Of Butterflies in a Hurricane

*

"What are we waiting for?! Let's go!"

Harry glared around at Ron and Hermione, who were sitting at the table of Grimmauld Place's kitchen. It had been over a day since he had announced his glorious revelation to them. They needed to go to Hogwarts. Unfortunately, Ron and Hermione hadn't jumped up as he had expected.

"Harry, we can't just rush in there," Hermione said calmly as Harry seethed in front of her. He wanted to get going!

"Well, we have to do something!" he exclaimed, annoyed by her calm attitude.

"Of course," she agreed, "but this is Hogwarts we're talking about. Their security is tighter than ever. We can't just walk in there unannounced."

"So call McGonagall!" Harry said, as though it was obvious.

"I will!" Hermione defended herself. "But you have to give it a little time, okay?"

Harry huffed and crossed his arms across his chest. He didn't want to wait. Every moment spent waiting was a moment wasted. The sooner they found and destroyed the Horcruxes, the sooner he could find Draco and finish this war.

"How much time?" he asked grudgingly. He hated waiting when he could have already been there and searching the Room of Requirement. He just knew there was something in there worthwhile; he just had to find it.

"I don't know, Harry," Hermione said consolingly. "I'll work on it. Just try to relax for a minute, okay?"

"Fine," he muttered angrily, flopping down in one of the kitchen chairs and glaring at the table.

Hermione watched him for a second then got up from the table and walked over to the fireplace. She took a handful of the green powder from the mantle and threw it into the flames. Then she stuck her head in, calling out a name.

Ron and Harry exchanged a surprised glance then went over to the fireplace and dropped to their knees. They couldn't hear anything that was going on, so they sat back and waited impatiently.

"Do you think she's gone mad?" Ron asked conversationally as Hermione's hands made a gesture, unseen by her correspondent.

"It's quite possible, but then again, she's very useful sometimes," Harry replied. Ron gave a nod of agreement and they both fell back into silence, waiting for Hermione to pull her head out of the fire.

Half an hour later, Harry and Ron were both lying on their backs, staring at the ceiling, playing idly with strings on their clothes. They were startled as Hermione's face appeared above them. Harry sat up so quickly, he nearly hit her in the nose.

She jerked back just in time, looking surprised. "Careful, Harry," she admonished.

He nodded, not really paying any attention. Beside him, Ron pushed himself into a sitting position, watching Hermione interestedly.

"Well?" he asked eagerly.

Hermione rolled her eyes at his impatience but told him anyway. "McGonagall says we can come in three days. We have to use that time to prepare fully for what could happen, both on the way and inside the castle."

"What does that mean?"

"It means we'll actually get to do some training instead of spending our time lying around all day. Ooh, I'll get to use my new books!" She looked so excited at the prospect that Harry almost regretted his decision.

"But we can go, right?" Harry asked eagerly. He desperately wanted to get started and do something.

"Yes, but three days, Harry."

"Right, three days...."

*

A day later found Harry tired and sweating, standing in Grimmauld Place's living room. The furniture had been pushed to the side and he, Ron, and Hermione were standing, all three looking winded, next to the far wall.

"Well, that was... better," Hermione said slowly, and Harry scoffed.

"That was horrible, Hermione," he said. "I can do this curse, I swear!"

"Alright, alright, you want to try again?"

Both Ron and Harry nodded fervidly. They spaced themselves out and each drew a deep breath. Hermione set out two pillows. Each had a hand-drawn face and body on it. Black dots were placed at strategic points on the pillows.

Harry raised his wand, focusing on the curse he was supposed to be mastering. He brought it down in a long slash and shouted, "Diffinito!"

He hit one of the black marks, but instead of connecting the two dots that ran from one side to the other of the pillow-man's neck, a great slash ran down the pillow. Feathers spilled everywhere and Harry let out a frustrated sigh.

"Harry, you have to aim," Hermione told him.

"I am!" he exclaimed indignantly. "It's just difficult seeing as how that could be a real person and you're slicing his neck. It's not the nicest picture to have."

"Well, it's just something you're going to have to do!" Hermione said sternly.

Harry was taken aback for a moment at Hermione's tone and words but quickly shook himself out of it. "I know, I'm trying."

