Chapter 38: CHAPTER 38: THE RETURN TO HOGWARTS

*

SO, WHAT IS THE REQUIREMENT?

*

Ed was in the ‘classroom’ of the Aldrich home, he was experimenting with the blood curse removal technique, he tried to make a more efficient method, so he repeated the process over and over, using a projection.

“Ed!” a girl suddenly shouted from the living room, “It’s almost time! We’re going to be late for the train if you don’t hurry!” she shouted once more.

“All right! I’m coming!” he answered. He closed all of his books and put it back where it belonged, he then walked out of the classroom while asking the guardian of the library.

“Gilligan, how is it going with the ingredients for the revival?” asked Ed while walking through the library.

The owl then appeared, following Ed from behind, “It’s slow Ed, it isn’t easy to synthesise 86 kg of solid oxygen you know.” The owl grimaced.

Ed sighed, “I know, but just bear with it all right? It’s for Hermione’s parents after all…”

“Fine,” Gilligan grimaced, “But Ed, we never continued our talk didn’t we?”

“What talk?” asked Ed, confused at the question of the owl.

“The talk about the girl?”

“Oh,” Ed answered blankly, “Don’t worry about it Gilligan, I’ll figure it out on my own…”

The owl sighed tiredly, “Do not forget to do the routine I gave you; you also need to go to the suitcase every night at Hogwarts for your blinking training.”

“I know Gilligan, all right, see you tonight.” Ed said while entering the living room, he saw Hermione was waiting for him there, already dressed nicely.

“Sorry Hermione, I was too focused on the experiment and forgot the time.” Ed apologised.

“It’s fine Ed,” she waved it off dismissively, “Now, let’s go, before we’re late.”

Ed nodded, and the two went outside of the suitcase, Ed then instantly picked up the suitcase and went out with Hermione to the car.

“Are you sure you want to go to school now?” asked Ed, “Dumbledore allowed you to take a couple days off Hermione… why didn’t you take it?”

“I’ve already had enough holidays.” Answered Hermione, “Besides, there’s you, so I’ll be fine I guess…” she continued shyly.

Ed sighed, “All right, suit yourself.” Ed answered, the car then moved, heading towards kings cross station.

“Where’s Ophelia?” asked Ed, “Did you bring her?”

Hermione nodded, “Yeah, she’s in your suitcase, I’ll take her out later.”

Ed raised his eyebrow, “Why are all your things in my suitcase now? It’s like you’re living with me now.”

“It’s because I am living with you.” said Hermione nonchalantly, but then she realised what she’s saying and continued hurriedly while blushing. “Wait, I mean, I feel like I am… I stayed there for most of the day, so…”

Ed just chuckled in amusement and sat in the car silently. A couple of minutes later, they arrived at King’s cross, the two second years said goodbye to Ashbey and went inside the platform.

“Where do you want to sit?” asked Hermione to Ed while searching for a compartment.

“I’m searching for Richard and Daphne; they came home for Christmas aren’t they?” answered Ed.

Hermione frowned a bit, and hummed, “I didn’t see them when I stayed, so yeah, they probably went home.” She answered quickly.

“All right, ah, there they are.” Exclaimed Ed while looking at one of the compartments, “You want to come with me? Or do you want to find another compartment?”

“No, I’ll come with you,” she hurriedly answered, “especially when there’s that Greengrass girl…” she mumbled to herself.

“What’s that?” asked Ed, “What did you say?”

Hermione shook her head dismissively, “Nothing, I said I’ll come with you.”

Ed nodded and opened the compartment door that had Richard and Daphne in it. Ed smiled at the two and greeted them.

“Well, hello there.” Ed said, “Mind if we sit here?”

Richard smirked when he saw Ed, “Well, well, well, look who’s back, sure, we don’t mind.”

Daphne however just looked at Ed silently, as if hoping for him to say something. Ed then sat with Hermione beside him near the window.

“Well, what’s going on at school?” Ed asked the two, “No new members? I thought I told you to invite Harry and Ron to practise but they either didn’t want to, or you never asked them…”

“Well…” Answered Richard awkwardly, “Daphne didn’t want to invite Weasley, and she said that Potter will go wherever the ginger goes, so…”

Ed chuckled, “Good point, what do you think Hermione?” asked Ed to the bushy haired girl.

“What?” questioned Hermione, confused at what the question was.

“What do you think of Harry and Ron joining our little study group? Daph here said that they won’t join.”

Hermione pondered for a while, “Yeah, they won’t join, especially Ron, because Greengrass is in it…”

Ed sighed, “Fine, then why did you stop coming?” Ed questioned further, “Richard owled me last year.”

Hermione stuttered an answer, “W-Well, I was busy…” she said while looking away from Ed.

Ed hummed suspiciously, then looked at Daphne, who was still looking at him with hopeful eyes.

