we can do this."
"It's dangerous. Don't you realize what could happen to all of us? What could go wrong? What you could do? Look at how you were this afternoon!" he snarled. "You nearly killed yourself, and that was your 'little test'. I don't see how you could declare that successful."
She cleared her throat, embarrassed again. "I spent longer with the wards than I'd originally intended, but I was also doing it on my own. I need support for the real effort; I need someone to ground me. With help, I believe I can function without the deleterious effect that I experienced this morning."
"You don't think Mr Potter will be a little busy worrying about the Dark Lord to ground you?" Severus asked snidely.
She swallowed but forced herself to answer. "He was not the person I intended to ask."
For the first time that evening, Severus really looked at her, his dark eyes boring into hers.
After a long pause, he said flatly, "You think I'll agree to this mad scheme."
"I think my chances of success are greatly diminished without you," she admitted. "You're crucial to my plan, Severus."
He turned away from her, resuming his pacing.
"Do you realize what could happen if you stretch yourself too thin when you're accessing the wards?"
She nodded, realized he probably couldn't see her with all his whipping back and forth in front of the fire.
"I could burn out my core," she answered matter-of-factly. "If that's the price I have to pay to help defeat Voldemort, then so be it. I'm hoping that I'll have enough assistance that that chance becomes rather remote."
He turned round to face her again. "And if I refuse? You'll do it anyway?"
The smile she offered him was twisted. "You know me. You know what I am."
"Foolish Gryffindor," he swore, finishing the thought. "You're one hundred percent certain that this woman, Solace, is who she says she is? Her information is good?"
"I believe her," Hermione confirmed. "I know it's a lot to ask all of you to believe in her based solely on what I've read, but she left extensive journals, Severus, and everything she's written rings true."
"But you say she not only came here with her father, she came back and, what, stayed for years and designed the wards for the entire grounds?" She nodded. Severus frowned. "How can we not have heard of her? She should be recorded."
Hermione sighed. "She was. She was well aware of her father's temperament when she was invited back by Godric and Helga; she knew Salazar did not want her to return. But she loved her family, her new one, not just her old one, and this school that had been her home was the best protection for them. Her father had done a thorough job of erasing all record of her and, for better or worse, she respected that.
"It had only been a decade, so there were those who could have recognized her. So she wore a Glamour, and she went by her married name. She was brilliantly talented and very strong magically; no matter what her father thought, I do not believe her gift was in any way squandered. She—"
Severus interrupted. "She was a Pure Adult who married a Muggle. How does that even work?"
Hermione considered a snide comment given the asinine construction of the sentence, but she knew what he meant, and she didn't actually want him to get more explicit because this was wandering into dangerous territory.
"If you believe her father, they were incompatible, and she squandered her gift."
"But you believe differently."
"Yes," Hermione confirmed. "I'm not sure, but ... while she couldn't make her husband magical, I think the magic went into the genes, into the family line, the part of him that could be rendered magical, if you will. One unmagical girl after one unmagical girl, over and over down the line, never dying out for a thousand years." She shrugged. "That's my guess, anyway."
Severus considered her silently for a moment, before saying, "You were explaining how Solace's presence was recorded."
She would take his lack of argument as acceptance of the hypothesis for the moment.
"Yes, it was as a wards-mistress that she remained in the school. She also became the Head of Slytherin once her father left."
"There was never a Solace who was a Head of Slytherin. The Head of House after Salazar was—" He stopped abruptly, and she saw the details come together for him. "It was Sorrow Planctus. Wards-mistress. One of the best Heads of House Slytherin has ever had."
Hermione nodded. "She remained Solace to herself, in her journals, but to the world, ever since she was disowned, she was known as Sorrow."
Severus let out a huff of breath. "Sorrow Planctus was Salazar's daughter? You might have said."
"You would still have disbelieved me," she said simply.
His eyes narrowed slightly, as though he were going to protest, but to her surprise, what came out was, "You would have made a fine Slytherin."
Her lips tipped up. "I suspect the Hat considered putting me there, though it didn't say it in so many words."
She would not have understood, at the time, not given everything she'd read in Hogwarts: A History.
An eyebrow rose sharply. "The Hat seriously considered putting you in Slytherin?"
She shrugged. "Nine billionths of Salazar's blood does a bizarrely large amount to counter the astronomically high quantity of mud-blood."
"Don't use such terms," he said with quiet intensity.
And the parallels suddenly became too precise. Knowing how the last such scene had played out in this room, she realized she needed to get out.
"I have to go," she said, heading straight for the door. "Decide whatever you want, Severus."
"It has a hope of success only if I'm working with you," he pointed out coldly.
