Chapter 16
“They did it.”
“Blimey.”
“See, Hannah? Even the bloody Trio couldn’t finish – ow, Vince!”
“I don’t think that’s helping, Seamus.”
She was a failure.
With an equally soaked Ron on one side and Harry on the other, Hermione entered the already full room that had been located at the end of the ‘obstacle course’, but the overwhelming shame and sense of failure – a lesser degree of guilt mixing in – distracted her from giving their classmates a closer look.
She barely noticed Harry’s arm around her shoulders as it was. She was just too preoccupied with the self-pity to really notice anything else.
Well, that and an increasing question of how everything had gone so horribly wrong.
They’d been doing fine until they suddenly started not doing fine.
“How far did you get?” Neville was suddenly next to them.
“Eight,” Harry answered.
“Wow,” he seemed impressed, but Hermione didn’t want to look up from the table. “No one got past seventh.”
“None of you?” Ron frowned.
“No,” a Hufflepuff – Rachel? – answered. “Ms. Mac said that you three were the only ones to get that far out of all the classes.”
“That’s right,” Deeks put in from behind her. “I really didn’t know how far you would make it.”
A cup of tea appeared under her nose and she absently took it. It was her favorite flavor done up exactly how she liked it.
“I was actually very impressed that everyone lasted as long as they did.”
She gasped and whipped around to see Tony smiling down at her. “When did you get back?” she swiped her eyes, happy to see him even as the guilt got worse.
“Five hours ago,” he shrugged. “Something like that. Everyone,” he surveyed the rest of the class. “You all did very well and you should be proud of that. Five points to everyone who made it past the sixth room. Now, I see no reason not to let you guys go a little early to get ready for dinner, so head on up to the school and we’ll see you there.”
As their classmates started leaving, Hermione watched as Tony sat on Harry’s other side.
“I’m sorry,” she sniffled. “We wanted to make you proud, but…”
“But nothing,” he shook his head, green eyes serious. “Just the fact that you three got as far as you did makes me proud of the three of you. I’m not disappointed that you couldn’t make it through to the end. I’m just glad that you pushed the panic button when you needed to.”
“You still want us?” Ron confirmed, unusually meek.
“Of course,” Tony blinked in surprise. “You didn’t honestly think I wouldn’t, did you?”
All three just stared back.
“Who the hell have you been talking – wait,” he lifted a finger. “Ron’s got his older brothers and the baby sister, the less said about Harry the better… Mi, I understand that you’re known as the brightest Witch of your age, but I’m starting to think that this belief is putting pressure on you to live up to and that makes you think that every failure is one step closer to the end of the world. Listen,” he met each of their gazes.
“I don’t expect you to be something you’re not. You can fail in every class if that means that you aren’t making yourself into this perfect mold you think I want. I don’t. And don’t think that you have to put yourselves in danger, either. If you really think I’m shallow enough to not want anything to do with you after one failed assignment, that ship has long sailed. I don’t care. The four of us are family, now, and that means no favorites. I don’t expect Ron to be as good at anything like Harry is nor do I expect Harry to be just as smart as Mi or Mi to be as brave as Ron or Harry. I couldn’t be Gibbs, so you shouldn’t be this perfect image that you think you need to be. Just be yourselves. I’ll still love you, failure and all.”
Of course Tony would make the parallels.
And maybe he was right about them having this unsustainable idea of themselves.
She did acknowledge that she may have been putting too much pressure on herself, but she really did want to do well at school and everything else that she did.
Maybe she needed to focus a bit less on school and hang out with her three best friends like the friend that she should be.
“But, you know,” Tony’s voice gentled. “If you want to be perfect, make sure that it’s what you want.”
“I don’t think Hermione can be anything else at school,” Ron pointed out.
She didn’t feel bad about punching his arm.
“Mi’s perfectionist ways notwithstanding,” Tony laughingly agreed.
“Hey,” Deeks poked his head in the tent door. “Hate to break this up, but we need to take this part down, too.”
