hazy_reflection | (no subject)

Title: Who to Trust
Word Count: 1097
Rating: PG
Genre: Ummm...it's just general ficcage, dunno what "genre" that'd be...
Notes: written for the "Unity in Diversity" prompt in

lumos_create. Set sometime after HBP but during what would be Book 7 type...setting...thing... O_o

It was cold in the cave, but then, it usually was at that time of night. Hermione had tried to make it as comfortable as possible without using too much magic. It didn't matter how much she did, though, because it seemed that nothing she could do could shut Ron up. Still, it gave Harry a reason to smile because if Ron was complaining about how uncomfortable the cave was as opposed to the fact that they were living in a cave, then their situation wasn't as dismal as he felt it was. Despite that fact, Harry knew that things weren't going to get any easier. A sound from the corner broke him from his train of thought.

"Isn't that right, Harry?" Hermione was asking him, giving him a look that said she was obviously trying to get something through the thick skull of the redhead beside her.

"Oh, erm, sorry Hermione. I wasn't exactly listening to you. What did you say?" Harry asked her, trying to look as apologetic as possible.

"I was just telling Ronald that I think it's about time we started actually using our outside sources instead of just getting progress reports from them," she told him matter-of-factly. Harry didn't quite understand what she was talking about, so he continued to stare at her silently from where he was sitting on the floor of the cave, waiting for her to explain what she meant.

"Well, go on then!" Ron spat his words at her. "Tell him your brilliant idea. Tell him how we've been doing things behind his back. Tell how Looney Lovegood is going to end up saving us all!" He turned and sat down on a dent in the rock, a dent that Hermione had used a cushioning charm on to create a makeshift chair of sorts. Hermione just rolled her eyes at his exaggerations and dramatics, making an obvious attempt to keep her temper in check.

"I never said that Luna would save us all, Ronald!" she started, unfolding her arms and holding them out at her sides to put a bigger emphasis on what she was saying. "All I said was that--" she paused to think of the right words, "was that she usually has a different way of thinking about things and that perhaps she could show us a new perspective on things." She started pacing the floor between the two boys, still talking as she walked.

"I mean, there's strength in numbers, right? Why not unity in diversity? Think about how much faster we could get things done if we had a group of students at the castle doing some research for us. And what about the DA? The Death Eaters have already proven they have no issues bringing the fight to Hogwarst. The students have a right to defend themselves, and Ernie, he's already taken over the leadership of the DA. He and Ginny and...others...they've been teaching them so many new things already!" She hesitated a moment before continuing on with her little speech.

"We even have help from a Slytherin..."

"What?!" Harry practically exploded, jumping up from his seat on the floor of the cavern, crossing the space between him and Hermione in record time and causing her to back up, ending her right in Ron's lap. She took one look at where she had ended up, leaping from her seat and trying to hide a blush as she turned back to Harry who was now yelling at her.

"Hermione! I can't believe you. What were you thinking?! They can't be trusted! Dumbledore trusted Snape and now--" He stopped. Harry had long ago passed the point of accepting that Dumbledore was dead, and even though he would now admit that the older wizard was gone, that didn't make it any easier verbalising it.

"Harry. Dumbledore died doing what he thought was right. Now it's your turn to do what's right. We can't do this on our own and you know it!" Hermione finally broke down, letting a few tears slide down her cheeks. Ron had been quiet throughout their entire conversation. Finally, he stood up from the makeshift chair and stepped down to stand between the angry Harry and the sniffling Hermione. What he said next shocked all of them.

"Harry, mate. You know...she's right. By whatever miracle, we found that locket. But there are three more horcruxes. One of them's You-Know--" Harry cut him off with a harsh glare.

"Fine. One of them's V-Voldemort. The other one's his freaky pet snake. Time's running out and we're running out of options, not to mention sanity. And besides, I don't like going hungry all the time." His words were quiet, but there was a solid strength in his voice. And then the moment died.

"But...can we not make it Looney?" he asked with a grin.

Harry couldn't help but laugh. From behind Ron, he could see Hermione roll her eyes and give a weak thankful smile to Ron's back.

"All right. So...we need help. How do we even know who to trust? The Ministry's no good. McGonagall wouldn't even help us."

"We just will, Harry. We know now who our friends are, and even better, we know who our enemies are," Hermione told him in an attempt to reassure him. "I've already been talking to Ginny about it. She says Luna's already recruited a few Ravenclaws, and you know the Gryffindors will help. She's also been talking to our contact in Slytherin, and Ron's been keeping up with Ernie and the other DA members. Don't worry," she said, coming out from behind Ron and putting a hand on Harry's shoulder, "Ginny knows how to put the right charms on the owls and she's been using different ones so as not to attract too much attention. And we've been moving around, so finding us isn't exactly easy. They're all there to help and you know we can trust all of them. We've got it set up, really. All we need to do is send them the appropriate letters."

It took about a day for Harry to really think on it. He knew that Ron and Hermione were right, but he was wary about trusting such a large network of people. And a Slytherin? They had to be joking, but Hermione wasn't one to joke. He walked back into the cave the next evening, walking over to the makeshift chair where Hermione was sitting, Ron sitting on the rocks near her feet just staring up at the ceiling. They both stood when Harry approached them.

"Send the letters."