You don't own me

Part 14

Good luck. You're going to need it.

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 Hermione's POV;

''Alexander, Hector, have you seen Tom and Hadrian?'' Hermione asks when she enters the Room of Requirement. The Knights have all gathered there after getting a missive from Tom. It's nice to see how all of the houses are interacting with each other. She just knows that this is because of Harry. Even if he doesn't admit it or rather denies it vehemently, he is the reason all houses are here.

Everything would've been so different if Harry hadn't come to the past.

''Not yet, but they've been secretive all day,'' Hector replies while twirling his wand. Hermione nodded; she had noticed that about Harry and Tom, too.

But she also knew that they would come to her if necessary, and they had called in this meeting, so she assumed that they were finally going to share the intel they had gathered.

Next week would be the third task, and she was readying herself for war. Alphard didn't understand why she was doing this, but he will. He did train his dueling at home whenever he could, and he would be informed later when she had the time to get her communication mirror he had gifted her for Yule. But he didn't understand why her mindset was so different from others. Nobody could understand. Only the ones who have been through battles and wars before.

She hated that the people in this room would need to adjust to that particular mindset as soon as next week.

But it can't be helped. Dumbledore will strike against Tom and Harry, especially because Harry has made himself enemy number one after outing Dumbledore.

Grindelwald was after Harry mostly for Dumbledore but probably also for the Elderwand. He was not the person to let that be without a fight. He knew how powerful the wand was, and he would do anything to get it back from Harry.

Hermione sighed to herself, looking around once more, waiting for her brother. They all seemed so relaxed, the only ones that were as tense as her were the ones that were closer to Tom and Harry, probably already expecting what was coming tonight. Hector, Alexander, Charlus, Billius, and Lucretia are the ones who seem to have noticed the underlying tension and seem to understand that this isn't a regular meeting or party.

NEWT's have been done for a couple of days now, the party and the sleeping binge afterward were fun and necessary. Hermione might have gone a bit overboard with the studying, but thankfully, she hadn't been the only one. Tom was right next to her whenever she went to the library to cram some more.

Harry - the secret mother hen that he is - had been the one to sneak sleeping draughts in both of their drinks when they were ready to fall over.

Tom had not been amused but as always, he had given in to Harry.

''Why do you think they've called all of us here?'' Lucretia asks her when she steps closer.

''The third task.'' She replies instantly.

Lucretia's brows furrow for a moment before her eyes shoot again to Hermione. ''They expect trouble?''

Hermione nods, and before she can open her mouth to reply, the door opens again. This time, Tom and Harry are striding in as the leaders they are.

The room accommodates them immediately and raises a podium for them to step onto. The others seem to notice that this isn't a simple dueling training today and snap to attention. Finally, Hermione can't help but think. It just takes seconds for everyone to settle, and Hermione sees how Tom is cataloging every movement before he starts speaking.