Exhibition is a Right: Chapter 20 Early Release (Patreon)

"…is a Burden Halved"

“So…let me just get this straight. You're a different Harry to the one I knew the first three years of Hogwarts?” 

“Yes.”

“And you died at the end of your seventh year, which in your world ends at 18, due to a war with a resurrected You-know-who?”

“Uh huh.”

“And when you did, you woke up in Kings Cross, met your dead mother, and got on a train that “reincarnated” you in this world?”

“Pretty much.”

Hermione chewed the inside of her lips in thought. She had taken a seat in the bank next to Harry and Luna while she listened to his explanation. 

She had, thankfully, remained mostly quiet while he had rushed through what had happened to him in the last year or so. Now that he had stopped, and she was asking questions, Harry felt nervous. “At least she isn't outright calling me mad…yet.”

Luna meanwhile was still just gently humming while looking out over the lake, now leaning back fully into Prongs.

After a while, Hermione sighs before rubbing her temple. “And I thought this year at Hogwarts couldn't get any weirder than the last.”

Harry cracked a smile. “Yeah, this one beats even my past years. And it's only a month in. So…what do you think? Believe me?” he hated how vulnerable he sounded as he asked this, but he wasn't sure what he would do if she didn't believe him.

Hermione paused, before she nodded slowly. She then frowned, before turning and smacking him in the arm, making him flinch. “And you just walked to your death!? Really!? Of all the pig headed, stupid ideas. Did you even consider what those you left behind would do?”

Despite the telling off Harry couldn't help but laugh. Seeing Hermione pout and look ready to go full rant, Harry reached out and wrapped his arm around her. “Sorry…that was just so you, Hermione.”

Hermione resisted briefly, before sinking into the hug and wrapping her own arm around him and resting her head on his shoulder. “Even if I'm not “your” Hermione?”

Harry tilted his head on top of hers. “Maybe you're not the Hermione from my world…but you're still my best friend, along with Ron. Even if you're a little different, everything else is so similar, that you don't feel like you're not “my” Hermione.”

Hermione blushed lightly, before smiling up at him. “So, I'm different, am I? How so?” Harry also blushed, before looking down at Hermione, or more specifically her current outfit.

She was dressed in her school uniform skirt, which was still scandalously short. Her shirt however, had been replaced with a sheer top that may have shown off her nipples, had she not also been wearing a small denim jacket over her shoulders that covered them, though it was open at the front and showed a lot of cleavage. 

Combined with the dark makeup and piercings that Hermione now sported and there was no denying the differences from his world. Still, that wasn't something that was easy to…

“His world was full of prudes. No sexy outfits or girls showing off or anything. Boring~” Luna hummed from beside them.

Harry sighed, having almost forgotten she was there with the serious conversation going on. Looking back at Hermione, he saw her looking at him with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. When he shrugged and nodded in confirmation, Hermione giggled.

“Aww, poor Harry. That must have been a shock, huh?” Harry chuckled, and soon all three were laughing. It was absurd in hindsight…but the changes had actually helped Harry to cope with his new situation, somewhat.

As they calmed down, Hermione stood up and turned towards him. “Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad you came here. Harry was always my friend, but this last month…it's felt like you've become the friend I always needed. Weird, I know.”

Harry felt touched, and a tension he hadn't even realised he'd been holding lifted. “Thanks, Hermione.”

“Does anyone else know? Ron?” Harry shakes his head. “Not to my knowledge. Only Luna. I was planning on telling you and Ron together, but after the duelling trials. I don't want to distract Ron. But then you found out early…which does beg the question. Why were you following me, disillusioned?”

Hermione smirked before gesturing to the Quidditch pitch. “Couldn't miss such an opportunity, right? Not after missing out on Katie. Though, I have to say, I wasn't expecting Tracy of all people. I'm going to have to expand my list when I get back to the castle.”