Hermione drained her tea as they stood and climbed over the bench to throw herself into Tony’s arms.
“I can’t really speak for all of us,” Harry told Tony, “but it’s kind of nice to hear that once in a while.” Ron made a noise of agreement.
“I know,” Tony said simply, squeezing Hermione tight before Deeks came back to herd them out.
They slowly made their way out to where Mac stood with a pile of canvas next to her.
“Feeling better?” she wrapped her arms around Hermione, who shyly returned the hug.
“Much, thank you.”
“I’ll be staying for dinner, after all,” Mac told them. “You go ahead to the school. Let me help Deeks with the last of it.”
Hermione migrated back to Tony’s side and let an arm rest over her shoulders as they started for Hogwarts. “Tony,” she deemed it safe enough to ask. “How was it? Peter said that you had to do something for the Headmaster?”
“I did?” she looked up to see him frown. It melted away a moment later and he nodded as if just remembering. “Yeah. Uh, it went fine,” he used his free hand to rub the back of his neck.
“Anything about the Star Drop?” Harry wanted to know.
“Nothing we didn’t already know,” he sighed. “I’m really starting to think it’s just a myth.”
He probably couldn’t say much more than that, but they figured that he’d find a way to tell them if he felt they needed to know.
“You three go ahead,” Tony suddenly let his arm fall from her shoulders. “I need to see what I missed. Oh, and the Saturday classes are going to go as planned with the Fifth and Sixth Years. After that, First and Seventh.”
“Okay,” they left Tony and caught up with the rest of their class, not looking back to see Tony watching them with narrowed eyes.
“Mac,” he glanced to his left as she appeared.
“You were right,” she crossed her arms, also watching the Trio get further away. “I had doubts, but…”
“They got farther than anyone else,” Deeks came to stand on her other side, pencil behind his ear and notebook in hand. “But it was really strange, because they got halfway through before everything went to hell.”
“Yeah,” Tony sighed. “Look, thanks for doing this, you two.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Mac smiled, squeezing his arm. “About your idea, I think I’m going to help you.”
“I’ve got an idea on how we’re going to split everyone,” Deeks chimed in. “Palmer’s already said he’s going to help, too.”
“I couldn’t ask for any of you to go that far,” Tony shook his head, touched.
“You don’t have to,” Mac assured. “We want to.”
“Yeah,” Deeks agreed. “You can’t do it all yourself.”
“No, I can’t,” he nodded. “Alright, come on. We’ve got work to do.”
* **
When dinner started, Hermione was feeling loads better.
Secure in the knowledge that Tony wouldn’t treat them any differently now, there was a calm over the Trio that they enjoyed.
As it turned out, no one else who had Defense that day had managed to make it past the seventh door.
“See?” Tony lifted a shoulder as he – along with Mac and Deeks – sat across from them. “You set the bar.”
The news was finally allowed to circulate and most of dinner was spent comparing their classes.
Ginny had gotten as far as the Sixth room.
“It was a good effort, though,” Mac squeezed her shoulder.
“Yeah, I guess,” she scowled at her potatoes.
The Slytherins – much to Hermione’s dismay –were boasting about how they could’ve trounced everyone.
“No, you couldn’t,” one of the younger Snakes told them. “Not a one of us could and not even the Ravenclaws.”
“We definitely had to talk them out of doing anything drastic,” Deeks said around his chicken leg.
“I believe it,” Tony rubbed at his temple.
While no one could determine how they went wrong, talk eventually turned to the upcoming Halloween.
“We don’t get costume parties,” Ginny told the adults. “Though, I think they used to.”
“We’ll look into it,” Tony gulped his juice. He, Ron and Deeks seemed to be having a bit of an eating contest. Hermione was fairly certain that Tony didn’t have that much of an appetite before, though.
But then, she reflected into her peas, maybe he’d been too busy on his travels to really eat. Or maybe he’d been overcome with nerves too much to eat.
