Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money made.

Thanks to my reviewers and LadySunflower for betaing this. Harry is particularly grateful, as without my beta, he'd think of Ron more highly than Hermione in his own mind.

Chapter 7

Harry looked over at Ron as they waited for Dumbledore to return to his office. They'd gained access by running through nearly every sweet in existence before correctly guessing 'Jelly Baby'. They knew that they'd pay for playing truant later, but they'd reasoned that it was hardly as if they could get any work done without Hermione anyway. Fawkes was also absent, but they'd caught sight of a large, fiery bird flying around the lake from the window.

Harry turned to face the door as he heard the staircase revolving. He opened his mouth to greet Dumbledore, only to choke on his words as the opening door revealed Snape.

"Potter, Weasley, why aren't you in your lessons? Let me see, that will be twenty points each from Gryffindor for every lesson that you've missed today and thirty more if you miss any more." Snape stood with his arms akimbo, a grim smile crossing his face.

"We're waiting for the Headmaster. He's expecting us," Harry spoke up.

"Five more points for failing to respect a teacher. We shall see...if he is expecting you, then you might escape further detentions. If not, then rest assured that you will never lie to me again." Snape crossed the floor to lean against the Headmaster's desk, watching the fire. "Professor Dumbledore should be back shortly, so you won't have long to wait."

The fire suddenly flared green seconds after Snape had finished speaking and Dumbledore stepped through, brushing soot off his robes as he crossed over to his chair. His wide smile slowly faded as he took in the sight of the boys and Potions Master waiting for him.

"Harry, Ronald, Severus. I did not expect to find you here at the same time. For future reference, boys, 'later' is when I summon you, but no harm done." A firm look at a disappointed Snape prevented him from adding the detentions as he had threatened.

"Why can't we see Hermione yet?" Ron blurted, obviously at the end of his patience.

"Now that she has a replacement wand, you may." Harry and Ron exchanged grins and made to get up to leave the office, eager to see their friend. "But not before you are aware of what has transpired." Dumbledore shut the door with a wave of his wand, sealing the room with an Imperturbable Charm.

"You are aware that Miss Granger was injured in a car crash?" Harry nodded, seeing Ron echo the movement out of the corner of his eye. "What else do you know? Nothing? I see." Dumbledore paused, stroking his beard as he presumably pulled his thoughts together.

"Please do not interrupt me. Any questions you have I will answer to the best of my ability, but after I finish." Harry glanced at Ron, wondering whether his short tempered friend would be able to restrain himself. Ron gave him a wounded look, obviously thinking that Harry's temper was not that much better.

"There were no survivors of the crash. When the Muggle ambulance arrived on the scene, Miss Granger was beyond their aid." Both boys opened their mouths, only to find that their voices would not cooperate. Harry caught sight of Snape's smirk and knew who was responsible.

"A surge of dark magic alerted the Ministry, and Miss Granger was removed to St. Mungo's as a result. That surge had resulted in her revival. The Healer who accepted her into his care was able to quickly and easily deal with her injuries, except for her reopened curse scar which still requires more treatment." Harry winced at this reminder of their misadventure in the Department of Mysteries. He glanced over at Ron, only to see that all the colour had drained from his face. Dumbledore appeared to have noted this too.

"You realise what that dark surge meant, Ronald. I'm sorry to say that there was no mistake; Necromancy was involved." Harry frowned; while this Necromancy was obviously a bad thing, he didn't recognise the term. "Death magic, Harry. The Darkest Arts of all. A Necromancer can bring the dead to life and reduce the living to dead."

Harry was ambivalent at the concept. Had Hermione been brought back by a Necromancer? If so, he'd be willing to thank whoever it was.

"The dark surge came from within Miss Granger. She is a Necromancer." A nasty jolt passed through Harry at Dumbledore's words. Ron was turning green at the edges now.

"Every Necromancer in the past has turned evil, although I have hopes that the same will not become of Miss Granger. What complicates matters further is that Professor Snape has discovered that Tom wants her on his side..." Dumbledore continued speaking, but Harry could not hear what he said through the ringing in his ears. The thought of Hermione turning traitor turned his stomach. 'Can I trust her anymore? Voldemort can be very persuasive when he wants to be.'