Harry scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, realising he had had an audience and hadn't even noticed. Luna paused her humming and looked at Hermione. “Am I on that list?”

Hermione looked slightly abashed, before nodding. Luna smiled, before getting up and brushing her dress down. “Well, when you want to tick me off, just ask. You don't need to hide, Hermione, I don't care if you watch.”

They glanced at each other, before Hermione shrugged. “Er, thanks Luna. We'll be sure to do that” he replied.

Smiling, she patted Prongs a final time, before skipping away. Before she got too far, she glanced back over her shoulder with a dreamy smile. “Oh…and check your book again, I think Prongs is ready.”

As the pair watched her head towards the castle, Harry looked back at Prongs, who was now standing back up now that Luna had left. “Huh, I'd barely noticed I still had that cast. Though, now that I think about it, I'm a little tired.”

Harry dismissed Prongs, who dissipated into motes of light. Hermione, still looking towards where Luna left, shook her head. “I'll never understand that girl…”

She then hooked her arm around Harry's, before leading them both back towards the castle as well. “So, what do you think needs attention first?”

Harry frowned. “Well…my priority is to prevent Voldemort from returning. But how to do that is hard to decide. I could try to stop the ritual that's meant to happen at the end of the year. But…I'm not sure if I should stop it before I get there, or not.”

Hermione glanced at him while biting her lip. “You think that it would be worth the risk to still go there? Why?”

“Well, it would be a good opportunity to try to kill Nagini. That…would be necessary, at some point. If I know what I'm walking into, I can prepare for it. Plus…”

“Plus, it gives you a chance to get at Pettigrew. You want to try to bring him back? So you can clear Padfoot's name.” At Harry's nod, Hermione sighs. “Still as reckless as ever, huh? You would be safer simply stopping Crouch now.”

Seeing Harry ready to argue, she holds up her hand. “I know, it's not that easy. And…your plan has merit. Just, let me help. I don't want you going into a trap without a plan, even if you know it is one.”

Harry relaxed, before smiling and squeezing her hand. “Thanks. Can always rely on you, ‘Mione.”

Hermione smirked, before cocking her hip slightly and tossing her hair. “Exactly. You'd be lost without me.” The pair chuckled as they reached the front gate of the castle.

“Well, even if you're not going to deal with Crouch right this moment…you should at least consider checking your facts. You mentioned the changes from your timeline, better make sure they're not too far reaching.” Hermione commented, keeping her voice low now that they were entering the great hall.

“I know, and I've been trying to. Talking to Padfoot has proven that my third year went about the same as I remember. As for Crouch, what can I do? The man stays in his office, the classroom or the great hall. I can't easily hex the man without having to explain how I knew. And that will mean some questions I'm not sure I want to answer.” 

The pair sat at the table, taking an open space between some higher years. It was late into lunch, so the hall was crowded and Ron was surrounded by other classmates, though he did wave across when he saw them.

“You're thinking too straight forward again, Harry. Why not check his movements using the map?” Harry paused, midway through serving himself up some potatoes. He then promptly dropped the spoon and smacked himself in the forehead.

“Fuck! I'm so stupid! How did I not think of that?” Hermione giggled, both at his reaction and those of nearby students glancing at him due to his outburst.

“Well, you have been distracted, after all. By your changed situation…and your recent “escapades”.” Here, she leant forwards, her jacket opening further and allowing Harry to briefly glimpse a flash of metal from her pierced nipples. No bra then…

Harry swallowed, before looking away. “Yes…I have. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go look at the map!” He went to stand back up, before his stomach made its displeasure known. As it rumbled, Harry looked back at his still full plate, before sitting back down with a blush.

“Maybe after we've eaten…” Hermione rolled her eyes, but happily tucked into her own plate of food.

Later that evening, Harry and Hermione sat in a corner of the common room. Hermione had placed a notice-me-not, to assure they had privacy as they opened up the marauders map between them.