“You alright? Staring is quite rude, you know.” Ed joked, snapping Daphne out of her thoughts, and making Hermione frown.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine,” answered Daphne in embarrassment, “I want to ask about, you know, the thing…”

“What thing?” Hermione instantly asked, not thinking about it.

Daphne frowned at the girl, “None of your business Granger.” She said coldly, making Hermione scowl.

Ed looked at the two strangely and asked, “What’s going on with the two of you?”

Daphne snorted, “Are you sure you want to be close to this girl Ed? She’ll probably betray you once she found someone better, like she did with Lockhart, you should have met him when Lockhart’s class started, she practically worshipped him, ignoring your warning.”

Hermione’s face was filled with rage and was about to pounce on Daphne, but Ed stopped the two of them before it was too late.

“Okay, stop, this is weird Daph, why do you care anyway? And I just warned you all about Lockhart, it’s up to you to ignore it or not, I didn’t order you…” said Ed.

“Because I’m your friend Ed,” said Daphne decisively, “And you’ll be the one who will save my sister, so at least I have to look out after you for some people that might have ill intent.”

Ed sighed, “Hermione doesn’t have ill intent Daph, it’s just fangirling, it’s normal in my opinion, and it’s kind of my fault anyway that I didn’t tell the reason behind the warning.”

Ed looked at Hermione, who was looking at Daphne with contempt, and smiled at her to calm her down a little bit, and it worked, she looked away to the window and snorted.

Daphne just sighed at the sight of the two and continued, “Fine then, if you trust her that much…” said Daph, “Then what about the message you gave us at new year? Did you really find a way?” she asked, staring at Ed with hopeful eyes.

“I have,” said Ed, earning a squeal of joy from Daphne. “But, as I said, it has a terrible requirement…”

You are reading story Ordeal of the Hopebringer: A Harry Potter Fanfiction at novel35.com

“What is it?” questioned Daphne, at this point she didn’t really care about the method anymore.

“Okay, first I technically have to stop your sister’s heart first…” Ed explained weakly, but before Daphne protested, Ed continued, “But only for a few seconds, we can start it again using lightning magic.”

“So, this is what you’re researching Ed?” asked Hermione curiously, “How to remove a blood curse, is that it?”

Ed nodded to the girl, “Yeah, if you want to know why, ask Daph about it, it’s not my place to say…”

“Okay, let’s continue, in that few seconds, I will find and remove the blood curse using blood magic.” Continued Ed, “But here’s the catch, the curse is bound to the body until death, so that’s why I need to stop the heart of the cursed, and if the curse is removed when the cursed is still alive, it will activate some kind of a failsafe mechanism that will made the cursed instantly rot.”, this explanation made the one who hear it frown.

“So, if I remove the curse when she is dead, it is kind of still bound to the cursed body, so if the cursed came alive again while the curse was outside the body, the cursed will instantly die.”

“Then how do you solve it?” asked Daphne.

“A Sacrifice or some sort…” explained Ed, which earned a gasp of surprise from everyone.

“If we transfer that curse to someone else while the actual cursed is still ‘dead’ and rebind the curse to that someone else, the previous cursed should be free from the cursed.”

The compartment went silent for a minute, then Daphne spoke for confirmation,

“So, you’re saying, we need someone else to bear the curse again?” asked Daphne, to which Ed just nodded.

“But who?” asked Daphne curiosity, “It won’t be you right? Or my family? I mean, if it’s my father go ahead, I don’t mind, but if it’s my mother…”

Ed shook his head, “Don’t worry, I’ve got a target in mind…” Ed reassured Daph.

“Ed…” Hermione suddenly spoke, “You’re not thinking about ‘that’ man right?”

Ed clapped softly, acting impressed, “Bravo Hermione! How did you know I was thinking about ‘that’ man? Did you use Legilimency on me?” commented Ed sarcastically.

“Not funny Ed…” Hermione mumbled. She wanted to say something more, but Ed interrupted.

“At least he will be useful in saving a life Hermione, it will kind of be his redemption…” said Ed dismissively, seeming to be fixed on his goal.

“Who are you talking about?” suddenly asked Richard, who has been silent the whole time.

Ed grinned madly, “Lucius Malfoy.” Ed stated, which earned a gasp from Daphne.

“No Ed, it’ll cause a disaster!” she shrieked, “Why are you targeting him anyway?”

“I won’t help your sister if the sacrifice is not him, Daphne.” Ed said coldly, earning a surprise look from her, “As for why I’m targeting him, it’s not my place to say…” continued Ed while looking at the gloomy Hermione.

Hermione went quiet for a second, before explaining the situation she and Ed were in just a couple days ago.

“He sent an assassin to kill my parents, killing them on New Year’s Eve…” announced Hermione gloomily, earning a frown from the rest of the group.

“How do you know it was him who sent the assassin?” asked Daphne, not even saying condolences.

