A Dance Through Thyme (Harry Potter)

Potenzial

Chapter 37: Potential

Aberforth Dumbledore got the shock of his life when he saw Hermione suddenly appear in the midst of his bar. The crash and subsequent splintering of a glass did nothing to mask the sound of Hermione’s apparition.

“Damn, girl, haven’ I told you not to do that sort o’ thing in my bar?” he cried out, wheezing slightly as he bent down to pick the shards of glass up and off the floor.

Hermione grinned. With the sudden increased frequency of her visits, she had become rather friendly with Aberforth. Even so, she knew him to only be half joking about her apparating directly into the bar.

“Oh, come on Ab. You know that I have to do it. Albus ordered it now that the Death Eaters are making a more regular appearance on the outside. We can’t have them knowing how we really use this place.”

Aberforth grumbled a little under his breath, waving Hermione away. 

The inside of the bar was warm, and Hermione pulled the scarf from her neck as she climbed the stairs to the first sitting room. Then a quick wave to Ariana meant that she was granted access to the annexe. Knowing that she would be the only person there, she made herself a quick cup of tea before knuckling down to do some work.

The horcruxes had been collected, and deposited here in the room. They had been kept locked in a cupboard for over a month. Only Hermione had the key to get into it, and no other person dared to prod a toe near it. In fact, many were fearful.

They were not aware that the objects were horcruxes; many did not even know what a horcrux was. But they had seen the injuries that had been inflicted on Dumbledore and Severus. Both had been attended to by Regulus Black.

More than one member of the Order had been shocked to see Regulus, and Sirius had almost started several fist-fights irrespective of how many times Dumbledore had warned them to be cordial and trusting. Apparently Regulus had many talents, and with him being the very person who had created many of the protective enchantments for Voldemort, he had a pretty good idea of what was required to fix the aftermath.

Dumbledore’s arm remained injured; it had been touched by cursed magic, and there was nothing that could be done to remedy that. However, the curse had been successfully removed before any more damage could be inflicted.

Snape on the other hand. had been a little more tricky.

Although Regulus had administered the antidote to him almost immediately, the psychological damage was far more apparent. On the odd occasion when Snape decided to attend a meeting, he would sit in silence as he stared at the ground. His face and hands were the only things that were not covered by his billowing, black robes; and even these looked far more pale and gaunt than usual.

Hermione desperately wanted to help him; but she did not know how. She could hardly invite herself into his home and have a one-to-one session about what he saw in the cave. It was obvious, even to the most casual passer-by that he was already reliving his worst memories every waking moment of the day. He did not need Hermione there to further dissect them.

Reverting her thoughts back to the present, Hermione took a key that was hanging on a silver chain around her neck. Pushing it into the lock of the cupboard that contained the horcruxes, she opened the doors to reveal what had taken months of planning to acquire.

Although the room of silent, Hermione was sure that she could hear the ever-present ticking of Slytherin’s locket. If she didn’t know any better she might have thought that it had a heart.

Staring at these objects for a few moments longer, Hermione allowed her previous conversations with a still recuperating Dumbledore to permeate her psyche. He had been as unrelenting as ever in his over-arching plans, and this scared Hermione immensely.