The Stars Aligned

Chapter 42

May 1, 1998

I love poetry.

I was thinking about it, and that's how I would describe my life with Draco. Before him, it was one big paragraph, with terrible grammar and run-on sentences. And with him, everything became beautiful and serene and lovely, like the poetry that flows down the center of the page.

I'm back to a big paragraph and run on sentences, wondering if I'll ever experience poetry again.

It's exceptionally lonely, being Hermione Granger without Draco Malfoy.

And this paragraph is so damn long.

Ron and I rushed through the halls, holding tight to our armfuls of Basilisk fangs. We had been looking for Harry for what felt like such a long time, though I also kept an eye out for other familiar faces, hoping to see Theo or Pansy or Blaise or Luna. We skidded around a final corner we saw Harry, who released a yell of mingled relief and fury.

"Where the hell have you been?" Harry shouted.

"Chamber of Secrets," said Ron.

"Chamber— what?" said Harry, coming to an unsteady halt before us.

"It was Ron, all Ron's idea!" I said breathlessly, impressed by his wits. "Wasn't it absolutely brilliant? There we were, after we left, and I said to Ron, even if we find the other one, how are we going to get rid of it? We still hadn't got rid of the cup! And then he thought of it! The basilisk!"

"What for?"

"Something to get rid of Horcruxes," said Ron simply.

Harry's eyes dropped to the fangs clutched in arms. "But how did you get in there?" he asked, staring from the fangs to Ron. "You need to speak Parseltongue!"

"He did!" I said proudly, nudging him. "Show him, Ron!"

Ron made a horrible strangled hissing noise.

"It's what you did to open the locket," he told Harry apologetically. "I had to have a few goes to get it right, but," he shrugged modestly, "we got there in the end."

I rolled my eyes at his downplay. "He was amazing!" I beamed at him. "Amazing!" I was proud of him, truly. Ron smiled.

"So..." Harry was struggling to keep up. "So..."

"So we're another Horcrux down," said Ron, and from under his jacket he pulled the mangled remains of Hufflepuff's cup. "Hermione stabbed it. Thought she should. She hasn't had the pleasure yet."

"Genius!" yelled Harry.

"It was nothing," said Ron, though he looked delighted with himself. "So what's new with you?"

As he said it, there was an explosion from overhead: We looked up as dust fell from the ceiling and heard a distant scream.

"I know what the diadem looks like, and I know where it is," said Harry, talking fast. "He hid it exactly where I had my old Potions book, where everyone's been hiding stuff for centuries. He thought he was the only one to find it. Come on."

As the walls trembled again, Harry led us through a concealed entrance and down the staircase into the Room of Requirement. It was empty except for three women: Ginny, Tonks and an elderly witch wearing a moth-eaten hat, whom I recognized immediately as Neville's grandmother.

"Ah, Potter," she said crisply as if she had been waiting for him. "You can tell us what's going on."

"Is everyone okay?" said Ginny and Tonks together.

"'S far as we know," said Harry. "Are there still people in the passage to the Hog's Head?"

"I was the last to come through," said Mrs. Longbottom. "I sealed it, I think it unwise to leave it open now Aberforth has left his pub. Have you seen my grandson?"