“It’s because I heard it Daphne.” Ed said sharply, still annoyed by the hostility that Daphne gave towards Hermione, “But seriously? Instead of saying condolences or something, you further interrogated her? What happened to you Daph when I was gone?”

Daphne looked ashamed of herself and mumbled, “Sorry, habits…”

Richard gulped loudly and said to Hermione, “Sorry Hermione… about your parents… where do you stay now?”

“I stayed at Ed’s” said Hermione weakly, “But everyone doesn't know yet, because Ed said that he can revive them, so I appreciate all of you for not saying anything…”

Richard and Daphne were surprised at Hermione’s statement, and the two, as if in sync, asked Ed.

“Do you know how to revive the dead Ed?”

Ed sighed at the question and continued to explain all the details, how he heard the man on black market hiring an assassin, the feud in the bookstore, the book of revival, and of course, the suitcase, the future events. The two were baffled at the information they just got, but Ed told them that he will show them later, but they have to take Occlumency lessons and an Unbreakable vow to enter the suitcase, which they hurriedly accepted.

“You Daphne, especially, you can’t tell your family about this, I’m even doubting myself to let you enter right now.” Said Ed sharply to Daphne.

Daphne nodded gloomily, “I know, I promise I won’t tell anyone, I understand the concerns Ed…”

Ed hummed, and looked away to the windows, looking at the view.

“By the way, Ed.” Said Daphne while eyeing Richard, “Last year, using my nature magic, I sensed a big snake roaming around the castle, you know what it is?”

Ed nodded in confirmation, “Yes, it’s a basilisk, so you should be careful when you wander alone, at least bring a companion with you…”

Richard looked surprised at the information, “Aren’t we going to do something about it?”

Ed shook his head, “It’s complicated Richard, but if you want to help, you can go with Hermione and her friends, Ron and Harry, but I wouldn’t interfere with anything related to Harry this semester.” He spoke.

Richard sighed, “You and your ‘complicated’ word Ed, you know it’s not helpful right?”

Ed chuckled, “I know, all right, the short story is that Harry must grow, because even if I interfered a lot in the future, in the end it will always be Harry who needs to finish it.” Explained Ed, “I won’t explain any further, because I feared that one of you might do something stupid because of the knowledge.”

Hermione shook her head in amusement, “It’s useless to ask him any further, I tried, but obviously it didn’t work.” 

“At least I told you who you are going to marry in the future.” Ed teased, earning a glare and a smack from the girl in question. “I won’t follow that future! I told you that!” grumbled the girl.

“You did?” asked Daphne, “Do you know who I am going to marry though?”

Ed shook his head, “Dunno, I don’t know everything Daphne, I only know the future of Harry’s friends, and you obviously, are not his friend.”

Daphne snorted, and Richard just chuckled, then Ed suddenly had an idea of teasing her, “But,” continued Ed, earning a curious look from all of them. “I can guess who it will be…” Ed said vaguely.

“Who is it?” asked Daphne excitedly. Ed didn’t say anything, and just looked at Richard and smirked at him.

“What?” asked Richard, “What are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing Richard, nothing.” Ed said with a smile, he looked at Daphne, and saw that she was blushing a little bit, but then Ed heard her mumble to herself.

“It’s not possible, father won’t allow it…”

Ed just shook his head in pity, ‘I might need to do something about that…’ thought Ed.

Then Ed looked at Hermione, who was strangely smiling brightly, “You okay Hermione?” Ed asked.

“Hm? Oh, I’m fine, don’t worry Daphne, maybe something will happen in the future.” She said, comforting Daphne a little bit, but the girl in question just smiled weakly at her. 

“What’s going on?” asked Richard in confusion, “Why are you all smiling? It’s creeping me out.”

Ed chuckled, “Nothing Richard, Nothing.” Ed then looked at Daphne and asked, “Where’s your sister by the way? I’ve never talked to her to be honest.”

“She’s at home right now…” said Daphne in sadness, “Father said that she should stay at home until you can cure her.”

Ed sighed, “Don’t worry, owl your parents that I will come to your home in a day or two, with the sacrifice of course…” reassured Ed.

Daphne nodded weakly, “I can’t convince you to not choose another sacrifice can’t I?”

“Nope.” Said Ed, making a popping sound in the end.

You can find story with these keywords: Ordeal of the Hopebringer: A Harry Potter Fanfiction, Read Ordeal of the Hopebringer: A Harry Potter Fanfiction, Ordeal of the Hopebringer: A Harry Potter Fanfiction novel, Ordeal of the Hopebringer: A Harry Potter Fanfiction book, Ordeal of the Hopebringer: A Harry Potter Fanfiction story, Ordeal of the Hopebringer: A Harry Potter Fanfiction full, Ordeal of the Hopebringer: A Harry Potter Fanfiction Latest Chapter