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

Aberforth

"Never mind. What happened?" Ron urged.

"Well, he's angry. And scared too," Harry explained. "He knows if we find and destroy all the Horcruxes, we'll be able to kill him. I reckon he'll stop at nothing to make sure we don't find the rest."

Hermione knelt down to fumble in her bag, withdrawing her bottle of Essence of Dittany. She removed the dropper and started placing them into Harry's and Ron's waiting hands. Ellie raised an eyebrow, though she eventually held out her hands for Hermione as well.

"Your burns," Hermione explained quickly.

Ellie examined her hands for a moment, seeing that red angry burns covered them. She hadn't noticed them before, but the treasure seemed to have injured her. She rubbed Hermione's potion between her palms, wincing as it slowly healed her injuries.

"There's more. One of them's at Hogwarts," Harry continued.

"What? You saw it?" Hermione questioned, looking up from her bag, holding a bundle of clothing in her hand.

"I saw the castle and Rowena Ravenclaw. It must have to do with her. We have to go there now," Harry prompted as he began pulling off the flannel over his head.

Ellie and Ron followed suit, removing the wet clothing that stuck to their skin.

"We can't do that. We've got to plan. We've got to figure it out," Hermione protested as she threw bundles of clothes at her friends' feet.

"Hermione, when have any of our plans ever actually worked? We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose," Harry reasoned as he pulled a dry shirt over his head.

"Hermione, love. There's no time for planning," Ellie convinced as she began dressing herself in dry clothing.

"He's right," Ron agreed. "One problem: Snape's headmaster now. We can't just walk through the front door."

"Um, well, we'll go to Hogsmeade, to Honeydukes. Take the secret passage in the cellar," Harry proposed. "It's... There's something wrong with him. It's like, you know, in the past, I've always been able to follow his thoughts. And now, everything just feels disconnected."

"Maybe it's the Horcruxes," Ron suggested. "Maybe he's growing weaker. Maybe he's dying."

"No. No, it's more like he's wounded. If anything, he feels more dangerous," Harry finalized.

Ellie looked to Hermione to find that she had wrapped herself in a towel, too embarrassed to change in front of the boys. The Hufflepuff removed the towel from her girlfriend and extended her arms, using it to shield her from Ron and Harry's view.

"Go change, my love. They're not looking," Ellie reassured as she silently motioned for the boys to turn away.

--

Night fell quickly, and soon, the quartet Apparated themselves to Hogsmeade. They could barely see as the snowstorm hindered their view.

Hermione clutched onto Ellie's arm, grasping her bicep softly as she huddled close for warmth. Ellie placed a kiss on Hermione's forehead as the rest of them began to look around. Ellie's eyes grew wide as she glanced to a few posters plastered on the wall, the information describing an urgent search for Harry Potter.

Just as Ellie was about to open her mouth to warn the others, a loud alarm began to screech. Men began to shout from nearby, and faces of panic grew on the quartet's faces.

They quickly hid behind a large object, holding their breath as they heard two footsteps grow near. Ellie held Hermione close, using her body to shield her girlfriend in the event the Death Eater found them. Just as one of the footsteps were about to step into their view, another loud siren erupted, causing them to run off in that direction.