“If there is a party,” Deeks looked up with a gravy mustache, “I want to be invited.”
“You can bring Palmer,” Harry suggested.
“Halloween is on Saturday, right?” he absently licked his lips. “I hope we don’t have a case.”
“I’ll make time,” Mac assured.
“You can afford to,” he grumbled.
“Tell Hetty she’s welcome to drop by,” Tony told him.
“You don’t even know there’s going to be a party or not, yet.”
“It’s only polite.”
The Trio was sad to see dinner eventually come to an end – and with it, Mac and Deeks had to go.
“We’ll be back,” Mac assured as she gave them all hugs goodbye.
“Yeah,” Deeks ruffled Harry’s black hair. “Before you know it. Then you’ll be sick of seeing our ugly mugs.”
“Not until I’m finished here,” Tony pointed out. “I don’t want to be the only American on the grounds all the time.”
The pair bade them another farewell before heading back to the Headmaster’s office where they had come in from earlier.
Harry eventually had to go back to the Tower as curfew set in and Tony left to get a handle on the papers he needed to grade.
“If any of you need me,” he reminded them all, “call me on the radio.”
Ron and Hermione then began their rounds, passing other prefects, ghosts and teachers as the night wore on.
They met Hannah and Eric – the Fifth Year Prefect – outside the Great Hall at the end of an unexciting night.
“Anything?” Ron checked.
“No,” Eric shook his head.
Hermione nodded. “Well, no points taken is always a good thing, right?”
“Always,” Hannah agreed. Then she hesitated, “Hermione? Ron? Have either of you seen Hagrid at all tonight?”
They exchanged looks.
Normally, the Half Giant was visible at least twice, either in the halls or on the grounds. They definitely hadn’t seen him inside and the pair of Badgers hadn’t seen him outside, so maybe he was doing something else – like in his Hut at the edge of the grounds – or he was off on Order business. He was a member, after all.
But he would have said something to them. He had in the past.
“Do you think something’s wrong?” Hannah fretted, wringing her hands.
“Let’s go check,” Hermione offered, smiling warmly.
“Would that be alright?” Hannah glanced at Ron, who nodded.
“Yeah,” he sighed. “Let’s go.”
The Hufflepuffs looked relieved as they led the way down the stairs.
Hermione tugged on Ron’s sleeve as they followed. “Order?” she murmured.
“I don’t think so,” he frowned holding his wand a little higher as they went. “Some of the other teachers are here.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean that all of them are members,” she reminded, her brown eyes darting at their surroundings.
“I guess.”
They reached the courtyard and took a left. They reached the first fork in the bridge that led to Hagrid’s Hut. Straight led to the Owlry and – further on – the Quidditch Pitch.
“Hannah,” Eric turned to her. “You and Hermione can check out Hagrid’s. Me and Ron can go see if he’s over by the Owlry.”
“That’s a good idea,” Ron nodded. “He could be there, too. Remember that some of the owls are acting off?”
“Like Hedwig,” Hermione frowned.
The snowy owl had continually refused to go to the Owlry – or anywhere near the school – and none of them could figure out why. Lately, other owls appeared to display equally erratic behavior and Hargrid could sometimes be found prowling that area since there were a number of reasons that the owls could be affected.
Thinking it over, she nodded.
“Alright,” she held her radio up. “Keep it on and to my channel.”
“Right.”
Hermione stood with Hannah as the boys headed off, their wand lights leading the way.
“Well,” Hannah smiled at Hermione. “Shall we?”
“Okay,” she smiled back.
They set off to the right, travelling the path everyone took to Hagrid’s class.
It was a quiet, moonless night. Their wands were the only true sources of light as they walked in companionable silence, the walkway lanterns dimmed with no one to use them.
The silence slowly turned uneasy as Hermione realized that – with the dark castle behind them – it was a bit too quiet.
She stopped in the middle of the bridge and turned to look out at the dark night beyond.
