HPNS- Chapter 11

Read Chapter 10 here or start at the beginning


THE SAPPHIRE KEYSTONE

“And you can have this dazzling item for a modest eight- hundred galleons, young sir!” said the salesman enthusiastically shoving a diamond- studded bracelet under Ron’s long freckled nose, “made exquisitely from pure Goblin gold and these diamonds are here all the way from India”.

Ron gulped slightly after registering the initial shock.

One of his bestest friends… perhaps more than a friend… was turning nineteen tomorrow. The question was not of being generous, but this was something he plainly couldn’t afford.

“Uh… erm… good! But just to be sure, is there anything else you got that’s a little below that range?” Ron managed to find his voice, “you see it’s just for a friend’s birthday”.

The salesman was a large, ruddy man, who looked immaculate with his trim, oily hair, conspicuous belly and shining white teeth. Although he didn’t look capable of it, he was watching Ron’s expression with great profundity.

In his fruity voice, he asked “Would this friend by any chance, be a girl-friend?”

“NO! I mean… umm… not really… actually I’m not… uh, no” Ron stuttered in his confusion and annoyance.

‘This is none of his bloody business!’ he thought to himself, while the salesman suddenly disappeared into the interior rooms of his shop without a word.

Ron Weasley stood inside the large and obscenely glittering emporium ‘La Bijou’ that had opened up under a famous French gemologist recently in Hogsmeade. It was the new hot-spot for all the latest fashion jewelry for both witches and wizards, and the only reason it was deserted on a Friday evening was because, only the previous day a group of Inferi had attacked shoppers in Hogsmeade. Ron had however braved a visit as this was the only day he had left, Hermione’s birthday being on the next day. Drumming his fingers lightly on the counter, Ron stood impatiently as the salesman finally returned clutching an attractive box of claret velvet with gems encrusted on the lid and fastenings.

“I have something here that might interest you sir. You’ve known this ‘friend’ of yours for a long time, no?”

“Yeah I guess… Blimey! Eight years now. But look here, before you open that I can tell you I won’t be paying a single knut above fifty Galleons for anything you’ve got” Ron said firmly.

Ignoring him the salesman opened the case and held out the object within it for Ron’s perusal. It was a beautiful necklace.

It had a simple, rather slim silver chain, but the pendant, shaped like a key was truly breathtaking. Ron’s eyes followed the glint of the craved stones in his palm as he was rendered speechless by its elusiveness. A shiver rippled across his arm and traveled through each vein and sinew in his body.

The salesman went on to explain at length, “This little beauty is something I wouldn’t offer a regular customer. But sir you’re lucky cuz’ you’re the only the customer I had today. The chain as you can see is made from silver and the pendant is a cross between Venetian silver and platinum. If you notice the gems in the middle, they’re Egyptian Sapphires as rare as you can find. This sir was crafted by twelve Egyptian elves and even placed in the centre of the Pyramid of Isis to focus magical energy. Its powers are not all discovered but I can assure you it is one of the strongest things I possess”

The monologue passed unnoticed, as Ron continued to flash the sparkle of the chain around the emporium walls. “Fine then, how much for this?” he asked shortly, not wanting to tear his gaze from the necklace.

That same night in her apartment, Hermione Granger looked around at the small living room with satisfaction. It was pristine with everything in order and arranged. It looked well looked after but not overly fussed over as her friends would predict and tease her.

She was anxious about the party and had taken every detail into account. The old muggle gramophone that she had inherited from her grandfather had been bewitched to play the latest tunes and the dining table was ready with all the plates on top of each other. As though to check if she had forgotten to invite someone, Hermione ran her eyes down the guest-list.

It was only Harry who hadn’t responded.

Holding back a huge wave of disappointment she reminded herself that it was good of the others to oblige to a party, despite the war. Her mother had offered to bring the cake and eatables but she would send an owl as a reminder anyway… Hermione could-not have any last-minute goof-ups.

Ascending the stairs, she decided to retire for the night but the excitement kept sleep out of her eyes for a long time. She got out of the covers to check if her outfit had been starched. Yes, it looked perfect… it was lovely and she could never thank Esmeralda enough for getting it for her birthday. More than anything she couldn’t wait to meet all her friends from Hogwarts who weren’t in the Order and find out how they were all carrying on, not to mention all the presents… it was only a matter of a few hours, and then she would be nineteen.