“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” with the passphrase uttered, the familiar sprawl of the castle spread across the pages.

Almost immediately, Harry folded the map to allow easy viewing of the DADA classroom and its connected office.

“Looks like Moody is still in the corner of the office. No sign of Crouch though…” Harry said as he stared at the small section of the map.

“Well…he is acting as a professor. I don't think they are restricted from leaving the castle like students are. Can you see him anywhere else on the map?”

Harry scanned the current page, before turning the fold over and searching the next floor. After several minutes of searching, he paused and frowned. Hermione looked up from her own section of map. “Found him?”

“No…but I was distracted by this” he flattened the section he was looking at, revealing the very edge of the map, near Hagrid's hut. Here, at the outskirts of the forbidden forest, was a single dot that was wandering around. “Montague Selwyn”.

“Huh, that is strange. A student on a dare perhaps? Do you recognize the name?” Harry shook his head. “No…isn't there a Selwyn in Slytherin?” he asked, looking up.

“There is, but they are a she. I think she's the sixth year Perfect. Her brother, perhaps?” Harry shrugged. He hardly knew any Slytherins outside of his own year, after all. When he looked back down, he blinked and scowled. “They're gone…must have gone deeper into the forest.”

Hermione chewed her lip in worry. “Should we tell a professor?” Harry considered it, before shaking his head and beginning to fold the map. “No, we wouldn't be able to explain how we know, not without revealing the map. And we can't afford to get it confiscated. They'll be fine…probably.”

Hermione did not look convinced, but nodded with a sigh. “Fine. At least we've confirmed Moody is present, should we choose to act.”

“I'm still not sure if we should. There's benefits to getting to that graveyard again. Still, I would like to pick Ron's brain once he's been told. He always was the best at strategies.”

Hermione conceded the point, before dropping the notice-me-not. “Well, a problem for after the weekend then. But for now…have you started your Transfiguration assignment yet?”

Harry chuckled good naturedly, before reaching for his book bag and retrieving his books, making Hermione smile appreciatively.

As he pulls out his parchment and quills, he looks down at the spine of the Patronus book, remembering what Luna had said as she had left.

Pulling it out and opening it up, he saw that nearly all the book still remained blank. Near the start, however, several new pages were now filled with text and illustrations.

“Congratulations. Through your efforts, you can now maintain a Patronus for longer periods of time. You should now be able to attempt the next chapter without fear of passing out from magical exhaustion”

“The purpose of a Patronus is thought by most to be singular. Rigid. And outside of this, nigh on useless. But, the true strength of the Patronus is in its versatility.”

“By its very nature, the form of the charm is fluid. It's well known that the form of a Patronus will be whatever best suits the caster. Though, it is not unknown for a Patronus to change as its caster does. We are, after all, seldom the same when we are young adults as we are when we are older.”

“It has also oft been a staple of magical theory that existing spells can be modified, with the right incantation before or after. Why should a spell as fluid as the Patronus be any different?”

“So, your next task? Experiment…learn…and try not to die from magical exhaustion.”

Here, the book went blank once more, and Harry slumped back into his chair with a thoughtful frown.

“Experiment? Modifying spells? I mean…there's adding “Maxima” I suppose. That always gives spells an extra kick. Maybe there are other such incantations I could use.”

Harry looked around the common room, seeing Ron now sat at a nearby table with Fay. He had a deck of exploding snap cards in front of him, but the pair didn't appear to be playing a game.

Instead, he had one of the cards set in front of him, with his quill in one hand and what appeared to be a small magical scalpel in the other, while Fay was reading something to him from an Ancient Runes textbook.

“Huh…he did say that Ancient Runes had him playing around with those decks for practice. Still, Ron willingly doing homework? He must really be enjoying the subject.”

Shaking his head and stowing his Patronus book, he grabbed his Transfiguration text and set about starting his own essay.

Experimenting and Crouch could wait until after the duelling trials, after all.