InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "UNDERPANTS!"

Hermione Granger (cerebralwitch) wrote in wished,
@ 2010-05-11 21:31:00

Entry tags:

!1998: 05, !incomplete, !plot, harry potter, hermione granger, ron weasley

Who: Hermione, Ron, Harry
What: The Final Plan
Where: Shell Cottage
When: Tonight
Rating/Warning: Plotty!

So, that was it. That was how this was all going to end. Seven years of fighting, and there it was. Hermione, Ron, and Harry stared at one another across Hermione's bed - Luna had graciously made herself scarce, as if she knew that this was something that had to be settled between the three of them.

In the end, once she and Ron had explained what it was that she was sure of - completely sure of now - it hadn't taken them that long to know what they needed to do. It had been Harry's idea, and, in the end, Harry's decision. Ron hadn't liked the idea - hell, none of them had liked the idea - but in the back of Hermione's mind, she had known this was what it would come to. No heroics, no grand ideas of what would happen after, but it had to come to this because if it didn't, if they held out and let things go on this way, they might lose the chance at winning altogether.

They had been quiet for a full five minutes, thinking it over, before Hermione sighed and managed something that as almost a grim sort of smile. "So, that's that."

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geroffme
2010-05-12 02:48 am UTC (link)

That was that. Ron didn't think it was anything to smile about - which came as a surprise to him, really. The end was in sight, or they had at least drawn a map. He had been complaining all year about how they hadn't known where they were going, and now they knew fair well, and ... it just didn't look like what he'd have wanted it to. It still seemed insurmountable, even broken up into concrete bits. And it was easier now to see exactly where they might well fail, instead of simply trusting that whatever it was, they could handle it, if they could only find it.

"Yeah," he said, trying not to sound too glum. "Hell of a that." It was ... a lot. Which he supposed meant they'd have to start soon.

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sonofastag
2010-05-12 03:01 am UTC (link)

Harry hadn't like the idea either. It was what had to be done, but it was risky. Not just for him, but for Ron and Hermione. And he'd need their help, so he couldn't even start to try to talk them into staying away and letting him handle it. Too much depended on this, and he couldn't do it alone. He just hated putting his friends at risk. Again.

At least maybe if this went the way it should, it'd be one of the last times he had to risk their lives. Or his own, which would be nice too.

"Next week," he decided, shoulders hunching a little before he sat back, pushing his spectacles up off of his nose, where they'd slipped down. "I don't want to wait longer than that. And that's enough time to get ready, and let a few people know."

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cerebralwitch
2010-05-12 03:06 am UTC (link)

"The Order will have to know," Hermione said almost before Harry was done talking. "If... well, the castle is full of them. Even if everything we've thought of goes perfectly, the Order would still need to be there. The DA, too. This will have to involve everyone, Harry. You won't be able to ... to pay attention, to what's going on there. Not if he..." She trailed off again, sighing helplessly. Harry knew what the plan was, what was likely to happen. She didn't want to rehash it all, not so soon.

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geroffme
2010-05-12 03:14 am UTC (link)

"Yeah," Ron said, in full agreement on this point, at least. "Better if you can just keep to your - your one job, Harry." It was a relief in some ways to be able to count on some outside help for once, although he was exceedingly wary of having it from the DA, from his sister, and all the other friends who hadn't had a clue what had been going on all year. "All the help we can get in getting in, and not getting caught the second we get there, we're going to need." At least they knew mostly where to look for that. Some hint as to what Harry needed would have made him feel much better, though.

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sonofastag
2010-05-12 03:23 am UTC (link)

Harry grimaced, but nodded. He never gave away information all that easily. Years of keeping things close to the chest had left it a habit he rarely broke. He trusted everyone in the Order, but thinking about them as a whole - it just felt like too many people knowing something, and that could always lead to someone slipping up, and finding out.

But they were right. "Yeah. We can tell them. But not far enough in advance that if anything happened, it'd have time to spread. Or argue about it with us, because they won't get it, and they'd want to help more than they can," Harry told them with a shrug.