It felt as though she had hardly closed her eyes when Hermione was shaken awake by the sound of distant knocking. Forcing herself into a sitting position, she rubbed her eyes and examined the time in her beside clock. She squealed in fright and wrapped her dressing-gown around her, tidied herself in the mirror and ran down the stairs clutching her wand. The loud knocking resounded in her sitting room, shaking the dinner plates.

She quickly asked who it was without opening the door, her wand pointed at the key hole.

“Ron- Weasley- with- your- birthday- present!” came the reply, muffled slightly through the door.

“Well then” said Hermione, clearing her voice, before asking “What is the name of Hagrid’s younger brother?”

“Oh let me guess, kinda tall for his age, blonde hair, blue eyes and a magnificent physique, excellent English skills… wouldn’t that be Grawp?” Ron retorted, with an air of morning impatience.

Hermione opened the door only to be swept roughly into an unexpected and smothering embrace.

As he pulled away from her, Ron gripped her shoulders and yelled ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY!’ right at her face. Blinking at him from the shock, Hermione stared at Ron for a moment, who’s face only a few inches away from hers looking positively alight with excitement.

“Th-thank you Ron” she finally managed with an uncertain smile.

“Blimey, I can’t believe you slept in on your birthday- that is so-not- you. I thought you’d have showered and be ready by now, so I dropped in. I couldn’t wait till evening to give you your present. So how do you feel, now that you’re nineteen?” Ron continued with exhilaration, as he let go of her and entered the tidy apartment. He was still in his pyjamas.

Hermione would’ve believed it if someone had told her that this man was actually an imposter, as she had never seen Ron this thrilled about her birthday in her life. And she couldn’t bear it if he was just being cheeky. So she told him to calm down and asked if he wanted any breakfast, as Ron glanced around at the room, drinking in the details of her lodging.

Quite without warning, he turned around and walked up close to her and held out an object wrapped in gold paper in his hands, “This is for you” he said and awkwardly added “uh, Happy Birthday again”.

Hermione peered at him and saw a hint of embarrassment in lieu of his outburst. “Thanks Ron, you really shouldn’t ha-“, she began to say when Ron cut her statement,

“Open it fast!”

***

THUD! The sound reverberated across the walls of the cave and in the walls of Harry’s ears. Jumping from a state of deep sleep, Harry Potter slowly registered what the noise had been. Reaching out for his wand that lay hanging on the edge of the table, he sprang to his feet, his heartbeat increasing by the minute.

‘How could he have been so callous?’

He had slept off on the stretch of books that had increased since the past week. Shaking the drowsiness out of his eyes, Harry focused closely at the entrance of the cave from where heavy, ominous footsteps grew louder. Deciding quickly that he would rather avoid the adversary than face it, he dived under a large boulder that hung precariously over a ledge.

His face was close to the ground and Harry observed the little rocks and particles shudder as the approaching sound thundered across the grotto. He gasped as a strange creature suddenly poked its face under the boulder where he was hiding.

Staring face to face, the creature first reacted by holding a small lantern into Harry’s eyes through the crevasse. At once Harry recognized it… he had seen it in his third year at Hogwarts… yes, the lantern and everything… it was a Hinkypunk.

From what he could see, it was a one-legged creature and looked as if it were made of an eerie green smoke. But what he couldn’t explain was why the sound of the approaching Hinkypunk had been so loud, not when it was hardly taller than him.

As if to answer his question, the Hinkypunk raised the lantern and Harry made the mistake of staring into the gloomy light of the lamp. Hypnotized by its light, he slowly slid out of his place of hiding and looked up at what had actually been the cause of the noise…

***

There was a moment’s pause as Hermione held her unwrapped present in her hands, “You got something for me from La Bijou?” she asked incredulously, as she looked at the inscription on the velvet box.

Ron’s eyes glinted with amusement and pride, “Will you open it before I grow a beard, Hermione?”

Not knowing what to expect, Hermione moved her shuddering fingers around the silver clasp and opened the case. She couldn’t believe what she saw… it was something out of a fairytale.

In the depths of the spacious maroon inner compartment of the jewel encrusted case, there lay a necklace with a long silver chain and a slim, carved dazzling pendant.

“Ron-no-way! I-I really can’t accept something like this. I-I’m just having my birthday, not getting m-married” Hermione said, her voice quivering with disbelief.