She couldn't even blame him for his tone given the abruptness of her departure.
"Then make the right decision," she said shortly. "Goodnight."
Outside, she took a moment to regroup. She hadn't thought that being back in the room would affect her like that given that she had managed to spend time in his bed without freaking out quite so much, but apparently consciousness for all and echoed words were enough to make her panic.
Damn. That reminded her that she had wanted to thank him for letting her sleep. There was a childish part of her that felt that since he hadn't thanked her for taking care of him, she shouldn't thank him, but she was determined to behave better than that. There was a chance he hadn't realized it was she who had helped him, and in the end, his behaviour didn't dictate hers; he had rendered her a considerable service, and she needed to acknowledge that.
Nevertheless, there was no way she was going back in there now. She pushed herself off the wall and made her way slowly back to her quarters.
Perhaps she could send him a note.
It had to have occurred to Severus—although she'd somehow got sidetracked and not mentioned this in there, either—that they needed him to make sure Voldemort became aware of their secret plan. It was no good their organizing this whole event if the crazed snake man didn't actually show up.
She should have said it, though, and she didn't suppose it should really be put in a note.
Draco and Harry were waiting up for her. She was moderately surprised that they hadn't immediately leapt into bed to work off all the tension from the meeting—or perhaps it was only she who was feeling so tightly coiled.
She was heading straight for the Forest once everyone else was sleeping, that was for sure.
"Well?" Draco demanded as soon as he saw her.
"He wanted to discuss the brilliance of my plan."
Harry was regarding her doubtfully.
She smiled at him, sitting down on the side of the couch that wasn't occupied by the boys.
"It was a lot to take in. It's not surprising that he had more questions."
Harry started grumbling about stupid Slytherins, and both she and Draco tuned him out. There were moments where both Severus and Harry were simply going to be prone to over-generalizations and bitter complaints when they were annoyed with one another, and it was sometimes better simply to allow them to go at it.
Ron had actually been a surprise; she hadn't expected him to be so agreeable about it all. On the other hand, he'd had years of her coming up with far-fetched plans that he had obediently followed. So far, they'd all turned out pretty much all right, and she was touched that he seemed to be trusting that the same was true for this plan. She snorted to herself. Or he was too wrapped up with those thoughts of the upcoming Quidditch practice to yet give much attention to Hermione's information.
Given that she'd been ready to fall over and die of exhaustion earlier in the day, the boys didn't put up a fuss when she indicated rather early that she needed to go to bed. There was plenty that they still needed to discuss, but it was clear that the boys also wanted to be in bed, so they called it a night. Explanations would keep for later.
Given how much sleep she had already had today, she didn't manage more than a couple of hours before she was awake again. Despite the fact that it was barely one in the morning, she Masked herself and sneaked out. She felt better simply upon getting outdoors even though she hadn't reached the Forest and wasn't in unicorn form yet.
Transforming the moment she was safely beneath the eaves and out of sight of the castle, she began to gallop through the darkness, feeling as though it had been an age since she had last done so.
Castina was soon at her side even though Hermione hadn't requested her presence. She always sensed Hermione in the Forest, and Hermione was touched that her herd mare seemed to genuinely enjoy spending time with her in this manner. They did not head straight towards the valley but looped around the perimeter of the Forest, Castina easily sensing that Hermione needed some time to stretch and absorb light and be free without any questions.
It was nice, Hermione reflected as she ran, not to have anyone demanding answers of her. Castina was being completely non-judgemental, and it let Hermione forget for a little while that she was trying to run off her human problems.
If she thought about it, she would no doubt find a hundred problems that she needed to address. If she dwelled on Severus, she'd become entirely morose and need to be cheered up. But she wasn't spitting mad or horribly pained or otherwise in emotional agony, and that allowed her to enjoy the fresh smell of the air as it whipped through her mane and the leaf-strewn ground that she disturbed very little despite her speed.
There were already slight signs that spring was on the way, hints of green poking up through the ground. It might be the middle of the Forbidden Forest, it might be in the middle of a horrible war, but these plants had no knowledge of that; life went on and continued to grow, and tonight, Hermione was receiving this message loud and clear.
She slowed to a trot and Castina matched her as they began to wend their way at a leisurely pace back towards the valley of the unicorns.
Castina, Hermione said, I've a question for you.
Ask, Berit.
Did Solace tell you to name me?
Castina didn't pretend not to know who Solace was, which Hermione appreciated, and her answer was immediate and honest-sounding. I am not so old as that, Berit. But my mother passed down from her herd mare the knowledge that it would be my task to name a Pure Adult. I was not given the name, but when I saw you for the first time, I knew.
