Chapter nineteen; New experiments

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The White Cliffs of Dover were a beautiful place, even as it became engulfed with the colder air. There, Olivia found something she hadn't experienced in a tremendous amount of time; peace.

She found that being there, at the very tops of the cliffs she found a balance from the war raging in her mind and the one raging in the world. She appreciated the simplicity the cliffs would bring her, and so she spent all her time out there. From the crack of dawn to when it was too dark to see in front of you she'd sit there. She'd sit in a camping chair either staring out at the scenery or reading the book Dumbledore had left to her.

In the cold of one particular evening she had decided to actually try out the spells she had been reading about, instead of just reading a language she couldn't comprehend. Hermione had agreed to help if necessary and watch, as she too wanted to try the spells herself.

She aimed at a section of debris perching on the end of the cliff and read the incantation out of the book as Hermione stood next to her holding it. She read the foreign language over a thousand times before lowering her wand and looking to Hermione with a incredulous stare, "What in shitting hell is that supposed to mean?"

Hermione had to bite back the small laugh bubbling and kept her serious persona. Her eyes left the cold blue irises that Olivia called her own and filtered over the brownish coloured page. She narrowed her own eyes into thin slits, reading the first spell over and over again. After a moment of intense studying she finally broke away and released the frown her eyebrows had created, "I—I think it might be Gaelic."

Olivia, taking the words back, blinked several times before eventually nodding to herself monotonous, "Gaelic," She tested the word on her tongue, "that's great." She turned to Hermione, irritation clear and blazing in her eyes but her face looked calm — almost too calm, "You don't happen to speak Gaelic do you? Or know anything about the goddamn language!?"

If Hermione could've, she would've pinched the bridge of her nose as she watched Olivia turn around and blast a curse into the rocky surface a little ways away from them. She reminded herself that it was Olivia's personal way of deploying her internal anger. Her eyes kept a watchful eye on her as she watched her chest heave until she calmed. When she did Hermione spoke to her nonchalantly, "What spell was that?" She asked, a test to see if Olivia had remembered what she'd cast.

"I—" She began, but failed when her mind rendered blank.

Hermione sighed. This pattern becoming too frequent. Olivia would lash out on impulse, she would allow her mind to take control — dip into the dark side — and fire on it's own accord without processing anything first. One too many times had this happened and one person had already fallen to her hands, Dolores Umbridge falling into a close second.

The brown haired teen swallowed thickly, searching for Olivia's lost eyes, when she opened her mouth to repeat the same words again. Although Olivia held her hand up quickly to silence her, "I know," she spoke quietly, "stop firing without control, it'll get someone hurt." A flash of rare emotion ripped through her intense gaze on the floor and Hermione noticed it.

Inside, something rippled through Olivia's core and she didn't like the nagging self-doubt it left in its wake. She was realising she had more power than what she'd ever anticipated, and as amazing as it felt it needed to be controlled. This was where fear came into play her worst fears. In actuality, Olivia had these immense abilities to go above and beyond but she had no means to control it. She couldn't control it, because she didn't know how.

She had so recklessly and idiotically hidden her method of control somewhere in the most perplexing place in England. Her control was hidden somewhere in the masses of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Olivia regretted ever thinking she would manage alright on her own without the bracelet, it was one of the most idiotic ideas of her existence.

"I knew we should've never hid your bracelet." Hermione spoke under the wind.

Olivia remembered the day Hermione had asked about the whereabouts of her bracelet and she could remember, as clear as day, Hermione's reaction to her answer. Hermione knew it had been hidden but she didn't know where. Olivia wouldn't disclose that information to her, for Hermione's own safety.

Olivia raised and dropped her brows in agreement before tucking her hair behind her ears, "Bombarda Maxima." She spoke softly, looking to Hermione who was already looking to her with questioning eyes, "The spell, I think it was Bombarda Maxima."

Hermione nodded wordlessly and she pointed down to the new spell her and Olivia had been looking over before she went off on a tangent, "Okay," she said with a deep exhale, encouraging herself, "buama, that's the incantation." She pointed to the cursive for Olivia to see and she nodded to herself slowly.

Once more Olivia raised her wand, running over the words, testing them on her tongue. She wasn't sure how this spell would work, what it would do but they had to start somewhere. She exhaled slowly and the words rolled of her tongue with the breath, "Buama."

A white light emitted from the tip of her wand and directed in where she aimed at a fast pace. On impact the first impressions Olivia had from the spell was to cower away from its affects. Her and Hermione stepped back, shielding their faces as a grey cloud of smoke followed after a loud banging sound. The smoke traveled up into the air, thick and impossible to see through until eventually it dispersed into the air.

When they could see everything again both Olivia and Hermione's jaws dropped in shock. The edge of the rock face, where Olivia had once aimed, was now missing. Whatever that spell did, it blew away a large proportion of the rocks surface.

Hermione cocked her head fractionally to the side and narrowed her eyes in utter confusion. Olivia's mouth was open and her brows drew into a frown then, comprehending what she had done, she dropped her wand to the ground and jumped away from it.

"Hermione I think now is a good time to start learning how to speak Gaelic." Olivia squeaked out, "That was bloody terrifying."

An astonished laugh fell through Hermione's fractionally parted lips and a brilliant smile took place. She grabbed the notebook they had set aside, dedicated to writing a rough evaluation of the spells inside for future reference, and started scribbling furiously with a ball-point pen she had brought from home — something Olivia blatantly refused to touch.