He wished he had a clearer notion of what to do, but it was the best they could come up with. They'd gotten this far - they'd manage it. They had to.

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cerebralwitch
2010-05-12 03:28 am UTC (link)

Hermione hadn't thought of that, and she frowned and stared at her hands for a moment, then looked back up to her best friend. "Do you really trust Snape?" She didn't, but Harry was still so damn sure. And she hated to think of tricking the Order, but if they could use him, then Harry wouldn't have to worry about it spreading too soon, or about people thinking it was Harry's final move against Voldemort.

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geroffme
2010-05-12 03:40 am UTC (link)

"No," Ron answered for him, almost involuntarily. He doubted Harry's answer would be as categorical as it needed to be. "If we -" He shut his mouth for a moment, trying to pick out the best objection to involving Snape at all from the hundreds that were presenting themselves. They couldn't count on Snape for anything, not when it was this important. "He's at least as likely to tip off his Death Eater friends as he is the Order if he knows anything, don't you think? Sure, maybe he's helped us a couple of times, but there's a hell of a lot to balance it out. Don't you think ... it would be better to risk arguing with someone than to hope that git does the right thing for the - the third time in his life? And I'm being generous."

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sonofastag
2010-05-12 03:47 am UTC (link)

Harry shot Ron a frown, and shrugged. "As a person, no. But. . . yeah, I think he's on our side. I don't know why, but he is."

He frowned, not following for a moment, and then catching on as Ron went on. "He might tip them away, too. Give us some extra time and space. We could maybe try it - tell him, and McGonagall, and let them decide how to get the word out and what to do, we'll just tell McGonagall HOW we're getting in, and leave that bit out to Snape." Not that Snape had been that pleased about Harry asking for help last time, according to McGonagall. Harry couldn't care less about keeping the git happy, though.

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	cerebralwitch 2010-05-12 03:50 am UTC (link)
	"You think McGonagall would keep the secret from the rest of the Order?" Hermione didn't really see that in her old Head of House and professor, really. Dumbledore, she didn't have a problem believing it of him, but McGonagall? She wasn't sure. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

geroffme
2010-05-12 03:58 am UTC (link)

"She's got more sense than just about anyone," Ron said, eager to jump on any alternative to Hermione's idea. "If we can make her understand it's what has to happen ..." He trailed off - if she didn't want to be made to understand, of course, they'd be completely out of luck. It was something of a risk. But it was better than just telling Snape. "We should at least tell her as much as we tell him."

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sonofastag
2010-05-12 07:07 am UTC (link)

"She's not going to keep it secret, but she's not going to blab it in a way that would panic people, either," Harry answered with a shrug. "And we trust her enough to believe she's not going to say anything daft, or try to talk us out of what we're doing."

"We can tell her more," Harry agreed. Snape could get the over view, McGonagall the details. "She won't argue about it. Not really." McGonagall was always there, and willing, and brilliant - but she didn't interfere. Or she never really had. She'd taken her lead from Dumbledore, and Dumbledore had always left it to Harry to deal with on his own, most of the time. Not that Harry wouldn't love to have his help still.

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cerebralwitch
2010-05-12 11:57 pm UTC (link)

"But it does need to be a secret," Hermione insisted, but then she quieted and leaned back against the wall behind the bed, shrugging tightly. If Harry wanted to tell McGonagall, they would. When this came down to it, it had to be Harry's plan. Hermione knew that - they could plan all they wanted to, but Harry was the bit that had to be perfect.

"What will we tell the DA?"

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geroffme
2010-05-14 02:43 am UTC (link)

Ron wasn't keen on telling the DA anything - if the Order was liable to jump in too eagerly, Ginny and hers were bound to be no better. Like Hermione said, it had to be a secret. Still ...

"We should let them know something's going on," he said. "Just so they know to be careful. But if they know too much, they are going to try to help. You know that." Not that it wouldn't be nice to have a little help, especially from the inside; but getting them caught up in it probably wasn't worth it. He doubted the DA would be lacking for opportunities to stick their necks out, anyway, even if all of this went according to plan. Which it never seemed to.

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