Escape ↣ Harmione

Chapter Twenty

It was the last Saturday of March, the month had passed faster than expected, settled routine chewing through the days and weeks greedily. Hermione and Harry were presently huddled around her desk in the shared study room, the project they had started in February was coming along nicely.

She had moved into Harry's room and moved his desk into hers, with the ability to use magic, the reorganisation had taken very little time. The bed that previously had occupied the space had been shrunk down to dollhouse size and stored in a drawer in her desk. The desks had been pushed together to face each other, so they had space to spread out, but could also chat over assignments and anything else. It was nice to share a study space separate from their bedroom, and not have to take over the dining room table. She had also moved a bookcase into store their school texts and reference books. It was shaping up to be a room she'd always wanted and better still she had someone to share it with. Harry might not appreciate the aesthetic, but he appreciated the work she'd done and happily used the space with her.

Their current project was two plain silver men's rings. The rings were to be a birthday present for Fred and George. Which was a front for getting more information back to the Order by a means that didn't automatically flag up their whereabouts. They were out of the loop as far as the Order was concerned, no longer aware of who was dealing with what. They had an idea that Fred and George would be up for delivering the information if only to show off their birthday presents.

Initially, they had planned to send it to Ron. He was their friend, and the guilt of leaving him behind made them feel like they should try and include him. Her parents had advised against it. Ron, they had pointed out was their friend, and as such would be under observation in case, they did try to get in touch. He was also inside the castle which the Headmaster controlled, he was not a free agent within the school, he could be compelled to obey. Putting him in a position where he had to pick between his friends who had left him, and the Headmaster of the school he was still attending would be grossly unfair. They had exchanged an unhappy look and agreed.

The rings were going to hold a glamour much like the ones she and Harry used to go to school and extra classes. Those rings changed subtle things, they didn't make you shorter or taller like polyjuice potion did, turning you into an entirely different person. But changed hair colour, as well as texture. Eye colour and shape. Skin tone and appearance of age, so that you were still you, just a very different looking version of you.

Harry said she looked like herself if she had been born a tawny blonde with straight hair, killer cheekbones and an all year tan. Which, she took to mean, she looked like herself but nothing like herself. Harry looked like a surfer dude. It was the easiest way to describe him, she'd had to change his eye colour because it was one of his most remarked features. Instead of green eyes, he had blue eyes the colour of calm seas. His messy hair was sun bleached blonde, and he also sported a tan. In short, he looked like he'd washed in from a Californian summer and never gone back. His scar was hidden, it had been too large a risk to leave it visible, as it would immediately make him stand out if they were hunted on this continent. As much as it had been one of the few links to his past and parents he had agreed that hiding it was the best thing to do.

The charms had been embedded into the rings, a nifty bit of magic she'd found in an old grimoire in the Hogwarts library. By feeding power into the rings as well, the charm could be triggered by putting the ring on and disabled by removing it. Casting a Finite Incantum had no effect on the charm. The spell had no way to separate the charm from the magic powering it, protected as they both were by the physical barrier of the metal ring.

The things they were going to send the twins had a more commercial value. They contained a glamour charm combined with a transfiguration so detailed it created stable props. The idea was triggered by her Helen's comment on how useful the rings would be for fancy dress parties. Slip on a ring and hey presto! You look like whoever you want, and you've just clothes to sort out. Harry had asked Hermione if the spell she had, could transfigure the clothes the wearer was already wearing to suit the needs of the costume. Ready to rise to a challenge, especially one her mother was interested in she'd hit the books and come up with the answer of yes.