"No! We can't trust a Necromancer, even if it's Hermione. My dad told me about Grindelwald, about what he did and what he was going to do. He killed millions of Muggles and was going to bring them back as his army. And he was Muggle-born!" Ron's outburst revealed that the silencing spell Snape had applied had worn off.

"But, it's Hermione..." Harry managed to choke out, shaking his head in denial.

"Dad told me that all Necromancers turn bad, no matter how good they were. Ministry policy is to kill anyone suspected of either being brought back by one or being one."

"How? I mean, if a car crash doesn't stop one, what will?" Harry said, struggling to hold onto any strand of logic still in his grasp.

"I'm not sure, but Professor Dumbledore killed Grindelwald, didn't you, sir?" Ron met Dumbledore's gaze. Harry thought that he looked somewhat disappointed in their reaction.

"I did. But I will not kill Miss Granger if there is any other way to avoid her turning dark. And as I've already said, every Necromancer before has been rejected by society. If Miss Granger is not abandoned by those who care for her, there may be another way." Harry blinked. He'd obviously missed that particular snippet earlier.

"No, Harry. We can't. She was scary enough before she was a Necromancer, but now..." Ron shuddered, cold sweat running down his long nose.

Harry closed his eyes, his shoulders slumped. The terrible thought of Hermione betraying him, joining Voldemort, reared up in his mind. Ron would never do that, and Voldemort had no reason to want his service. 'I'm sorry, Hermione.'

"I can't, sir. Hermione can't betray me to Voldemort if I'm no longer friends with her." Snape hissed through his teeth in reaction to Harry voicing Voldemort's name out loud.

Dumbledore's mouth firmed, his eyes deeply saddened. "She was right. Miss Granger told me about the Firebolt incident in your third year. She believed you hadn't changed and would desert her now. For once, I was wrong. I thought better of you both." Harry cast his eyes down to the floor as Ron turned his head to face the fire.

"Cowards, both of them. Did you know your precious Gryffindor House had such lily-livered lions in this day and age, Headmaster? You don't get such fair-weather friends in any other House. Even the most suspicious, self-serving Slytherin is more loyal than your precious Potter and Weasley." Both boys head's snapped up to glare at Snape as he demeaned them to Dumbledore – who just sat there listening, not saying a word in their defence! Did he agree with Snape's opinion?

"Not that I can fault them. A Necromancer is far too much for mere boys to handle. I'd leave Miss Granger well alone if I were one of you, Potter, Weasley. I congratulate you, you've finally realised your limitations." Snape stalked closer, every word a sharp jab to their pride.

"Poor Miss Granger, left alone to face the rising darkness. What will you do when she loses control and the dark takes over? When she hunts you down, deserters that you are? I expect she'll kill you both and bring you back again and again, to exact her revenge. I only wish I could be there to see it, but if I have anything to with it, Miss Granger will remain in control.

"Well, what are you two waiting for? Go to your next lesson, we will let Miss Granger know of your decision to abandon her in her time of need." Snape sneered at them, showing his contempt for them. Harry could only think that it was justified, this once. What kind of friend was he? He exhaled roughly, anger rising in him. 'I'll show him! He's wrong about me. Wrong!'

"No." He chorused with Ron, who'd apparently come to the same conclusion. "We'll stick with Hermione through thick and thin. We want to see her."

Harry caught Dumbledore winking at Snape. His eyes widened at the realisation that they'd just been manipulated out of their doubt. 'Oh, well. Hermione needs us.'

Dumbledore had allowed them to go straight up to the hospital wing, where they found Hermione. She was sitting up in bed, reading a book entitled Grindelwald: the last Necromancer. Harry swallowed at the thought that it was now out of date. There was a long awkward moment as Hermione looked up, glancing between them, her eyes narrowing as she took in Harry's guilty look and Ron's pallid skin.

"Hello, Harry, Ron. Good to see you." Her flat tone let Harry know that she was disappointed to see signs that she'd been all too right about how they would react to the knowledge of her new, dark powers.

"Er, hi. You look... you look the same as always, actually. A little pale, shadows under your eyes, but nothing out of the ordinary." Hermione snorted at Harry's clumsy words.