“It is kind of eerie,” Hannah moved noticeably closer as she looked out in the opposite direction. “Sort of like we’re the only two people in the area.”
They actually kind of were the only two in the area and that didn’t exactly make her feel any better.
It was all black beyond their immediate area, the darkness lying in shroud that seemed ready to move at any moment. Hermione shivered as she tore her eyes away from the vast darkness around them. “Let’s go.”
Hannah moved to glimpse over the rail and shook her head. “How far do you think that is?”
Hermione moved to glance down, but she quickly pulled back. “A long way if I’m any judge.” She was glad Hannah was there, too, because it didn’t seem as creepy as it would’ve been alone.
The brunette started as she suddenly heard a step from behind her and whirled around, wand held high.
She didn’t see anything.
Her brown eyes darted back the way they came, but didn’t see anything there, either.
‘Okay,’ she swallowed, heart racing. ‘It’s probably nothing to be excited about. It’s just you and Hannah out here. No one else. The two of you are going to see Hagrid. Alone. At night. Just… the two of you.’ She swallowed harder. “Let’s go, Hannah.”
The redhead stepped back with a shiver, obviously thinking things that probably wasn’t going to help either of them to keep calm. “Okay.”
The girls scurried the rest of the way and breathed a little easier when they reached the giant rocks overlooking the Hut.
“Wait,” Hermione stopped the other from going any further. Bringing the radio up, she turned it on to include all points. “Ron? Professor DiNozzo?”
*Everything alright, Hermione?” Harry called from the Common Room.
“I think so, Harry.”
^He wasn’t at the Owlry,” Ron reported. ^We’re heading for the Pitch to see if he’s there.”
“Ag’nt Tony. Wassa ‘mergency?*
Hannah and Hermione looked at each other with amused smiles on their faces.
“Were you asleep, Professor?” the Gryffindor’s grin widened.
“No,* he sounded more alert. “As I said. Just grading papers is all.*
“I just bet he was,” Hannah giggled into her hand.
Hermione shot her a grin before reporting, “Hannah and I have just made it to the overlook above Hagrid’s.”
“Okay. Why?*
*Yeah, Hermione,” Harry’s frown could be heard in his voice. *I thought you and Ron were on the way back.”
“We were,” she told them, “but Hannah and Eric hadn’t seen Hagrid all night and we realized we hadn’t, either.”
“There’s nowhere else he should’ve been,* Tony said meaningfully, the Trio getting the message.
“We’re sure it’s probably nothing,” Hermione looked out to see the dark Hut sitting at the base of the stairs, “but we’re checking, anyway.”
“Okay. Ron, you and Mi just keep us posted.*
^Right,” Ron confirmed and signed off.
Hermione did the same a moment later and Hannah followed as she started descending the stairs.
The knowledge that they were – probably – alone just made the hairs on the back of Hermione’s neck stand. There was little wind as they made their way to the bottom.
It was just the sort of night that fired the imagination, making every small and harmless noise into something big and dangerous. The back of her neck prickled and she paused to twist around, certain for a moment that someone had been watching her.
“I don’t see anything,” she frowned to herself, surveying the top of the stairs from her current position.
“You thought you saw something?” Hannah paused a few steps down, nervously looking up at her.
“I thought…” she trailed off before shaking her head. “It’s nothing,” she smiled at the other girl. “Probably just my imagination.”
“Yeah,” she nodded uneasily, both resuming their way. “Just the sort of night, isn’t it? I mean, you can easily let your imagination run away with you. New Moon, dark night, silence, two young women alone and walking toward a dark house.”
“I think you’ve been watching too many movies,” though she kind of agreed.
“I think so, too,” she huffed an uneasy laugh.
They made it to the bottom of the stairs and check their surroundings again to make sure they were completely alone.
Hermione led the way to the Hut. “Hagrid?” she called. Looking left, then right, she climbed up onto the porch and knocked on the door.
Hannah stayed on the ground, nervously keeping an eye on the darkness around them as they only received more silence. Not even Fang made a sound – if he was even inside.