"What the hell was that?" Harry called over to them, exiting the tent at a quick pace and stumbling over to them.

"We're testing out some of the spells that are in Olivia's book," Hermione grinned, "brilliant isn't it?"

"Brilliant?" Harry echoed, hints of aggravation in his tone, "Hermione you don't know what those spells do. What would you do if it blew up this entire cliff?"

Hermione's grin dropped suddenly and Olivia narrowed her eyes at Harry. He was being a buzz-kill. They were doing something good, something efficient, by practicing these spells and yet here Harry was reprimanding them. Olivia picked up her wand from off the floor and crossed her arms over her chest, "Was there something you wanted?" She asked, "or did you just come out here to reprimand us for being useful?"

Harry started walking again over the uneven surface to reach them — or rather Hermione. He shot Olivia a look before turning to the girl next to her, "You were right, Snitches have flash memories. I didn't catch my first Snitch with my hand, I almost swallowed it." He said, handing it to Hermione as he reached them.

"Damn shame you didn't." Olivia mumbled quietly under her breath, kicking a stone underneath her shoe.

Harry sat down on a boulder opposite Hermione, "I open at the close." She said.

"What do you think that means?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," Hermione said, taking her own book and opening it, "I found something as well." Harry moved to sit beside her as she showed him the page, "at first I thought it was an eye, but now I'm not sure. It isn't a rune and it isn't anywhere in Spellmans Syllabury. Somebody inked it in, it isn't part of the book. Someone drew it."

"I've seen it before, twice actually." Harry said, "Luna's Dad was wearing it at Bill and Fleur's wedding, but that was the second time I've seen it."

Olivia, still stood away from them and unable to see what they were going on about, looked to Harry, "Where was first?"

Harry meet Olivia's gaze somewhat cautiously, "On your wrist, in Transfiguration back in sixth year." He said, "I remember because McGonagall sent you to Dumbledore's office for it."

Olivia drew her brows together and walked over to Hermione, extending a hand for the book, "Let me see that."

Hermione passed her the book and Olivia found the small sign just above the title. Sure enough, it was the one she had been infatuated with for a week or so. The same symbol — the triangle, the circle and the straight line — she had first seen in a dream, "Well I never." She muttered to herself then looking up to Hermione, "I thought I was going mad when I first saw this, it was everywhere. I couldn't get it out of my head."

"Where did you first see it?" Hermione asked.

"In a dream. It was like a flash. It appeared for a mere second before it was gone again, but it was there long enough for me to remember it. For that entire next week all I did was sneak into the Restricted Section but I couldn't find a trace of it anywhere."

"What did Dumbledore say when you were sent to his office?" Harry asked.

Olivia shrugged her shoulders and sat down on the boulder Harry had sat on previously. She handed the book back to Hermione, "Something about my curiosity. Then he told me the best things come to those who wait."

Hermione sighed, "A typical Dumbledore response. Why couldn't the man speak clearly? Why did he always have to speak in riddles?"

Olivia shrugged, "Riddles always have an answer, sometimes they're just difficult to work out."

Harry nodded in agreement, "This is a riddle we need to figure out, perhaps it could lead us to the next Horcrux."

"Right," Hermione said, somewhat baffled, "I just don't understand why someone would draw it in a children's book."

They fell silent with no answer until Harry changed the subject, "Look, I've been thinking. I want to go to Godric's Hollow. It's where I was born, it's where my parents died."

"That's exactly where he'll expect you to go." Hermione told him, "but if it means something to you—"

"—But it means something to him too." Harry spluttered. Hermione stood up, collecting her things and the other two followed. Olivia tucked her book under her arm and shoved her hands into her pockets, "You-Know-Who almost died there—"

"—technically he did die there." Olivia interrupted, "Peter Pettigrew is just an absolute arsehole who decided to resurrect him from a state in between life and death."

Harry, baffled at her statement, agreed in exasperation, "Exactly! Isn't that the type of place he'd be likely to hide a Horcrux?"

"It's dangerous Harry." Hermione told him as they fell in line, walking back to the tent, "but even I have to admit recently I've been thinking that we should go there. I think it's possible that something else is hidden there."

"What?" Harry asked after her.

"The sword."

"The sword?" Olivia asked uncertainty.

Hermione nodded, "If Dumbledore wanted Harry to find it but didn't want it falling into the Ministries hands what's a better place then to hide it in the birthplace of the founder of Gryffindor."

Olivia sighed as her legs stopped moving underneath her. She brought her cold hand up to her burning forehead and rested it there while she collapsed down on one of the rocks. She closed her eyes as she became dizzy, waiting for the spell to pass before she could stand up again. Inside, her stomach twisted into an unpleasant knot.

She exhaled deeply, her hot breath crystallising when it met the harsh cold air. Her left arm tingled underneath the layers she had on and she felt the world around her spin.

Whatever they were doing and wherever they were going, they needed to be quick about it because Olivia feared that her time was sharply running out.

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Hi, hello! I'm alive.

I sorted a phone out, it's not that good but it's something at least and it means I can update again. Speaking of, I've only got one fully written chapter left in my drafts. I'm aiming on working on the next for the rest of tonight and tomorrow in order to get back on track but it's mostly scripted for a while until I reach the gap of off-script chapters that I've planned.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it's been sometime since I wrote it so me editing it was weird for me. I forgot I'd even wrote it!

Moving on though, the next chapter should be out no later than Thursday if I get my shit together!

Oh and btw, I don't actually know if Harry & Hermione were on the White Cliffs of Dover but to me that's what it looked like!