Hermione Granger and the Paradigm Shift

Chapter 19 - Part 1

"We need to move," Harry ordered as she stared at the map. There were ten red names headed their way from Slytherin and a few coming from Ravenclaw for good measure.

"Hermione!" he nearly screamed, snapping her back to attention.

"Sorry!" she replied as she pulled out her mirror and coin.

She tapped out a message on her HDF coin.

Harry and I are in Slughorn's classroom and JDE's are coming. Send help!

She turned her attention back to Harry. "Only the professors can control who can lock or unlock the doors. I think they've trapped us in," she began.

"Floo?" Harry asked as he sprinted over to the fireplace.

"Except for Dumbledore, they control that and also who can use it for travel."

"Albus Dumbledore!" Harry nearly shouted with no effect. "Minerva McGonagall! Remus Lupin! Grimmauld Place!" he continued with no success. "Shit!"

"What about elves? Dobby! Kreacher!" he called desperately. Nothing happened.

"The professor controls the room," she repeated. "It's how Crouch was able to manage impersonating Moody for so long. No one gets in or out without their permission."

"We could break Slughorn from the Imperius," Harry suggested as he began pulling vials from shelves and placing them on the desks in the room.

"Only the caster can break the curse quickly and we don't have time. Are we sending these at them?" she asked as she began to help.

"That's the plan unless you have something better in mind," he answered.

"We don't know what these do. They could be dangerous."

"That's the point!" he replied as he began levitating the remaining empty desks in front of the door and stacking them together.

"They're almost here!" she called desperately as she eyed the map once again. "There is no way we can take all of them."

"Come on," he ordered as he grabbed his invisibility cloak and pulled her towards Slughorn's office.

She quickly began casting enchantments on the nearby doorway...anything and everything she could think of to provide them a precious few more seconds before the cavalry hopefully arrived. They heard an explosion. Apparently, their pursuers had resorted to magic to get past the blockade.

"The storage closet," she suggested and they quickly huddled together in the furthest corner of the small room. Hermione looked at the map once again. "They're here."

They heard the rumbling from the other room as the attackers pushed past Harry's desk blockade in front of the door.

"They must be in the other room!" she heard someone inform. "You four stay here and see if they've disillusioned themselves or are using something else to hide."

Based on the sounds and muffled curses her tripping jinx had caught the first few attackers as they barreled into the room.

"Slow down and check for spells," she heard an unknown voice exclaim

"Accio potions," Harry incanted quietly and they heard the sound of breaking glass. Several shrieks could be heard and it was apparent Harry was right. Some of the potions had been toxic.

"They're playing with you," she heard the unmistakable voice of Daphne Greengrass observe through her coughs.

"Stow it, Daphne. It's just like you to finally pick a side after we've got the advantage," another familiar voice replied. Pansy