Hermione frowned in thought. “Come on, Hannah,” she bade, waving for her to join her at the door. The brunette unlocked it, making the redhead startle at the sound.
“Are we allowed to be doing this?” she nervously asked as Hermione pulled the door open.
“He’ll understand,” she shone the light on the inside.
For all intents and purposes, it didn’t look like anything was amiss.
Nothing was out of place as far as she knew. Hagrid wasn’t exactly neat, but there wasn’t a sign of struggle or sudden flight. Fang wasn’t there, either.
Right now, she would have given anything to have Sherlock with her at that moment. She did have Tony, though, but she toyed with the decision to call him out because Hagrid could very well appear at any time and she would have felt silly making him come out all that way for nothing.
“He’s not here,” Hannah shook her head, also looking around. The Hufflepuff – though not as friendly with Hagrid as the Trio was – sounded kind of worried, but was clearly taking her cues from Hermione who was more confused than anything else.
“No,” she agreed. She checked the back door and found it locked.
‘Well,’ she thought, ‘whatever Hagrid was doing, he had enough time to lock all the doors and windows.’
Just to be sure, she unlocked the door and peeked out.
Only to slam the door shut, re-lock it and turn her wand off.
“Hermione?” Hannah whirled around as the other hurriedly crossed the hut to close and lock the front door.
“Turn it off,” she hissed, heart in her throat.
“What? Why?” she hurried to comply.
Hermione dove to the floor and slowly crawled toward the window, vaguely aware of Hannah doing the same, as her mind fully caught up with her eyes.
When she’d looked out the back, she was already facing the stairs. So it hadn’t taken long to spy the ball of light picking its way down the stairs toward them.
“… and it didn’t look like Hagrid,” she explained in a whisper.
“A teacher?” Hannah just as quietly ventured.
“I don’t think so,” she negated, heart racing almost as fast as her thoughts. “Hannah,” she wet her lips, “if that was a teacher, we would have seen them while we were coming here. There hasn’t been enough time to pass between us getting here and… whoever that was.”
She couldn’t see Hannah, but she felt the other girl take her hand and entwine their fingers, fine tremors making themselves known through that connection.
“It’s alright,” she tried soothing her, but she was unsettled herself. It wasn’t a teacher, no, but there was a different answer to that. ‘Of all the times to be without the Map!’
Professor Lupin had gotten a message to them that he was still trying to figure out what the problem was – if there was one -, but it was suggested that maybe he could send it back to see if anything else happened.
If she should somehow get out of this, she was going to write a response telling him to return it immediately.
Anything would be better than this not knowing.
“You don’t think it’s a Death Eater, do you?” Hannah whimpered.
She did, actually. “It can’t be,” she shook her head, voices quiet and only audible due to their close proximity to each other.
Another option, then.
Thinking quickly, she hailed Harry on the radio.
*What’s wrong?” he answered.
“You are still in the Tower, aren’t you?” she hoped against hope he was.
If it wasn’t a teacher or Death Eater – which she was desperately hoping wasn’t the case – and it wasn’t Harry… then –
*Yeah, I’m trying to help Neville with Potions. Is everything alright?”
Both girls stared at each other in horror.
‘So,’ Hermione breathed deeply, both of the girls starting to shake now.
It was – probably – not a Death Eater and it definitely wasn’t Harry, which left them with…
Hermione took a deep breath and held it for a moment before slowly releasing it as she brought herself into a crouch.
“What are you doing?” Hannah’s grip on her tightened as she tried to pull her back down.
“Hold on,” her voice shook slightly as she levered up to look back out of the window to see if the light was still out there.
Slowly moving up, she was never more glad for Hagrid’s jars in the corners of the window as she used them for cover. She was careful not to move as she let an eye peek around the jar and out into the darkness beyond.
The tension in her stomach lessened and she let out a breath that she hadn’t realized she was holding.
