Harvest Moon

To Dracoschick007: Glad you’re enjoying and braved the massive read in one shot. I appreciate it.

Crumplette: Sorry I didn’t get to you before. I’m happy that you like the story.

Skibblezing: Very much appreciate the sentiment. Not so sure it’s awesome but thank you.

Shortyhj87: Happy that you’ve enjoyed the story this long. Thank you for reviewing.

Voracious Reader: You’ll find out why Draco knows so much about the caves in the next couple of chapters. Thank you, as always.

Taz: Thanks for sticking with me and being a fabulous sometimes beta. When I remember to send you chapters. *sigh*



***

Hermione, Draco and Harry eased along the very narrow fissure in the cave, turning sideways to do so. Hermione had a bit of an easier time, being smaller in stature than the two men. When she’d finished squeezing through, she stood at the edge of what looked to be a narrow stone bridge. She scooted to the left a bit to allow Draco and Harry to stand on the small ledge before the bridge.



Hermione turned to look at Draco. “What’s the trick to this bridge?” she asked.



Draco frowned a little, trying to remember. “I’m not certain I recall. I know there is one.”



“That much is obvious,” Hermione said.



“Dare I ask how it’s obvious?” Harry asked, plastering himself to the wall of the cave.



“Simple, look there,” she said, pointing to where the water level under the bridge was the lowest several meters below. Six inches of a heavy metal spike could be seen above the water and as the tide flowed out a bit more a skeletal ribcage became visible.



Harry and Draco both winced at the sight of it. “Bad way to go,” Harry muttered.



“Definitely. If you did manage to get yourself off the spike the chance of infection and gangrene would be high, even with the salt content in the water. If the fall and blow didn’t kill you, and you couldn’t get off of the spike, you’d still be stuck there to drown when the high tide came in,” Hermione said. Watching as the water receded, revealing still more spikes at varying heights and mangled bodies.



Harry’s eyebrows drew together as he thought. “Arabella said there were no wards or magickal traps down here, didn’t she?”



Draco nodded. “There never had to be. If you managed to get into the castle through this way, the wards would guarantee you were never getting back out again. There is one bit of magick to the cave that I remember though.”



“Which is?” Hermione prompted.



“Aside from lumos spells, nothing else works down here. I’m not sure if it’s even an actual ward or if the cave is a null space for magick,” Draco said.



Hermione frowned. “So, that lets out us levitating across the gap.”



“True enough,” Draco said. “Just wish I could remember what the hell the trick to this was.”



“Well, we can’t just stand here all night,” Hermione said, sounding frustrated. “If there are no magickal wards down here then it has to be something fairly simple that could be reset easily. Draco, do you know if what went in and out of here was headed for muggle hands or wizard ones?”



“Mix,” he said with a shrug.



Hermione nodded. “Makes sense.” She studied the bridge for a few more moments. “Harry, tie that rope around my waist. You and Draco hold on to the other end. I’ll go across and tie it to something on the other side.”



“Why would you be the first to go, Hermione?” Harry protested.



Hermione rolled her eyes and snagged the rope from Harry’s shoulder then started tying it around her waist herself. “Simple. I’m lighter than either of you are. If the bridge responds to pressure and weight, I’m the least likely to set it off.” She finished the knots and tossed the other end to Draco.



“You know that’s going to hurt like hell if you fall. Even with us holding you, you might hit the cave wall and the jolt wouldn’t be any sort of picnic either,” Draco pointed out.



Hermione shrugged. “We don’t have time to debate that. Lucius is in danger so it can’t be helped.”



“Hermione, be careful,” Harry said, looking extremely worried for her.



In that moment she saw the eleven year old boy he had been when they’d been facing the trials in the hunt for the Sorcerer’s stone. One of her very best friends for years. She sincerely hoped they could get back to that one day. “I will, Harry.”



She turned and set one foot gingerly onto the bridge. When it bore her weight, she carefully took another step forward then another. Instead of giving her confidence, it made her all the more wary of what might happen next. That wariness proved to be a good thing as on the fifth step the bridge started to wobble dangerously.



“Hermione, are you okay?”



“Fine,” she said. This could get tricky and she needed to concentrate without any interruptions. She cautiously slid one foot forward but on putting her weight on it the whole bridge suddenly tilted sideways, dumping her off of it. She grabbed for the edge just in time to keep from plummeting onto the spikes with the other unfortunate souls. She hung there for a moment, trying to catch her breath as she’d had the wind knocked squarely out of her, ignoring Draco and Harry’s worried questions. When she could breathe properly again she said, “Will you two daft men please shut up!”



Draco snorted in typical Malfoy fashion. “Fine. See if we’re worried about you again while we’re in this cave.”



“A girl can only be so lucky,” she snarked back. “I think I’ve found the trick to the bridge.”



“Evidently,” Harry said.



“Shall we let you dangle there or would you prefer we reel you in?” Draco asked.



“Smart ass. You get it from your father,” she said, starting to carefully move hand over hand toward the other side.



“You know, I’m not sure I’ll be able to stand you as a step mother, Granger.”



She gave a non committal grunt before getting to the point the bridge tilted back upright again. She finally pulled herself onto the ledge at the opposite side of Draco and Harry. “It’s like a child’s teeter totter,” she said. “Only it’s cross balanced.”



“What do you mean cross balanced, Hermione,” Harry asked.



“Just what I said. The pivot point runs diagonally instead of straight down the middle. Diabolically ingenious. It isn’t magick, it’s physics properly applied.” She started back across the bridge using the diagonal course she knew would keep her from falling off again and made it back to them without incident.



“Hermione, you’re a genius,” Harry said.



“If I were a genius, I’d not have fallen off in the first place,” she said, leading the way back across. “Oh, and Draco, no woman in her right mind would marry your father.”



Draco smirked at that. “You should have told my mother that then.”



“That explains volumes about her.”



“So, you’re not going to marry Father?”



“He’s not asked me and I doubt he will but if he does . . . Not on a dare.”