Hermione looked at him sadly and shook her head. She was about to reply when there was a terrible ripping noise and feathers exploded into the room.

Through the cascade of white feathers, Harry saw Ron holding his wand lamely by his side.

"Uh... Ron?" Harry asked.

Ron just shrugged. "It's harder than it looks, you know?"

Harry saw that his pillow was completely slashed from head to feathered toe. All of the dots had been hit, though none like they ought to have been. From his side, he heard Hermione give an exasperated sigh.

"Never mind," she sighed. "Let's just try something else." She pulled out a book from her two foot high stack that sat next to the couch and sat down on the couch, riffling through the pages.

Harry and Ron took the opportunity to rest. They had been training non-stop ever since the fire-call to McGonagall. Hermione had unearthed books Harry hadn't even known existed.

They had learned Slicing Charms, Diversionary Charms, advanced Hurling Hexes, and had worked extensively on mastering silent spells; something Harry still had problems with on occasion.

Hermione flipped through the pages, occasionally folding down corners to remember. She went through nearly the entire book. Three pages from the end, she stopped, her eyes growing wide and excited.

"Oh, this would be perfect, Harry."

"What, what is it?" he asked eagerly.

Ron moved around behind Hermione to read over her shoulder. "Unplottable? You want make him Unplottable?" he asked skeptically.

"Not Unplottable, but it's a very powerful Cloaking Spell. Not as much as the Fidelius Charm, but close. It protects you from being tracked by anyone."

"That sounds interesting," Harry said slowly. "How do you do it?"

"Well, it says here we'll need to make a sort of potion to accompany the spell. We need bicorn horn, Newt blood, paprika, and a dash of sea salt."

"Why paprika?" Harry asked curiously.

Hermione shrugged. "No idea, but I think we have all these."

She set down the book and went into the kitchen, Ron and Harry trailing behind her. They watched eagerly as she pulled things down from shelves and set them on the counter. When she finally had all the ingredients, she brought them over to the stove. She lit a fire with her wand and poured in the Newt's blood, cooking it until it was simmering lightly.

She added the bicorn horn next, listening to the splash as it hit the surface. In just over a minute, the potion hissed and turned a violent shade of purple. Harry and Ron exchanged a worried glance but didn't say anything as Hermione began to stir the potion.

For eleven and a half minutes, she stirred the simmering potion. At the end of the time, she reached over and put in a teaspoon of paprika, watching as the potion slowly changed to a light violet color. It became thinner and easier to stir. Hermione checked her book once more and took up the dash of sea salt.

She backed up a little ways and Ron and Harry looked confused. She took a breath and pitched the salt into the cauldron. There was a bright explosion and a puff of smoke materialized on top of the cauldron.

Hermione came back, waving her hand to clear the smoke, and peered into the cauldron. Ron and Harry, who had been somewhat shocked by the huge explosion, crept forward. Inside the cauldron, the potion had watered down to a barely visible purple color. Harry thought it looked remarkably like Veritaserum with a purple tinge.

Hermione ladled out the still simmering potion and corked it in a few bottles. She set the bottles on the counter until she had at least six vials. Then she waved her wand over the cauldron, clearing it away and leaving only the slight remnants of smoke in the kitchen, wafting toward the ceiling.

"So... now what?" Ron asked. Hermione scooped up a few bottles and led the way back into the living room without saying anything. Harry and Ron followed curiously.

She sat down on the couch, placing the vials on her lap and reading her book closely. "According to this, someone else has to do the spell for you. It has to be someone you trust completely or else the spell is in danger of not working."

There was a moment of silence following this announcement. Harry felt suddenly awkward. Who was he supposed to choose? He trusted them both but he needed this to be done right. He knew who he had to pick in order for the spell to be successful.

He turned slowly, fearing what the reaction would be. "Hermione, would you do me?" he asked cautiously. He chanced a glance at Ron, who looked a little disappointed. "It's not you, Ron. I-I trust both of you, but I need this to work. You understand, right?"

Ron gave a silent nod, his expression unreadable. Harry hoped he hadn't done anything too horrible, but Hermione was his safest choice. She was gifted with spells and he felt he could tell her anything, or almost anything. He thought she would be the most understanding of the two once he got around to telling them about Draco, something which he knew was inevitable.