So Solace really did See my name? She didn't contrive that it should be mine? Hermione wanted to be absolutely sure.
Castina whinnied. You are Berit. There is no more or less than that. I did not impose a name upon you that was not yours.
Hermione nodded, accepting that. It had felt right when Castina named her, although she had noticed that no one seemed to be naming Harry. There was Fawkes's joking name of "boy-bird", but Hermione had one of those, too. Still, Harry had tried for so long to be "just Harry", so perhaps it was part of his magic that that was the only name he was on the inside.
Hermione had never been hugely enamoured of the mouthful that was her name, and she didn't know now if she was Berit because she'd disliked Hermione or if she disliked Hermione because she was really Berit. It was a moot point in many ways because she had every intention of remaining Hermione to the world and leaving Berit as a secret that would die with her and the unicorns. It didn't feel right when she imagined other humans calling her by that name.
They reached the herd, where she found everyone pleased to see her. They were a close-knit group, and while they could travel solitarily and not live in the company of their fellows if they had to, they liked the community. It was always a bit puzzling to them, she knew, that she would leave them for such extended periods of time. She wondered, sometimes, what she would do when she left the castle for good. She could always Apparate back to visit, of course, but it wasn't the same. This felt like home.
Having arrived so early, Hermione was able to stay with the herd for hours. She listened more than she talked, simply enjoying being in their presence. While Castina fought for the side of light and her herd would follow her, the war impinged personally upon them only when Voldemort was foolish enough to involve the Forest. They did not spend their nights discussing it.
Instead, Hermione heard tales of long ago, back to the herd as it had been when Hogwarts had first been founded. Hermione suspected that Castina had chosen the topic for Hermione's benefit, and she listened eagerly.
Twilight had begun to edge out the dark of night as Hermione headed back to the edge of the Forbidden Forest to resume her human life. Since it was now nearing six in the morning, it was getting a little late for her to be sneaking back in, but she Masked herself and made quick and careful use of the secret entrance. She'd not made it more than a corridor or so away from that entrance, however, before Severus came looming out of the darkness of the hallway.
She hadn't made a sound and she was still Masked, but he said, "A word," and turned on his heel.
She considered not following for a brief instant because he surely couldn't prove that she'd been there and ignored him, but since that had been a positively civil request, she trailed after him.
They ended up in his office with him holding the door open for longer than it would take for simply his own body to pass through. Once the door was shut and privacy charms cast, she unMasked.
"Where were you?" he asked.
"Taking my morning constitutional," she answered. It had been after midnight the whole time, so it technically qualified, as there had also been exercise involved, and it had been very beneficial to her from all perspectives.
"You were in the Forest again," he said flatly.
"And if I were?" she responded coolly.
"It's forbidden," he growled.
She drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Sir, I know that students aren't supposed to go wandering in there because it is home to many dangerous creatures and there's every chance that they could be badly injured or worse. But you've seen me beneath its trees. I know what I'm doing, and you know I'm with company that will keep me protected. I'm not in any more danger there than I am in the corridors in Hogwarts. In fact, I can say with certainty that I've been attacked far more frequently in the latter than the former."
That was a bit of a sobering realization, actually. She had more to fear from her fellow students than the scary denizens of the Forbidden Forest.
"Does anyone know when you've gone? Would anyone sound the alarm in time if you did not return?"
This sounded perilously close to concern for her well-being, and Hermione tried not to show how stunned she was.
"Harry knows that I go out, and if there were a problem, Castina would alert Fawkes or Harry, and they could alert Albus and anyone else who needed to know."
"And if your unicorn were injured?" Severus asked.
"Castina has an entire herd who would take up her part, and before you ask, if the entire herd were gravely injured such that they could not communicate with the castle, you'd have a great deal more to worry about than my disappearance. They're very solicitous of me, I promise."
His face was unreadable as he gazed at her. "You're only human. They might not be careful enough."
Her conscience squirmed a little at this. He seemed to be quite solicitous, but she knew full well that in thirty seconds he could be assigning her detentions; their relationship was far too broken for her to trust him with this knowledge.
"They're always very careful," she assured him.
His lips tightened. "You realize that if something happens to you, your plan to lure the Dark Lord here will fall apart."
With careful deliberation, she let a breath out very slowly. She should have known that it was not she he was being so careful of. He'd never really cared before, after all. First it had been the desire to punish her for being out of bounds, then the upset that she could navigate the Forest better than he could, and now he was worried about her plan for the Final Battle.
"Nothing will happen to me," she answered flatly. "I'm safer there than anywhere else. The plan will move forward."
"Have you also come up with a plan for getting news of this scheme to the Dark Lord?"