“Why you don’t like it?” Ron panicked, “I was worried something like this would happen- I guess it is a bit dressy- but still, I thought the colour would suit you! It's not just that, the sales-bloke said that the key on the chain is a key to open the box and you can use the box to store your most worthy possessions. Geez you can’t really figure out what to buy women!” he said rapidly, clenching his red hair in dismay.

Hermione gazed at the necklace. It was so wonderful that she knew she didn’t deserve to own it. She couldn’t have hoped for something better… this was perfect.

“It’s beautiful…”she finally managed to break the silence, “I’ve never seen anything quite so… quite so lovely. But Ron this is really expensive and I can’t accept it. I mean for goodness’ sake, I got you a book on defensive magic for your last birthday. You have no right to give me something like this” she said, trying to inject some balance to her shaking voice.

“Well I can’t take it back, if that’s what you’re asking me to do. If you don’t like it I’ll just have to give it to Ginny” Ron said, with an odd look in his eyes.

Hermione looked up at him and insisted, “No look, you’ll have to let me pay at least half of what this is worth. Ron you’re not even earning a proper salary, I can’t let you do this. I’ve seen what the stuff displayed at La Bijou is priced at. Have you lost your mind? I mean when have I ever said I wanted something like this… something this much?” she stammered.

Ron looked deep into her eyes with the same convincing hard look that Ginny used most of the times.

“Look either you keep it without another word, or hand it over” he said softly.

“B-but…” Hermione began to say, but Ron interrupted her again,

“A simple ‘thank you’ would suffice!”

As she looked from the gleaming sapphires in her hand up into Ron’s sapphire eyes, she was mesmerized by the intense, mysterious look in them... he had never looked at her that way.

Running her fingers unconsciously over the gems, she looked down as her head reeled and the lump in her throat grew bigger. Her insides ached with a powerful and tragic feeling… she felt very small within… she couldn’t bear to look up at him, not if he looked at her like that again.

“Th-th-thanks” she said quietly, in a voice unlike her own. She felt Ron close in further, lower his head and ask plaintively, “Why don’t you try it on?”

“Oh sure… it’ll go perfectly with these rags I’m wearing and what I’m looking like right now” Hermione retorted.

Nevertheless she couldn’t fight the urge any longer. She walked up to the mirror at the corridor and with extreme deliberation, she lifted the gleaming object up to her throat. Once fastened, Hermione felt a wave of warmth flow through her body and as though it had always been right there, the necklace sat shimmering against her white skin. A very calm, slow and sleepy feeling swept over her brain as her fingers caressed the ornament… she thought it looked flawless and somehow matched with even the dressing-gown she had slipped on.

She turned sideways and faced Ron, more bravely this time and said, “Thanks Ron. Possibly nothing that anyone has ever got for me could beat this. Thanks…”

They stared at each other for a few minutes, spell-bound by the beauty of the chain… and of each other.

“Well, I’d better head back. Got some stuff to do before I come back in the evening” Ron said suddenly heading towards the front door, his pyjamas flapping at the heels.

Before he got out he turned around to face her once more and asked “Wear it tonight for the party, will you?”

Smiling imperiously as though under a trance Hermione replied, “I’ll never be able to take this off even if I wanted to”

***

“Hagger send Grawp. Hagger want Harry. Grawp find Harry!” Harry heard the giant converse in a thick, dull voice, its yellow brick-sized teeth bared.

Looking up at the alarmingly large frame of Hagrid’s little brother, Harry stood momentarily stunned by what was going on. If what Grawp had mumbled was true then the Order was looking for him and Hagrid had asked Grawp to investigate in all the caves.

Grawp extended a humungous beefy hand to sweep him up while he turned around and began to run. There was absolutely no way that he was going back to civilization sitting on the shoulders of a giant, not when he was so close to discovering the origin of the next horcrux.

Just as he was about to light his wand, the same Hinkypunk that had cornered Harry appeared before him.

“Grawp find Harry! GRAWP TAKE HARRY!” bellowed the giant behind him, its head scraping the stalactites dangerously.

Without turning back to look, Harry scampered right ahead following the light of the Hinkypunk. It seemed to be showing him a way, a passage where Grawp couldn’t reach him. However he couldn’t recall what Lupin had told them about Hinkypunks… something about them having brittle fingers…

Dismissing the thought, he dashed confidently ahead following the Hinkypunk as the gigantic creature behind him roared half- English words and chased him through every nook and cranny.