"What did you expect, for me to look like death warmed over?"

"Dunno. Just that you'd look different," Harry murmured. He inhaled sharply as Hermione locked eyes with him. Her eyes had not changed colour, but they looked different somehow. Harder, perhaps, or older. Maybe both. She'd obviously been through a lot.

Ron frowned as he looked at the wand resting on the table. "I thought Dumbledore said that you'd got a new wand. That's your old one." He refrained from touching it, as it was a breach of etiquette to touch another person's wand without permission.

"It's not. It's made of the same wood, carved exactly the same way, the same length. But it has a different core." Hermione paused, resting her hand on it. It seemed to vibrate at her touch. "Phoenix feather. My old wand had dragon heartstring."

"Huh. I had to put up with a broken wand for a year. Why does my family have to be so poor?" Ron scowled, shoving his hands in the pockets of his threadbare trousers.

Hermione's breath caught. She stared at Ron as the blood drained from her face, silent for a long moment. "There are more important things in life than money." She choked out, her eyes brimming with tears.

Harry and Ron both looked alarmed, both petrified of crying girls. Ron looked to Harry, his face pleading. Harry looked back, trying to communicate that this was his fault. In the end, they both approached Hermione as she buried her face in her hands, her body shaking with as she cried.

"What did I say? What's wrong?" Ron asked as he laid a large hand on Hermione's shoulder.

"Didn't Dumbledore tell you?" She managed between sobs.

Dumbledore's words from earlier ran through Harry's mind, leaving him to wonder bleakly why he hadn't caught on earlier. 'There were no survivors of the crash.'

"Oh, God, Hermione. I'm so sorry." Harry sat down beside her, wrapping his arms around her in an attempt at a comforting hug. Ron had still not caught on, a bewildered look on his freckled face. "Her parents," Harry mouthed. Ron's eyes widened, his face going slack. Then he pulled himself together, mirroring Harry's position.

"If it had been a Death Eater attack, I was prepared for their deaths. But this is..." Hermione's words were drowned out by more sobs. Harry could feel it as each sob wracked her body.

"It's what?" Ron asked, rubbing her back. She stiffened, obviously not comfortable with the contact, not that Ron seemed to notice. She shrugged out of their grip, raising her tear stained face.

"My fault. They were taking me to catch the train. I should've used the Underground, then they'd still be alive, as well as Crookshanks." Another wave of tears threatened to spill from Hermione's bloodshot eyes. Both boys winced, they hadn't realised that the large cat had also been killed in the crash.

"It's not. You had no idea that it would happen," Harry said, striving to find something to say to comfort her. A hidden thought that had been lurking in his mind since he'd learned what a Necromancer was surfaced. "You could bring them back! Necromancers can bring the dead back to life, and you are one!"

"I don't know, Harry. I don't think that they'd thank me for it. They were religious people, believing that everyone and everything has a time to die." Ron looked relieved at Hermione's glum statement, but Harry was already thinking of his deceased loved ones. Perhaps he could persuade Hermione to try...

"'Mione, d'you have any idea why Dumbledore was grinning when he came into his office? I mean, he was with you last," Ron asked, making an attempt to satisfy his own curiosity and to cheer her up.

Hermione stifled a laugh. "Ah. Well, just before we left the Leaky Cauldron for Hogwarts, Rufus Scrimgeour turned up with a couple of Aurors. They wanted Dumbledore to give me to them in order for me to be executed. He disarmed them, Scrimgeour grabbed me. I decked him."

"You attacked the Minister?!" Ron guffawed.

"He was going to execute you?" Harry asked, having forgotten what Ron had said about Ministry policy in Dumbledore's office.

"I'm a popular girl these days." Hermione smiled thinly. "The Ministry wants me six feet under, and Voldemort wants me on his side."

Just to prove how tactless he could be (worse than Ron at times), Harry asked when her parents' funeral was. Her face fell, and she looked away as another tear slid down her cheek.

"Tomorrow. Dumbledore pulled some strings to get it organised so fast. And before you ask, neither of you can come. I won't be alone, and your lessons here are important. You've probably already skipped some today. Come to think of it, you should be getting to your next one." Both boys groaned. Even when grief-stricken, Hermione was still the same about their education.