“No light,” she reported to the quivering Badger next to her, chest heaving as she dragged air into her lungs. Her eyes moved through the darkness outside and she relaxed further when the light was still absent after long moments.
As she stared into the night, her eyes adjusted as she looked for the light and that allowed her to start distinguishing shapes.
When she panned back over to where she’d seen the light, however, she was sorry she could:
The longer she stared, the more she could see and what she saw had her diving back down with a gasp.
“What?” Hannah demanded to know. “What? Is it back?”
Hermione just stared at the far wall, breathing as deep as she could, before fumbling for her radio. “Ron?” she was finding it hard to catch her breath. “Where are you?”
^Not far from the bridge,” he answered. ^We were thinking to actually go to the Pitch.”
“Please come get us,” she fervently whispered. “I – it’s so dark and I – I can’t make out much, but I’m fairly certain that there’s someone outside on the path between the stairs and the front door.”
“Oh, god,” Hannah whimpered again, clutching her tight.
Hermione bit her lip as she glanced back up at the window.
She’d been staring at the place where she’d thought the light was and she suddenly became aware that there was something near the stairs. She hadn’t been sure what it was until she thought she saw it move and that’s when she realized that she’d been staring at the indistinct silhouette of a person.
^Hermione?” Ron asked. ^Stay where you are. We’re on our way.”
“I’m closer,* Tony chimed in, already sounding like he was on his way. “Sit tight. Stay down, stay quiet and do not engage. I repeat: Do not engage.*
“He doesn’t have to worry about that,” Hannah scrunched tighter, sounding almost hysterical.
“Shh, it’s okay,” she wrapped her arms around the other girl, both trembling. She wasn’t sure she could move right now, anyway. Her legs felt a tad weak to be standing on right now.
The silence was overwhelming as they lapsed into quiet, the sounds of their breathing the only thing they could hear as they waited for something to happen.
It was nerve-wracking.
Hermione felt that every beat of her heart was audible to everyone as it raced, that she was breathing too loud, as she prayed for Tony and Ron to go faster. Surely the boys should’ve been there already?
Good Merlin, she’d never felt like this before, this paralyzing fear.
It had been different over the years, from fearing for Harry as he went off to the different Tasks to fear for Tony all of last year. She’d never been in the position of not knowing what she was up against and she wasn’t at all sure she liked it.
Was this what Tony had experienced on the job?
She couldn’t help thinking that his job with NCIS was nothing compared to the world of Magic, where nothing was ever the same thing and you had to be so very careful of what you were interacting with because it would more than likely turn on you.
… oh.
She rolled her eyes.
There had to come a point where she debated which job was dangerous to Tony as her own life lay in danger.
The boys had been right about priorities.
Hermione tried calming, tried to get her breathing under control, but that failed as Hannah suddenly froze.
“Please tell me you didn’t hear that,” her whisper was faint.
Hermione was about to ask what she was talking about when she heard it, too.
Her breathing stuttered to a stop as she could pick out shuffling footsteps outside, but it sounded like they came from the ground directly behind them.
“They know where we are,” Hannah voiced the horrible thought.
Had Hermione been spotted?
How?
It was dark and there was no moon, so there was no way she could have been spotted without light.
The girls went rigid, backs pressed up against the wall, as they heard the footsteps shuffle ever so slowly in the direction of the front door. They were clutching each other as the steps paused ever so slightly under the window Hermione had looked out of, before moving.
Oh, Merlin, she had been seen!
Or… maybe she wasn’t targeted specifically.
She’d thought she had heard someone on the bridge while they were making their way to Hagrid’s and there was a horrible feeling in her stomach that maybe they’d been followed.
She wasn’t sure if there really had been someone following her – and there were quite a few reasons that someone would -, but maybe the prowler outside hadn’t been waiting for her.
There couldn’t be a way for them to know she would be leaving the school, unless…
A new wave of panic flooded her at the thought that something could have happened to Hagrid because of the person outside.
A clatter had them gasping, heads snapping toward the door, eyes wide and hearts trying to beat out of their chests.
