Chapter 234: The Clever Owl

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I would like to thank my beta, Akisu, for his help in this chapter.

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10 August 1994, Quidditch Trillenium Stadium, England

She must have noticed him staring because she turned and stiffened when she recognized his face. She snuck away from Neville, who was admiring a small Quidditch match happening in the background, and made her way to him, "Hello Harry Potter."

Harry tilted his head and responded, "Hermione Granger. It's been a while."

"That it has. Although I didn't expect to see you here of all places. You've never been a fan of Quidditch, have you?"

He snorted in amusement, "I still think this sport is too chaotic to be entertaining, but from the looks of it, over a hundred thousand witches and wizards disagree with me. I only agreed to come because I was curious about other magical cultures."

The girl brightened, "Oh, it's been brilliant. The Japanese, especially, have developed so many different ways of casting magic. It's remarkable."

"So, I'm assuming you just got out of the diary and the first thing you do, even after months of captivity is to see a Quidditch match. I would expect you to digest an entire library after so much time apart."

"I won't pretend that Quidditch interests me, and it wouldn't have been my first choice. I'm mainly here to support Neville more than anything."

Harry tilted his head, "Speaking of Neville, how has he been? I haven't seen him since the third task and things didn't look good for him, you know, after casting a killing curse in public and everything."

The Gryffindor was visibly gritting her teeth, "He's been doing a lot better. Well enough that he might even come back to Hogwarts next term."

That little fact surprised Harry more than it should have. Holy shit, the guy had almost killed his professor with a spell that would guarantee a life sentence in prison. He was lucky that Snape was experienced enough to handle the situation, but the fact remained that attempted murder was still on the table. Apparently, Snape didn't press any charges, something that was just atypical considering the man's rather petty behaviour in school.

While Harry was glad that Neville wouldn't go to prison for being manipulated repeatedly by everyone around him – Harry included – and being influenced by a fucking Horcrux on his forehead, if it had been a normal wizard, they would have been charted to Tartarus without a second's thought.

That's not even mentioning the fact that they were allowing Neville to return to school, around other children. Harry couldn't help but wonder what kind of political concessions Augusta Longbottom had to deal with to make that happen.

Hermione must have seen the surprise on Harry's face because she scowled, "He's not a bad guy, you know."

"Of course, I know. It wasn't his fault."

"Don't pretend like you care about him, not after what you did to him."

Harry frowned slightly; this was way more confrontational than he expected. He tried using his Arcane Hearing, and she didn't feel outraged… A little irritated and disappointed, but nothing truly major. Was she faking this? Like an actor playing a role?

Interested in this development, he relaxed and decided to rise to the bait, "I never pretended I liked him, but I can say that he's not a bad guy. Sure, he was a little arrogant and self-obsessed, but life quickly beat those qualities out of him. To be perfectly honest, by the end of the previous semester, I thought he was growing into a fine young man."

"And yet you betrayed him, convinced him to believe that he was unstable, insane…"

"I did no such thing. The idea was to get him to believe that he was under the illusion. The way he acted afterwards is why people kept saying those things. I had nothing to do with that. And at the time, we were definitely not on good terms; Neville had just tried to stab me in the back by being foolish enough to listen to Riddle."

"I listened to Riddle," Hermione responded, affronted.

"And you don't need me to tell you that it was foolish of you to do so. Look, Hermione, what I did to Neville wasn't my first choice, but it was the only one I had. Dumbledore wasn't going to let him say that there was a fucking Basilisk in his school. Obliviating him of the entire thing would have been the first step, and that would have messed with a fundamental moment of his life. Now that would have been cruel. Of all the choices I had, this was the best one."

"You leveraged it to Dumbledore!" she exclaimed.

Harry nodded, "I did. I offered the man a deal. To leave me alone, and in exchange, he wouldn't have had to neuter his golden boy to avoid the scandal of allowing a weapon of mass destruction to stay loose in his school, where most of the next generation lived. Not that it mattered in the end. He still ended up being forced out of the castle."

"It might have been the correct choice, but it wasn't the right one. You should have told Neville about your deal, make him stop doubting his own mind…"

While he was irritated by her judging tone, her song remained just as impassive as ever. She wasn't winded in any way, just felt a bit guilty.

Hermione definitely knew that she had no right to say whether his actions were right or wrong when she wasn't there and had caused this mess to begin with. She was the one who wrote in that diary. She was the one who let herself be possessed and hurt Daphne…

After a deep analysis using his Arcane Hearing, he came to the conclusion that the girl didn't feel any anger, just boredom, as if she was reciting a script. She was actively trying to antagonize Harry, for no reason. Also, her song had none of the small imperfections that existed in growing mages. It was controlled to a fault. It strangely reminded Harry of Minerva McGonagall of all people.

Normally, he would have thought that she was an impostor of some sort, but he recognized bits and pieces of Hermione's song. It was as structured and as rigid as ever. This was definitely Hermione Granger, just more refined.

He decided to look deeper, further away from the magic, more into Hermione herself, and stiffened. He understood now, why Hermione's presence had unsettled him so much. There wasn't anything bad in her soul, her body lacked a soul entirely, like a song without a melody, a book without pages. The magic was there, somehow. There was a connection between her body and her soul, but it just didn't reside in her body anymore.

Now, how would she handle being a little under pressure?

Harry gave Hermione a sly grin, "It's not like you're any better…"

"What do you mean?"