She faced him squarely, her face expressionless. "I would never presume to tell you how to do your job, Severus. I leave it to your discretion."
"You do not wish to be informed of my plan?"
It was already apparent to her that he had no intention of telling her.
"I think that you have been a spy for almost longer than I have been alive, and you are best left to your own devices in these matters."
He seemed to be trying to find something as he gazed intently into her eyes, but whatever he saw there warranted only a curt dismissal. Still, he hadn't even actually threatened point loss or detention, so maybe that was an indication of some smidgen of concession on his part.
Back in her room, she showered and dressed before checking to ensure that her Weresbane was settling nicely and would be ready for more work that evening. It was, and she was ready at the normal hour to see if Harry was going to make any attempt to rise early enough for their morning workout. To her surprise, he appeared right on time.
It was in the middle of their practice—use of combative shield charms—that it occurred to her that she had very forcefully reminded him yesterday that they were in the middle of a war and that he would need to defeat Voldemort. They hadn't set a precise date, but she had narrowed it down considerably: the Final Battle would be in the middle of June, once school was out.
It didn't really matter that she'd also provided a plan for defeating Voldemort. That was good, certainly, but there was no way Harry wasn't feeling that the pressure was now on, and that meant less lie-ins and more training sessions.
Sadly, she couldn't really fault this philosophy. There was the beginning of a plan, but they were still likely talking about a pitched battle. Their reflexes and skills needed to be in prime working order to optimize their chance of success.
Draco had chosen to sit this one out, and it was only as she and Harry both landed on the floor on opposite sides of the room, reeling from what they had just thrown at one another, that Hermione realized Draco had had the sense to get out of harm's way. Harry had started it, she thought, pulling out all the stops and mustering all the power he had at his disposal, and she had responded in kind. Harry had evidently needed to work an edge off, and that was better done without his worrying that he might seriously injure the man he loved.
She and Harry rose to their feet, and she saw that Harry was sporting a great big grin.
"You're in good form this morning," he observed happily.
Well, at least blasting him off his feet had worked him into a good mood rather than a bad one.
They moved to sit on the couch next to Draco as she said, "So are you."
Draco immediately shifted further down the couch as he was immaculate and they were all sweaty. She imagined he worked Harry into this sort of state on a fairly regular basis, but that didn't appear to matter when it was sweat achieved through another activity.
"I'm not the one who fell asleep in Potions yesterday," Harry pointed out.
It seemed likely that she was going to be trying to live that one down forever. She groaned. She'd forgotten to thank Severus again. "Don't remind me. What I didn't sleep off, I ran off, and I'm feeling just fine now."
"Do you ever spend time in your bedroom?" he asked.
She smiled. "You think I should perhaps have followed Severus's suggestion and just turned it into a lab?"
His smile grew broader. "I'm just saying—"
"I don't have nearly as strong a reason to spend time in my bedroom as you have to spend in yours."
Draco smirked happily and was absolutely no help to the embarrassed Gryffindor. She nudged Harry's shoulder.
"It's not a bad thing, you know," she pointed out wryly. "I wouldn't mind a reason like yours."
"I am eminently desirable," Draco observed haughtily with every appearance of earnestness.
Hermione's lips twitched. "To some."
Draco looked immediately affronted.
She shrugged. "Look at the man I've chosen."
He let out a long-suffering sigh. "There's no accounting for taste, I suppose. Although experience has taught me that most everyone else is not as undiscerning as you."
Hands on his hips, Harry was suddenly in Draco's face.
"Everyone else had better keep their hands, eyes, and all other body parts to themselves," Harry said fiercely. "They can't have you."
There was a sudden smash-up on that end of the couch, hands and lips all over the place, and Hermione suspected clothes would be shed any second. It was looking as though charms were going to have to get both of them out of a sweaty state.
She announced to people who were no longer listening that she was going to shower. Giving them until just before eight, she returned to the common room and found that they were sitting demurely on opposite ends of the couch, both properly dressed, hands folded neatly in their laps.
She let out a huff of laughter.
"Very cute. I'm convinced you've been sitting that way the whole time. Shall we go up to breakfast?"
The two of them rose and obediently escorted her up. She couldn't seem to stop smiling, pleased that everyone was now in such a brilliant mood.
After dinner, they finally sat down to discuss what had happened the day before. It was hard to think of it as an entirely serious meeting when Harry and Draco were stretched out and cuddling on the couch, but she would prefer that the light-hearted mood be retained for as long as possible.
She took one of the armchairs. As seemed to be custom for difficult discussions, there was tea. She'd made a whole pot and suspected that they'd go through all of it before they finished.
Legs tucked under her, she stared into the depths of her mug as though it held all the answers to the universe.