Hannah started to cry as Hermione clutched her wand with a trembling hand.
If someone wanted in, they were going to have to go through her first.
The brunette strained her hearing, listening for something else, and stifled a gasp as it sounded like something scratching at the door. Every ounce of her attention zeroed in on the door, flinching slightly as the doorknob moved.
She swallowed as the doorknob rattled again and tensed as she waited to see what was going to happen next.
The sudden explosion had both girls screaming and ducking to the floor before a bluish light penetrated the Hut.
“Mi? Hannah?* Tony’s voice was probably the most beautiful thing she had ever heard. “Where are you? Are you two okay? I’ve got two of the Ravenclaw Prefects with me on the overlook and I have eyes on the front door.*
“Do you see anything out there?” she felt weak with relief as Hannah gave a few happy sobs beside her. Both exchanged big smiles and hugged.
They were safe.
“No. Nothing*
Hannah scrambled for the radio and Hermione let her speak, her hand holding the button down as the Hufflepuff spoke. “Professor? Someone was at the door.”
“Okay. We’re coming down, now. Ron’s not far behind us. You two stay inside, alright?*
The relief that Tony was there to take charge weakened Hermione’s legs, so she couldn’t track their descent through the window and Hannah seemed content close to her on the floor.
“I’m going to check the perimeter,* Tony eventually reported. “Susan’s here by the door.*
As if on cue, a knock sounded on the wood. “Hannah? Hermione? We’re here, now,” Susan Bones called.
“Thank Merlin!” Hannah scrambled up and dove for the door, fumbling with the latch and heaving the door open before throwing herself into her best friend’s arms.
“Mi,” Tony poked his head around the door, green eyes immediately finding and scanning her. “Are you okay? And why is it so cold in here? It’s not even that cold out here, yet.”
“Huh?” she blinked, relaxing against the wall. She didn’t know what he was talking about.
“Never mind,” he shuffled the reunited friends back inside and told the other Ravenclaw to stay at the door to keep an eye out for Ron’s arrival before he was crouching next to her. “Hey,” he softly wrapped an arm around her, which she gladly leaned into. “Remember to breathe, okay?”
She closed her eyes and relaxed further into him, soaking in his warmth and the sense of safety it prompted. “I’ll try.”
They stayed like that until Ron was spotted with Eric at the overlook.
Tony left Hermione and Hannah with Susan as he and the three boys split up to round the perimeter, the girls listening to the radio chatter while crouched back on the floor – door locked and Hut secure – in case something came back around or something unrelated came out of the search.
Soon enough, however, nothing was found.
“I don’t know,” Tony ruffled his short brown hair once they were all back in the Hut. “Whatever you and Hannah saw, Mi, they’re long gone.”
“Thanks, Professor,” she smiled weakly, glancing out the window warily as the light started to dim. “What spell was that?” she changed the subject, not wanting to think about the past couple hours anymore.
“The benefits of the Agency,” he grinned somewhat tiredly now that the excitement had passed. It didn’t mean that he wasn’t alert, of course, because the threat was still there. “If you want, I can teach you some of it in the future.”
It was interesting to think about, but she was tired and was more than ready for bed.
Tony saw that and secured the Hut again as they left to go back to the safety of Hogwarts. No one lingered on the bridge as Ron took point with Tony watching their six and no one fully relaxed until they were inside the doors at the bottom of the stairs.
“I’ll see if I can get some teachers out tonight,” Tony looked over them. “See if I can’t find Hagrid, either.”
“Yes, Professor,” almost all of them chorused.
“Although,” he said as an afterthought, “if you run into any teachers, send them my way – oof!”
It took a moment to recognize the two small blurs that tackled Tony to the floor as AJ and the Benson sister who shared her House, a few Pumpkin pasties ending up on the floor around the pajama clad pair as they apparently tried telling them something before Harry climbed up the stairs with the Invisibility Cloak bundled in his arms, wand lit and seeming a tad shaken.
