In Perpetuum

Chapter 11

Chapter 11: In dextera parte fodico

 “You just had to pull a prank today! Didn’t you think about the consequences? No, of course you didn’t, you didn’t even think at all, did you?”

“Mione, you really have to relax a little. Let those pretty little curls loose for awhile,” smirked Sirius as they ran along the deserted corridor. Hermione ignored him, but turned her head to the side slightly so that he would not see her blush. Despite the context, a compliment was a compliment - especially when it came from Sirius Black.

“Who would think that 2nd year girls would be so afraid. They parade around like they own the place, but they are afraid of finding Shrivelfigs in their – ”

James was cut off by the sound of Sirius laughing.

“Well, when you put it that way, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea...still funny, though,” chuckled Sirius in between gasps for breath.

“Oh this is hopeless!” cried Hermione, her breath now coming in pants as they ran along the corridor, “Knowing McGonagall, class has already started.”

They turned the corner and raced along yet another corridor until suddenly, Hermione disappeared from view.

James and Sirius stopped in their tracks.

“What on...”

“Hurry up, Come through here, it’s a shortcut.”

They turned to see Hermione’s head floating in midair. Her body was obscured by an enormous tapestry which they assumed, up until now, had been covering solid wall.

Sirius and James took one fleeting look at each other before following Hermione down a dank and narrow passageway. The small torches sitting in a line on one of the walls lit up in succession as they ran past. A guide rope hung in loops across the opposite wall for those who were slightly less sure-footed on the dirt floor.

What started as a tiny pin-hole of light grew larger and larger and in no time at all they were coming out the other end from a rather large archway. Looking ahead into the intense light, they realised they were right in front of the door to their Transfiguration classroom.

Sirius wondered why they had never noticed the archway before. A tapestry disguising the other end was easy to overlook, but a gaping hole in the wall? He turned to look back the way he came and was surprised to find a solid wall. Touching the weathered rock, it felt firm under his hand, no matter how many times he ran his hand along it.

“It’s a secret passageway,” wheezed Hermione.

“I’ll explain later,” she added to the disbelieving looks of her brother and his friend, before they crept into the Transfiguration classroom, apologetic looks adorning their faces.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The evening hours found Hermione curled up in an armchair completely absorbed in a textbook. Sirius and James crept up from either side and plonked themselves down, one on either side of her.

Hermione did not look up from her book.

James cleared his throat rather loudly.

Hermione still did not look up from her book.

“Mione,” said Sirius loudly, clapping his hands together in front of her face. Startled by the sudden booming noise, Hermione looked up.

“Oh....sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

“Are you going to explain what happened this morning,” asked James.

“We sneak around here a lot more than you do. How come you know that secret passage and we don’t?” said Sirius, one eyebrow raised in her direction.

Hermione faltered for a second. How could she tell them that she knew the passageway from the map they were yet to create?

She fumbled around in her brain looking for a plausible answer. Her time on the run with Ron and Harry had made her almost adept at lying. ‘Almost’ being the significant word in the sentence, as she struggled to find a suitable answer for what was really a very straightforward question.

“Umm... I stumbled on it towards the end of last year, literally. I was late for class and in my haste, I tripped and fell onto the tapestry – or rather the passageway behind it.”

James looked at her for a fraction of a second longer before nodding his head. Apparently he believed her story. Sirius on the other hand, still had one eyebrow raised. There was something not quite right about the story; something seemingly indefinable that he did not believe. Nevertheless, Hermione was not one to tell tales and the time he had spent with her in the past year and half proved her to be trustworthy. Finally, he nodded his head at her, indicating that he too had faith in her story.

Hermione let out an inaudible sigh at this. She could not have James and Sirius suspicious with her. This encounter had been a little too close for comfort, and she resolved to be more careful when it came to bestowing the secrets of the castle upon others.

HPHPHPHP

Hermione had been initially surprised that the boys did not know about the secret passageways. She knew that James, Sirius and Remus roamed the castle at night under James’ invisibility cloak. They didn’t take Peter; apparently he was too clumsy and too excitable for such matters.

While they had never directly said anything to Hermione there were telltale signs. Dark purple smudges underneath their eyes from lack of sleep and more often than not, a smuggled treat from the kitchens.

The boys, no doubt had extensive knowledge of the castle, even at this early age. They were also very clever. Even though Hermione had completed the course once before, she still had some competition when it came to reaching the top spot in their year.

James, Sirius, Lily, Remus and Hermione were all in constant contest to get the top marks in their year. Each of them had their speciality. For example, James had a talent for flying, Lily for Charms. Potions and Defence against the Dark Arts were forever up for grabs and the quintet knew that whoever nabbed the top spots in those two subjects was to dominate the year group. At the end of their first year it was Hermione who had achieved this, however, her joy was tempered by the memories of how she achieved such great skill in those subjects.

To this day, in fact, she marvelled at how she, Harry and Ron had not been caught brewing Polyjuice potion at school. Especially when Moaning Myrtle had made frequent, turbulent visits to their otherwise deserted bathroom.

In terms of her skill with Defence against the Dark Arts – some things were better left unsaid.

As she packed up the remainder of her homework and bid goodnight to her roommates, she thought about what it meant to tamper with time and whether or not she could give the boys a nudge in the right direction. It may not occur to them that a map could resolve all their fears about being caught roaming the castle at night.

Each of them was very advanced with their magic when compared to the rest of their cohort, but Hermione doubted that they were up to creating the map despite their inexhaustible knowledge at such an early age.

She thought for a moment.

Their magical skill may not yet be adequate, but Hermione’s ability was certainly apt for such a task.