"Have you ever heard of Koschei the Deathless?" At her look of confusion, he continued, "Even the muggles remember his legend. Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a fearsome and powerful sorcerer known as Koschei the Deathless. Koschei was so named because he could not die. He was terrified of Death and found an old Egyptian ritual to put his soul in an object. He thought that if he put it somewhere no one could find, he would be immortal. In the end, he put his soul in a magic needle, which was inside an egg, which was inside a duck, which was inside a hare, which was locked in an iron chest, buried under a green oak tree, located on the mythical Island of Buyan in the middle of the ocean. Of course, the guy started doing the normal Dark Wizard crap and terrorized the populace, until a young hero reached the island, and caught the hare, which led to the duck, which yielded the egg, and within it, the precious needle. What the hero realized was that holding the egg gave him absolute control over the dark wizard. So much so that by just shaking it, Koschei would be flung around against his will. It's a tale that often describes to impact of someone holding your very soul in their hands…"

Hermione stiffened and her song became slightly more agitated, "What are you talking about?"

Harry knew what he was about to say was probably a bad idea; it would definitely reveal his hand, but he couldn't help himself. He hated this game of words that they were playing, especially with the thing taking the form of his former friend. It was just so tedious. He wanted to speak with her without the mask, without the act she was playing.

And so, he went for the kill, "The Department of Mysteries didn't reverse the process, did they? They just adapted it to make you exist while your soul remained in the diaries. They hold your very life in their hands like the hero did Koschei's. You belong to the Unspeakables now. I could tell you were different, I just assumed you somehow grew up in the diary, in your own made-up world, but it's more than that. You know that I was in the right, that I had no choice, you're just reciting a script, doing what you're told. Are you being near Neville for the same reason, I wonder. Is it because you were told to? Or do you truly care about him? Are you even Hermione Granger anymore?"

The girl's expression turned neutral in an unnatural way, "How did you find out?"

"Oh, honey, now we're having a proper conversation. Don't bother complaining to your Unspeakables; they know better than to mess with Arcturus Black's ward. Do you seriously expect me to answer this question when you haven't answered any of mine? I wonder what your parents would say if they saw you now."

"They're never going to see me. They moved away, in their grief of their daughter's death. They're in Australia now, and just opened a new practice. Messing with their memories any further could cause too much damage, and it's not like they would understand, not really. You're right, I am different… So are you. You've changed from the boy I knew, the boy I was friends with."

Harry snorted, "We were friends for a couple of months in our first year. You barely knew me, and I barely knew you. Sure, we ended up on friendly terms, but we haven't been real friends in a long time. Although I am curious. Is Neville your mark or do you genuinely care about him?"

"He's my assignment nothing more. I am to make sure he recovers and fulfils his destiny."

If he didn't have his Arcane Hearing, Harry would have been convinced by her words. She sounded so sincere… But her magic betrayed her feelings. Harry could hear her magic tense and a mix of fear and concern. Huh, she still genuinely cared about the boy, after all that happened to her.

Speaking of the boy, Harry saw him looking around for Hermione, "Good luck with that."

"You don't care?" the girl asked with a stupefied tone.

"I don't owe him anything. As far as I'm concerned, I paid my debt to him fair and square, going above and beyond. Just because he doesn't know everything, I did for him, doesn't mean that they never happened. And I think having a friend, even one like you, would help him. Being alone is such a horrible thing… I'll be watching you with great interest, Hermione Granger."

With that said Harry waited until someone stood in front of him and activated his invisibility cloak. Seconds later, he saw Neville finding Hermione. He looked oddly content. And the girl gave him a warm smile that wasn't completely fake. Yeah, those two would have their issues, but he was sure the duo would deal with them later. And if they didn't, it wasn't really any of Harry's business, in the end.

Deciding that this was enough excitement for the day, Harry activated the tracking charm he put on Arcturus and followed back to the train. It didn't take him too long to arrive at the location and suppressed a grin at the sight of the tent.

The damn thing was massive and looked more the size of a small circus tent than anything. The funny thing was that it didn't even need to be this size. The interior would have been charmed to be expanded anyway. However, it seemed like Arcturus liked to show off his wealth.

Still, Harry entered the tent and found himself in what looked like an opulent foyer, reminiscent of a grand mansion rather than a temporary magical structure. The ceiling soared high above, enchanted to mimic a clear, starlit night sky.

Arcturus Black, standing at the centre of the room with an air of casual authority, noticed Harry's entrance and gestured for him to join the group.

"Harry, let me introduce you to some very esteemed friends of mine," Arcturus began, "This is Charles De Galard, from one of the oldest and most revered families in France."

Next, he moved to a man whose presence was less polished but no less imposing. "Peter Shuvalov," he continued, "one of the few remaining noble magicians after the Great War."

Finally, Arcturus indicated a charming individual with an easy smile. "And this is Sebastien Delacour, a very influential man in the French Ministry. The four of us fought together, alongside your Grandfather, in the Great War. In a way, these are the only people alive who know your grandfather almost as well as I do."

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AN: It was hard writing this interaction, tbh. A lot happened in a year, and it's only right to assume that Hermione would be different as well. I wanted it to sound natural with the same awkwardness there would be from two old friends catching up after years. I don't know if I pulled it off, and it did come out more confrontational than I wanted it to be.

I also know that some of you will think it was short-sighted of Harry to reveal what he knew, and you're right. It's his main character flaw. For all his talks, Harry is very prideful when it comes to his intelligence and likes to lord it over his opponents. Plus, even if he doesn't admit it, he was emotional at seeing Hermione for the first time in almost a year and a half and wasn't really thinking straight.

As usual, please let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions.

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If you want to support me check out my patréon at https://www.patréon.com/athassprkr

I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.

Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.