No one could quite understand the Second Years as they kept trying to talk over each other, but the others started talking, too, and it soon became difficult to hear a full sentence from anyone.
“Okay,” Tony – still on the floor – called. “Everyone just needs to calm the hell down!”
Hermione smiled weakly as the hall lapsed into silence once more, her head already aching from the previous excitement.
“Now,” Tony picked himself up and dragged the youngest two up with him. “I guess the first question,” he directed it at Harry and the two Second Years, “is what are you three doing out in the halls at this hour?”
As it turned out, Harry had heard what was going on through the radio and wanted to do what he could to help. On his way, however, he ran into someone he thought was AJ, who had actually been having a midnight snack with Summer, only to meet AJ when he chased the other girl.
The two Hufflepuffs then chimed in to explain what the three of them had encountered and experienced.
“Sounds similar to what Hannah and Hermione just went through,” Susan looked to Tony, who frowned.
“Sounds similar to a spirit that haunts the file room,” he absently mused. “Was she wearing a head covering of some sort?”
Harry looked at AJ, who shrugged. “I don’t think so…”
“Probably not Salem, then,” he tilted his head consideringly. “She would at least make eye contact – never mind. Everyone,” he turned back to the group. “Back to your Common Rooms for the night. I’ll escort the Badgers back so they can show me where they were. Other than that, straight to bed or something. Let the teachers take care of this one, okay?” he asked the Trio.
They did make something of a habit of being rebellious, after all.
“Is that it?” Ron had to ask. “Just that one line about the teachers taking over? You aren’t going to go further than that?”
“Nah,” Tony shook his head with a smile. “Back in Second Year, Peter had caught us after curfew and … long story short,” he shook his head to clear it, “he said the same thing and I asked the same questions. Know what he said? ‘Honestly? The three of you are already freaked out enough to think twice about going further. The adrenaline’s going to disappear as soon as you get in bed.’ And it did. And I was. And it will be to all of you. But,” his tone turned regretful, “I am going to have to take five points from Gryffindor and ten from Hufflepuff for being out after hours.”
“That’s okay,” Harry nodded, all of the Trio understanding that their friend and ‘husband’ was now their teacher. He had to at least act like it.
Besides, they would get it back anyway soon enough.
Tony nodded back, always regretting every point he took, but he was a fair and neutral teacher who took enough from everyone to make his point.
Hermione and the others agreed.
“Don’t worry,” Tony reiterated before they all dispersed. “We’ll find this person and his friend. Until then, though, don’t go anywhere alone and don’t be afraid to ask for help.” He connected gazes with the Trio, sending a silent message: ‘and don’t turn off your radios.’
The Trio went back to the Tower and huddled on a couch in front of a fire for long moments.
“Harry,” she turned to him after a period of silence. “I don’t quite know about the figure you encountered, but I for one don’t know when I’ll feel safe at Hagrid’s again.”
“Yeah,” he smiled slightly.
Ron – on Harry’s other side – had his arms crossed as he stared into the dancing flames. “Are we sure it’s not because of the bond?” he finally asked. Seeing their confusion, he shook his head. “Tony experienced that stuff at the Burrow, right? Then, Harry, you and Hermione encountered two … figures at the same time. Tony’s got a connection to our Magic, so … maybe he’s still being affected by one of you two and it’s rippling down to us.”
“But the Hufflepuffs experienced it, too,” Hermione shook her head. “Unless,” she thought about it. “Unless our magic was somehow affecting them…”
They looked at each other.
If they hadn’t actually experienced what they thought had happened, then it probably was a by-product of the bond.
But…
“What if it’s not?” Harry looked between them. “And there’s someone really messing with us?”
Ron lifted a shoulder. “Tony’ll figure it out.”
If it was a result of the bond, then they couldn’t do anything about it until the effect faded on its own.
If it wasn’t, however, then …
Needless to say, none of the three would go anywhere alone until it was decided one way or another.
* **