Chapter Nineteen:
In the Ruins
Hermione climbed over rubble. She could see where the griffin that guarded the Headmaster's office was, but there were hills of crumbling castle to get over first. The bond with her new wand was not yet strong enough to cast a flying charm on herself that would actually take her high enough to get over it all. Thus, she had to climb.
After many grunts and groans, she had made it to the griffin. Now she had a new problem, figuring out how to get into the locked office. McGonagall had refused to take the old office as her own after Dumbledore's death. Consequently, it was still under one of his passwords. First she tried a number of various sweets, but none of the worked. The griffin did not move.
With a huff she ran her fingers through her long curls. She needed the books that were in this locked office. She did not know of anywhere else where she could get them. This was her one and only chance. "I need inside," she whispered a desperate tone to her voice.
The griffin eyes gleamed gold for a moment before the ground began to shake. Hermione held her wand up, she was unsure of what was happening. Had Voldemort found her already? The griffin statue creaked and groaned as it moved out of the way to reveal the winding staircase. She kept her wand up as she approached it cautiously. She made her way up the stairs. The ground shook again as the griffin moved back into place. Hermione had to hold onto the wall in order to keep her balance and look behind her.
Carefully she opened the door that lead to the office. Everything in the once pristine room was covered in a thick layer of dust. The red carpet under her feet crunched with dirt. The gold and silver trinkets that stood about every where no longer held the unnatural gleam about them. This saddened Hermione a little, the office no longer held the wonder it used to.
"Ah, we have a visitor. It has been a long time since we had one," said the raspy voice of Albus Dumbledore. Hermione nearly jumped out of her skin at hearing the voice of the old Headmaster. She turned around, only to see no one. She then looked the wall where the portraits of past Headmasters hung. There among them was the portrait of Albus Dumbledore.
"Sir, I…uh…how are you?" It was the only thing she could think to say.
"I am well, miss Granger. Now, what is it that you need?"
Hermione frowned. "How did you know I needed something, sir?"
The griffin only allows passage to those who need help and mean no ill will. Thus, I can only assume you need something from my personal effects."
Hermione's cheeks were tinged pink. She cleared her throat. "Yes, sir, you have assumed correct. I need books from your personal library, the ones on soul transfer and time."
Dumbledore stared at her for a long while, finally, he spoke. "That is dangerous and dark magic, miss Granger, if you fail in even one small step you will die."
"I am prepared if that happens, sir, but if I don't try I will die anyway."
Dumbledore stroked his beard. "Very well, miss Granger. You will find the books you seek back there, third row, fourth shelf from the top, on the left hand side."
Hermione bowed to him. "Thank you, sir." She then walked over the said shelf and found two old leather bound books. One was entitled, Transferring the Soul and the other was called, Moving with Time. Sitting down on the floor she began to read.
Within several hours Hermione had read enough of all three books in her possession to know what she had to do. She would have to make a potion that would have to brew for three days and nights in order to transfer her soul and as she was drinking the potion she would have to cast a complex spell in order to move her soul through time. To do this, she would have to hope that her wordless magic was up for the task as she would be unable to recite the spell without a partner.
Finally, she stood. She hoped that the potions lab still had a preservation spell on its ingredients stock. If not, then it would take her a year or more to get everything. "Good luck, Miss Granger, may you succeed in your goal!" called the voice of Dumbledore, as she opened the door to the office and left in search of the dungeons.
Creepy was not a sufficient enough word to describe the dungeons of Hogwarts now. With no one else in the castle the chill in the air made Hermione's skin get goose bumps. She could have sworn she heard the howling of invisible ghosts as she made her way over rubble and down the stairs to the dungeon. The track down to them was easier than her track to the Headmaster's office. Her wand was held tight in her grasp, at any moment she was expecting Professor Snape to come out of the shadows and reprimand her for being out and about at night. She shook her head at the silly fear, Snape was dead and she doubted even if he was a ghost that he would choose to haunt the dungeons of a fallen Hogwarts.
Soon, she made it to where the potion stock room was. She smiled upon seeing it. As she had hoped everything had been placed under a preservation spell. Now all she had to do was get the ingridents and prepare them for the long potion she would need to brew. She was one step closer to her goal, but it would not be met until Tom Riddle ceased to exist.
A/N: Next Chapter Hermione goes back in time. How will she be welcomed? Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
FL