It caused an ache in her chest, looking at the two of them sometimes. They were so very adorable, and she and Severus couldn't seem to even be in the same room together without fighting. And here was the Slytherin Ice Prince letting Harry sprawl all over him, sliding his hands through Harry's hair as the Gryffindor sighed with contentment. She knew that Harry was more than deserving of some happiness but wished that it could be shared around a little.
Since she was wrapped up in contemplating the two of them and Harry was blissfully lost to Draco's ministrations, it was the Slytherin who spoke first.
"Are you sure that Weasley should have been present at the meeting?"
Hermione was abruptly reminded that it wasn't all sunshine and roses for Harry and Draco, either. The Gryffindor pulled himself out of Draco's grasp, turning to look at him reproachfully as he snapped, "Draco!"
The Slytherin rolled his eyes. "I don't mean it as an insult." He frowned slightly. "Well, I don't mean to insult him without reason. But he's been civil to the two of you for less than a week. This is very sensitive information; are you sure he wouldn't give it away if he were suddenly upset with you again? That's an awfully dangerous game to be playing with this sort of information."
"Ron knows a great many of our secrets now," Hermione answered. "I don't believe we've got a lot left that would shock him enough to upset him into such stupidity. He understands what we've done by choosing to trust him." She smiled at him faintly. "And you're losing your touch if you think that being a Gryffindor makes me stupid."
Draco opened his mouth but didn't seem to know what to say that wouldn't make the situation worse, so he closed it again without speaking.
"Do you really think I let that many people walk out of that room knowing that one misspoken word would destroy our chances of getting Voldemort?" There was silence, and she shook her head. "Trust me when I say that the information is safe."
"But," Draco spluttered slightly, "you didn't say anything."
Hermione laughed. "I don't have to say anything before I work my magic, you know. I'm generally polite enough to give warnings, but Albus reminded everyone, and I'd like to think that you all knew already that the information wasn't to be spread. Should you prove untrustworthy, then I have no sympathy for you if you fall prey to my spell."
"But what happens if we say something?" Draco asked.
"I shall say only that you don't want to find out. And you may now consider yourself lucky to be warned, if it will help you keep your mouth shut."
"I wasn't going to say anything." Even Draco only rolled his eyes because he knew that she did trust him. "I'm just curious."
"But I'm still not telling."
He looked at her through narrowed eyes. "You're not bluffing, are you?"
She smiled at him. "You would have to try to tell someone and find out, I guess, but personally, I wouldn't recommend it. I think Harry likes you just as you are."
Since she was the only person who could reverse her spell, she'd know right away if anyone attempted to betray them. Since her spell—considerably more advanced than the one she had used in fifth year—would ensure that the person in question didn't get further than the attempt to tell anyone, she knew that she didn't have to worry about the safety of the knowledge.
Harry frowned. "But if nobody can tell the information to anyone else, how are we going to lure Voldemort here?"
She inclined her head. "I was imprecise. There are only two people who can freely disseminate the information."
"You," Harry said immediately, and she nodded. He sighed. "And Snape?"
She nodded. "Of course."
"But he's Snape," Harry protested. "He shouldn't be able to do what he wants with the knowledge when I can't."
She laughed. "That's a very mature attitude, Harry. Unfortunately for your argument, you don't have Voldemort's ear quite the way Severus does."
"But if he'd fallen victim to a curse, it would have added authenticity," Harry grumbled. "Made it look like he really wasn't supposed to say."
Since he still wouldn't have been able to say if she'd cursed him, it would rather defeat their purpose, and it would hardly be inconspicuous if he came back from the meeting and was violently and comprehensively ill, turned an unpleasant shade of orange, and couldn't speak again until he had confessed what he had done.
"It would have been insulting," she pointed out.
Harry frowned. "I think it would have done him some good to be insulted by you. You've noticed that he doesn't have any problem insulting you at every opportunity?"
Her lips pressed into a thin line, fingers clenching around the mug in her hands, good mood rapidly evaporating.
"Harry Potter has a disease," Draco jumped in. "It's called 'open mouth, insert foot'. He's suffered from it for years and years, and just when we think we've got it under control, it flares up suddenly and violently like this. I'll make sure he starts taking his potions again."
Her face softened as she smiled appreciatively at Draco even as Harry realized what he'd said.
"I didn't mean it like that," he exclaimed. "I just … I was trying to point out that he doesn't treat you—"
Draco clapped a mouth over Harry's mouth. "Stop talking now," he hissed in a loud whisper. He looked at her despairingly. "Is this what I'm going to have to expect when I take him to parties?"
"Probably," she answered. "But since he's Harry Potter, everyone will forgive him."