Hermione was unfazed by Harry's choice. She acted as if it was no big deal and nodded in agreement. She motioned for him to sit down on the couch next to her. While still reading the book, she handed him one of the vials.

He examined it closely, really hoping that Hermione had done it right. But, then, he did trust her.

"Okay, Harry," Hermione said, reading the book closely, "you need to drink the potion and then stay perfectly still."

Harry nodded and uncorked the vial, steeling himself, then tipped the liquid down his throat. It tasted kind of like mint, but was ice cold, considering it had been boiling minutes before. He winced at the temperature but remembered that he had to remain still, so he stopped himself.

Hermione glanced down at the book one last time and raised her wand, Ron looking on interestedly.

"Corpus Cache!" Hermione said carefully, waving her wand in a circular motion.

Harry suddenly got a feeling like it was snowing. Freezing cold drops of invisible water dropped onto his skin. He tried not to shiver as the cold increased. Hermione held the spell for nearly a minute, counting time on her watch.

When it was finally done, she lifted the wand and warmth washed over Harry's body and he sighed out loud.

"Did it work?" Ron asked immediately, looking closely at Harry.

"Let's try it," Hermione said slowly. She took her wand and a piece of paper. After making several motions above it that looked like she was writing in the air, the paper glowed a bright yellow. They all bent over it.

On the paper was a message, "The wizard you have tried to locate is unable to be found. Please try again later."

"It worked then!" Harry cried happily.

"Yes," Hermione replied, smiling. "Shall we do Ron, then?"

In the end, they all had the spell placed upon them and Harry felt safer, knowing that he wouldn't be able to be tracked at the very least. He supposed it didn't help it they just happened to find him. The spell was more for remaining hidden.

The success of the spell put all three of them in better moods and they worked harder and more diligently over the next few days until the time finally came to leave the safety of Grimmauld Place.

Harry stood in his bedroom, looking around at the blank walls and sparse furniture. Despite his hatred of the house, he felt a sort of attachment to it. He looked back to his bag that was only half packed.

A coughing voice startled him and he whipped around, looking around for the source of the voice.

"The Headmistress says you're late."

Harry's head turned finally to the usually blank portrait. Today, however, Phineas was leaning against his frame, looking bored.

"Only by a minute," Harry replied, relieved at having found who was talking.

"I don't know why they bother," Phineas muttered to himself. "Students don't have a clue about punctuality. If it were me, I would have used an old Timing Spell... Worked wonders when--"

"Thanks," Harry interrupted, having no desire to hear what Phineas had done to his students in his years as Headmaster.

"No respect!" Phineas sneered. "Ungrateful little beasts." And, muttering, he walked right out of his frame and out of sight. Harry just rolled his eyes and shoved the rest of his things in his bag.

He slung it over his shoulder and hurried downstairs. Ron and Hermione were already waiting in the kitchen. Hermione rolled her eyes as Harry hurried in.

"We're late!" she said urgently.

"So I've been told," he muttered. When Hermione gave him a questioning look, he elaborated. "I just received a visit from good old Phineas."

"Ah, yes," Hermione said, comprehension dawning. "Well, we have to go! The floo network to Hogwarts is only opened for five minutes and we've wasted two already!"

"Okay, okay!" Harry exclaimed. "Let's go."

Together, all three of them squeezed into the fireplace. Hermione grabbed a handful of green powder and threw it into the flames. "Hogwarts, Headmistress' office."

Harry's stomach gave a clench at McGonagall’s new title, but he had no time to dwell on it as he was buffeted through the floo network channels. Finally, he felt himself slowing down and he threw out his arms instinctively.

They tumbled out unceremoniously onto the Persian rug in front of the fireplace in the Head's circular office. Hermione got to her feet, taking out her wand and Vanishing the soot. Ron and Harry weren't quite that smart and merely brushed it off, spreading it further onto the rug.

"You'd think after six years of my teaching, you would have learned some manners."

Harry and Ron looked up to see Professor McGonagall standing in front of them, a tiny smile playing on her lips, but as soon as Harry looked again, it was gone.


~~**~~

A/N: Please review!