More Important Than Any Broomstick [Harmione]

32. Security Measures

After their rather extensive snogging session, Hermione said, "Harry, I've been thinking."

"That makes one of us," said Harry pouting, "I guess you snog better than me."

Hermione blushed, "Er, I, er, didn't mean just now. Believe me, I was properly distracted by your wonderful, er, snogging skills. I meant for the past week while I was working on that spell. I think we should keep your restored sight secret. It'll be another secret from V-Voldemort."

Harry looked thoughtful for a few moments. "Er, I suppose so, but I'm not gonna wear them while dueling, so a few people will know."

Hermione smiled. "That's fine. Let me make your lenses into plain glass so that you can still see while you're wearing them. Remember to squint when you're not wearing them."

Hermione winked at Harry's glasses in her hand, and then handed them to Harry, who put them on. "At least you made them impervious last year. They don't even get dirty anymore."

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The next day, Harry and Hermione decided to surprise their dueling partners with Harry's restored vision.

Harry announced, "I'm going to try dueling without my glasses."

Sirius said, "Er, well, I suppose it would help if you could duel without them, but you might have a hard time. If you're sure you want to try..."

"Positive!" said Harry, taking off his glasses and squinting at them. I'm ready."

It soon became clear that Harry was not in the least bit handicapped without his glasses.

After he'd done extremely well, Lupin asked, "How did you do that? Have you been practicing blindfolded or something?"

Harry smiled, "No, although it may be a good idea to do that some time. Last night, Hermione corrected my vision. I can now see perfectly! Now my glasses are fakes! I want to keep it secret from the general public."

Sirius, Remus, Ginny, and Neville stared at Harry while he and Hermione beamed. "H-How is that possible?" asked Sirius.

After they'd explained the spell and Ginny had tried on Harry's glasses to confirm that they were simple glass, she said happily, "Congratulations, Harry!"

"Yeah," said Neville, "I'm really happy for you!"

"That's terrific," said Sirius.

"Incredible," is more like it," said Lupin.

Once Neville and Ginny were gone (probably off to snog), Sirius said, "James always hated wearing glasses! He'd have done anything to heal his eyes. You say Dumbledore had a book with that spell in it the whole time?"

"It's a very risky spell," said Hermione. "It shouldn't be commonly practiced. You could blind someone with that spell."

"Not on the first try," said Moony, "I think it wouldn't be bad for a professional eye healer at St. Mungo's to offer to perform that spell once and only once for a person. If it doesn't work, the healer provides the patient with a new pair of glasses."

"Hm," said Hermione, "Maybe, but not right now. Harry's restored vision is a tactical advantage against his enemies."

"That reminds me," said Harry, "What new security measures is Dumbledore taking?"

Lupin spoke, "He thought about a ward to keep anyone with a dark mark out, but it would expel Karkaroff, the killer who betrayed his buddies so he could go free. Dumbledore decided against that because of the tournament. He instead put up a ward that would notify him if anyone with a dark mark entered the castle. Dumbledore would also like to put a similar ward on both of you so that you'll know if you come within twenty feet of a Death Eater. Sirius and I put up a small ward that would stop anyone with a dark mark from using the one-eyed witch secret passage. They can't get in either side of the tunnel. That way we didn't have to tell Dumbledore about it and ruin Fred and George's fun. We know you two have 'other ways' to get to Hogsmeade, so it wouldn't bother you as much. Dumbledore requested Fudge to post aurors around the castle, but Fudge wouldn't do it. He claimed that the Galleons being spent to compensate you two has taken away the resources necessary."