"Lucky for him," Draco observed as he removed his hand.
Harry was now giving her his wounded puppy dog expression, the one that she thought probably worked on everyone except Voldemort and Severus.
"Sorry. I'll stop trying to say what I mean, but I really didn't intend to hurt you."
"I know," she answered with a sigh. "It's probably best if we try not to discuss Severus and me in anything but a professional context, all right?"
He looked like he wanted to protest, but instead, he gave a reluctant nod.
"You had questions other than Ron's suitability, I hope?" she said, opening the field up again and trying to get them onto some other topic.
Harry nodded. "Yeah. I don't really understand the bit about the wards. Explain to me what you'll be doing?"
She set her mug down. She had the feeling this was going to involve Severus again, by the end, but Harry didn't know that, and he'd made the effort.
"You know that wards are self-sustaining. If you cast them somewhere, around this room, for example, they'll stay like that until you remove them, until the power dissipates, or until someone breaks through them." Harry nodded. "The more powerful you are, the stronger the wards you can cast. The stronger they are, the more difficult it is for someone else to break them. It also means that they will last longer; when a strong wizard casts good wards on rooms or a small piece of property, they can often last lifetimes.
"On a larger estate, say, a reasonably talented caster can usually establish wards that will last for approximately his or her lifetime. Since it would be inconvenient—and downright dangerous in some situations—for wards to fall every generation or so, property wards tend to be designed so that they can be accessed easily by subsequent family members and infused with new magic. This also assists in transferring ownership from the previous family member to the new Head of House. This person may also decide to layer new wards on top of the old, and in rare cases, may do away with the old wards entirely and cast fresh ones. Still with me?"
Harry and Draco both nodded. Hermione imagined that Draco had personal experience with this. There were probably very old and strong wards on Malfoy Manor. But now was not the time to get distracted with such questions. She appreciated that he wasn't making Harry feel stupid by telling her to get to the point. Hermione resumed her explanation.
"In the case of very large areas being warded, it becomes that much more challenging to ward properly. Since the area is so much vaster, it takes a great deal of magic simply to set the wards to cover so much space. Then there's the complexity of the wards required for a place like Hogwarts. The school wards keep Dementors and other evil creatures out, prevent us from being detected by Muggles, prevent dangerous creatures who live in the Forest from wandering onto the grounds, prevent people from Apparating onto the grounds, from flying over it, from deliberately harming themselves, from—"
"They prevent people from harming themselves?" Harry asked, seemingly involuntarily.
"They do," she answered, distracted in spite of herself. "And don't think you didn't come very close to getting a whole book about it at the end of fifth year, but I didn't want to give you the idea that you'd be unprotected once you got home."
Harry was looking very uncomfortable now but suddenly found himself hauled into Draco's lap, a kiss pressed to the top of his head. Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and showed no inclination to let him go. Harry remained stiff and unresponsive for a moment and then melted back into the embrace. It was mildly alarming that Harry didn't even try to defend himself, but she'd always known that those were very bad times and they were lucky to have gotten through them as unscathed as they had.
"There are all kinds of wards on the castle," she resumed after clearing her throat. "Not to mention all the little ones inside that prevent students from going where they shouldn't, that protect the individual rooms so that some sort of accident or explosion in one won't harm any others, that soundproof the rooms, that protect the professors' quarters, that keep ghosts out of the common rooms and dorms, and so on and so forth. There are any number of wards throughout every inch of the castle."
Harry nodded, seeming to feel that he should keep showing input lest they start worrying about him.
"Many of the lesser or more minor wards can and have been modified and updated by subsequent headmasters. As Muggles improved their technology, for example, wards had to be added that would prevent Hogwarts from being detected by satellites and radar equipment, etc. Individual professors will often add their own wards to their quarters to make it more secure or to add features that they feel are necessary which others in the past may have not."
"Like we warded here."
"Exactly," she agreed. "We need more privacy than even some of the paranoid Slytherins of the past have needed."
Over Harry's head, Draco stuck his tongue out at her, but he knew that she was just trying to distract Harry, and he therefore let the slur on his house's name go. She wondered if it helped that he now knew she had Slytherin blood in her and so was kind of insulting a part of herself.
"Hogwarts is really a special case all its own. The building itself is magical to a degree that most buildings are not. Students have learnt here and practiced magic here for a millennium, and that has left an impression. Nevertheless, it required an extraordinary amount of power—the help of many—to cast and set wards that would last this long even with periodic deliberate influxes of power. As I said in the meeting, there are areas that are now damaged, and we're coming very close to a point where some of the wards will begin to fail."