The cave began to grow murky and Harry could only see the light of the Hinkypunk’s lantern as he battled his lungs from the exhaustion of running. The giant did not give up his pursuit.

Taking one winding passage after another Harry began to realize that he had never explored this part of the cave before; he wondered if he would be able to find his way back. Feeling a great gush of air behind him, Harry understood that he had only just missed being caught in Grawp’s hands. Looking ahead he saw a diversion and a forked route besides each other. After having decided to take the route on the left Harry saw that the Hinkypunk employed the path on the right. Unable to throw off the Hinkypunk’s spell, he raced ahead into the right path while Grawp suddenly screamed with agony behind him.

This time choosing to stop to catch his breath and see what had happened to Grawp, Harry looked around and saw that a group of giant vampire bats were attacking him.

“Incendio!” Harry thought in his mind, his wand pointing at the bats. There was a huge bang of light and fire and the bats flew away in different directions, confused by the spell.

However in less than a heartbeat, he realized that he had sunk into knee-high quick sand… bogs… Hinkypunks lures travelers into bogs, Harry remembered with great panic and dismay.

***

“Happy Birthday Hermione!” cheered Ginny as she entered Hermione’s apartment wearing her favorite robes. The place looked fabulous, packed with people she hadn’t met for centuries, decorated with glitter and confetti.

“Thanks Ginny! You’re late and Ron isn’t here as well!” Hermione shouted over the noise.

Examining her up and down, Ginny thought that the birthday girl looked the perfect host. Hermione was wearing a foreign brand of robes, styled differently with the sleeves a little shorter and a wide neckline. The color was a rich plum and she had a gorgeous necklace on, that Ginny would’ve killed to possess. She looked very fetching if not very beautiful.

“Come on in! Luna was just telling us about the Long-tailed Mediterranean Gytrash!” Hermione said excitedly, “would you believe it this one’s actually real and she has pictures clicked of it as well!”

“… it’s quite a fierce creature but very useful when it comes to finding directions. I haven’t found out much but with a little bit of research and publicity, I think the Gytrash will no longer be a rare and elusive creature” Luna said in her dreamy voice to all the people surrounding her.

“If you ask me, you’ve sunk yourself into some major capital here Luna. I’ve never seen anything like it! Did you say you found it near the ocean?” Ginny said, stepping into the crowd and examining a picture of the Gytrash, which looked like a cross between a dog and a dragon, with Luna standing beside the ferocious creature as if it were an interesting breakfast cereal.

Ginny was happy that Luna was doing what she wanted completely unaffected by the war. Luna Lovegood had taken up research and travel in the quest for new undefined species in forests and islands. The Gytrash was one of her first breakthroughs and it looked like quite a functional creature, with properties that hadn’t been discovered.

Hermione took Ginny around to meet her parents whom she had met a long time ago at Flourish and Blotts. Then she found both Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas both of whom had joined the Daily Prophet, Dean for the post of illustrator. Neville Longbottom, Ernie Macmillan, Parvati and Padma Patil, and most of the Gryffindor Quidditch team had all showed up as well.

Hermione suddenly drew her over to a corner where a curvy woman was standing alone sipping a cherry Cocktail. She was taller than either Ginny or Hermione, wearing crimson robes with a low neck that flattered her olive skin and sensuous figure. Her pretty face was adorned with huge doe-like eyes and a mop of wavy, black tresses.

“Esmè, this is my bestest friend- Ginevra Weasley”, Hermione said enthusiastically, “she’s a year younger and training at the Department of International Magical Cooperation. And Ginny this is my cousin from Mexico- Esmeralda De Sousa. She’s not magic but doing really well as a model for Ralph Lauren.”

Before Ginny could politely comment, Esmeralda bent low into Ginny’s face and asked in a predictably husky voice, “Is that you natural hair color?”

It was well after midnight when Hermione finally managed to rid her apartment of all the guests and bade her parents goodbye. Her father had made quite a scene by announcing all of her achievements as a toddler after he inadvertently tried a bit of Firewhisky, especially a detailed description of her first bath.

Esmè had unpacked her luggage and decided to move in with Hermione for the fortnight that she was visiting.

As she lay down on her bed once more fondling the chain at her neck, she wondered why the only person whom she really wanted to see at the party, hadn’t come...

Read Chapter 12 - Dead End here