Stay with Me | Hermione Granger x Female OC (Book 4)

Xenophilius

That night, Hermione and Ellie sat just outside the tent, keeping watch as Ron and Harry stayed inside. Ellie sat behind her girlfriend, her arms wrapped around Hermione's waist as she rested her chin on her shoulder.

A sudden blast came from inside the tent, making the girls jump. They heard Harry's voice recite the reducing spell and scrambled to their feet.

"What's going on in there?" Hermione questioned as she pulled her girlfriend with her, ducking underneath the tent's flaps.

"Nothing!"

"Nothing!"

"We need to talk," Hermione announced as she came face-to-face with the boys.

"Yeah, all right," Ron answered as Harry looked to her expectantly.

Ellie watched quietly as Hermione pushed past the boys to stand on one of the steps, her natural leadership tendencies emerging.

"I want to go see Xenophilius Lovegood."

"Sorry?" Harry confirmed.

Hermione stepped closer to Harry as she presented him a page in her book, bending the binding backwards as she showcased the image she had been analyzing just a few moments earlier.

"See this? It's a letter Dumbledore wrote to Grindelwald. Look at the signature. It's the mark again. It keeps cropping up," Hermione explained as she sat on the steps. "In Beedle the Bard, in the graveyard in Godric's Hollow."

"It was there too," Harry stated, realization overcoming his expression.

"Where?"

"Outside Gregorovitch's Wand Shop."

"What does it mean?" Ron questioned.

"Look, you've got no idea where the next Horcrux is, and neither do I. But this, this means something. I'm sure of it," Hermione reasoned.

"Yeah, Hermione's right," Ron agreed as he stepped up to stand next to the girl. "We ought to see Lovegood."

Ellie stepped up to Hermione's other side, interlacing their fingers together. "She has a point, Harry. It's the only lead we have."

"Let's vote on it. Those in favor?" Ron suggested as he raised his hand.

The rest of the group stayed quiet, simply staring at the ginger. Hermione merely gave him a frown look as she walked away, taking Ellie along with her.

--

It was December 28, 1997, the day after Hermione's suggestion to visit Xenophilius.

The quartet had apparated to the outskirts of the Lovegood residence. They climbed the hill and saw an oddly shaped home that seemed to have resembled a rook in chess.

"Luna," Harry stated as he stopped to observe the home.

"Luna," the rest of the group confirmed.

The quartet grew nearer, and soon enough, they stood just outside the residence. On its dark oak door was a golden plaque that read: The Quibbler; Editor X Lovegood.

Ellie knocked on the door and stepped backward as Ron read the sign: Keep off the Dirigible Plums.

The door suddenly opened, though the bottom half stayed in place. The man who had opened the door had long, grey hair, his clothes seeming to have been knitted poorly. He held a deranged expression as he scanned the faces of the trio.

"What is it? Who are you? What do you want?" the man barked.

"Hello, Mr. Lovegood. I'm Harry Potter. We met a few months ago," Harry introduced as he stepped up to the porch. "Could we come in?"