"Just as you're here to rectify the problem. Interesting coincidence, that," Draco observed dryly.
She shrugged. "I don't try to work out everything that Solace knew anymore. I think it's safe to say that I'm here to do this when it needs to be done. As you may be able to guess from the state of the wards now, there's only so much that patch jobs and new power can do to help the wards. Especially when those who are doing the job aren't experts on the magic that's involved, the wards aren't perfectly calibrated. They've not been topped up to full strength again, just increased a little so they don't fail completely. Add to that the fact that they're often modified or tweaked in not totally compatible ways over the years, and you see the problem we're now facing.
"The only real way to rectify this situation is to completely re-cast the wards, and until I found Solace's journal, that didn't seem like a viable option to anyone, certainly not at this time. We've lost some of the skills involved, and it's a huge undertaking that will require a great deal of magic. Casting wards of this strength and over the area that Hogwarts comprises takes time. Once the wards are down, there would be no way to re-cast them quickly enough for us to protect ourselves from Voldemort should he choose that occasion to attack."
"But that's what we're trying to get him to do?" Harry questioned.
"Because I'm here," she said with a nod, "and Solace has told me all anyone would ever need to know about the wards that she designed for the castle. I can access the wards as others can't."
"What exactly does that mean?" Draco asked. "You weren't very clear at the meeting."
She considered how best to explain. "The headmaster knows all the wards that are at Hogwarts. He can manipulate them if he wants to be able to Apparate on the grounds. He did modify them when the Ministry forced him to entertain the Dementors in third year. This is on a larger scale but similar to your deciding to ward your room against anyone but you getting in. You could then modify it so that Harry's allowed in but not me and so forth, right?"
Harry and Draco nodded.
"I could do the same to my room, viewing it externally and modifying it just as everybody modifies wards. What I also know how to do now," she continued, "is to … become the wards, I guess. To modify the wards from the inside because my magic and theirs have become intrinsically linked."
Draco's eyebrows rose. "Seriously?"
Hermione nodded. "In the case of the wards in my room, there's simply no need because I can easily manipulate them externally. I could easily manipulate your wards externally, for that matter," she added with a grin, and Harry made a face at her. "I could do the same with the Hogwarts wards, too, but I'd be limited by the usual sorts of restrictions; if I were on the Astronomy Tower, given enough time, I could get by the wards that prevented me from jumping off, but I'd have to go down to the grounds to permit myself to let the Acromantulas head up to the castle. It would all take time, and while I was working, the other wards would still be in place and would be entirely detectable to Voldemort."
"Which would ruin our plan because the Dark Lord would know the school couldn't be breached and we were expecting him," Draco summarized.
"Exactly. If, on the other hand, I take control of the wards from the inside, then there's no question of not being able to get them up and down quickly enough. I'm not one little human on the outside trying to access them, I am the wards, and I can ... Mask them, I suppose you could think of it as, can stop them from having any effect without actually having to shut them down one by one.
"Once Voldemort is in a position where we can trap him, then I'll be able to unMask the wards. Voldemort and his followers will suddenly find that they can't Apparate away. They'll discover that the Dementors and all the other evil creatures can't get closer to the castle. And then we'll have the perfect opportunity to fight Voldemort on our own terms for once and for all."
There was silence for a moment as they considered this.
Harry drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You've spent this whole time saying how big and extensive the wards are and how much power it takes to cast them and keep them working for as long as they're working. We've got Pure Adult powers, I know that, but how can you just … support them all for that long?"
She nodded. "I have enough power to do it for a limited amount of time. The disturbance that woke you Monday morning was me releasing the wards; it was a rough transition because I hadn't quite realized what I was doing. When the time comes, I'll do what has to be done." Harry opened his mouth to protest, and she said sternly, "We all will. But I'm taking every precaution. If I have someone with me, keeping me grounded and sharing power with me, then I will be able to sustain the wards that much longer without any danger."
"I'll do it," Harry volunteered immediately.
"I'm sure you would," she said with a smile. "But you're going to need all your wits about you for another battle. I've already asked, and I'm just waiting on an answer."
Harry's sigh was huge and long. "Why Snape?"
"Because outside of you and Draco, he's the most powerful wizard in Hogwarts with whom I'm compatible. There's no way that Albus and I would work together. Severus has the right to consider his answer. It's a big undertaking. It will be fine."
It would probably be fine like Harry being stuck with the Dursleys for a decade was fine, but there was no need to be openly pessimistic.
"This is really going to work?" Harry asked.
"This is really going to work," she confirmed. "We're keeping everyone protected by waiting until the students are out of the castle. Those who wish to and are able to participate in the battle will stay. We have the perfect excuse because we'll need people to cast the wards, so Voldemort will expect us to be keeping those who are powerful behind."
"Are we actually casting the wards?" Draco asked. "It didn't seem as though that was actually part of the plan."
"Once the battle's over," she answered. "I wasn't making up any of what I said about the wards being damaged. I'll do what patchwork I can while I'm connected, but I'm afraid the majority of the damage needs to be rectified for real."
The look on Harry's face was difficult to decipher, and it took her a moment to realize that he appeared mildly surprised and possibly a bit touched.
"What?"
He shook his head as he realized that she was scrutinizing him. "Nothing."
What? she pressed.
He shook his head again mentally. It's just … nice to hear someone matter-of-factly discussing what we're all going to do after the battle.
It was easier to suppress tears mentally, for which Hermione was grateful. Don't you even think of going anywhere—no victory trip around the world for you until you've stayed behind and helped me with the wards.
Harry nodded, seeming to be having that same tear problem that she was, and she knew he knew exactly what she wasn't saying.
Draco Summoned the nearest pillow and bonked Harry over the head with it.
"Hey!" Harry protested. "Bugger off!"
"Then stop communicating like that when it's just the three of us in the room. You know it annoys me."
Harry twisted his head up so that he was facing Draco, albeit upside down. He kissed the nearest body part, which was Draco's chin.
"Sorry, love. Hermione was just being polite and not dragging a moment of my insecurity into the open."
"I'm probably going to regret saying this," Hermione said, "but have you tried MindSpeaking to Draco, Harry?"
There was surprise in both eyes and then Harry's eyes grew slightly unfocussed as he made the attempt.
Draco?
The Slytherin's eyes grew comically large. She wasn't sure if Harry was being polite in his inclusion of her, if he'd wanted to broadcast loudly because he wanted Draco to have the best possible chance of hearing, or if he couldn't help her being able to hear; their link was an unusual one.
Draco, however, couldn't respond mentally. She knew he had to have more than enough mental concentration for the task because he had learned Occlumency from Severus, but the more the blond failed to be able to speak mentally now, the more frustrated he got. And the more frustrated he got, the less likely he would be able to master this new ability.
This wasn't working out to be the happy bonding experience she'd been trying to orchestrate, so she stepped in once more.
"Draco," she said, since it looked as though he was mere moments from leaping up and storming off in a huff, "look at me."
He was frustrated enough to do it and not thinking clearly enough to be completely prepared; it made Legilimency particularly easy. Once she was connected to his mind, she mentally grabbed up Harry's mind and pushed the two of them together before pulling away from them.
Looking across the distance between them with her physical eyes again, she found that Draco looked as though he'd been hit with some sort of Confundus Charm, and Harry was looking at her in shock as though he hadn't thought she could still surprise him and yet she had done.
"That … felt a little strange," Harry admitted.
It felt, she imagined, the same as when Fawkes had connected her and Harry's minds back in October. She supposed that Harry hadn't been in much of a position to notice given the amount of pain he'd been in and the fact that he'd already been in the midst of a Voldemort-induced vision.
"But let's see if it did the trick, shall we?" she proposed briskly. "Harry, why don't you greet Draco again and see what happens."
Hey, Draco, love. Let's try this once more, all right?
I don't see why trying this now that I have a killer headache will make any difference from the last time I tried it when you couldn't hear me, and—He caught the look on Harry's face finally. Can you hear me?
Loud and clear. Such a charming first thing to hear from your mind, too.
Draco's face relaxed and a smile graced his features. I don't make any promises about the content of my mind, Harry, you should know that.
Hermione Summoned a potion for headaches and waved it over to Draco. He looked at her quizzically.
I don't think the two of you will be keeping very many secrets from me, at least not if you share them mentally, she answered the unspoken question.
Draco quaffed the potion.
No deep dark secrets shared mentally. Got it.
He could have done that on his own eventually, Fawkes contributed.
One look at Harry and Draco told her that this statement was for her head alone.
She shrugged. I don't think Harry's ready for that sort of manipulation yet. But I certainly don't intend to bridge the two of them forever. I suspect they'll grow out of it.
He sent her a nod. Once they become more confident in their own abilities and more used to what they are doing. He'll catch up to your head start.
There we are, then. Until that time, we'll just have to be a mental trio.
As you say, Girlicorne. Better than a threesome, I suppose.
Hermione made a mental face of disgust, and Fawkes laughed at her discomfort before fading out of her mind.
Harry and Draco were talking rapidly back and forth, Draco appearing anxious to practice, and she considered whether it was worth curtailing their talk to get back to the topic of warding.
Before she could decide, they were interrupted by the announcement of a visitor at their door.