A few more days passed and often, Harry would walk into a room and find Hermione crying, waiting at the door, writing a letter to her parents, and a few times, screaming with anger and tearing up photos or kicking her bed. He would hug her, and whisper and soothe her, telling her stories and sharing grief and sometimes crying with her.
Despite the darkness, there were still times where Harry thought that maybe she was healing.
"HARRY!"
Harry walked outside only find the biggest leaf pile ever, right in front of the door. Slight amusement fought against dread and fear as he looked around for Hermione.
"Hermione! What have you done? Why is there a twelve foot high leafpile?"
"Look up and behind you!"
Harry walked around the massive load of leaves and turned to see Hermione on the roof, preparing to jump.
"HERMIONE, NO! WAIT! YOU COULD BREAK YOUR NECK! DON'T JUMP!"
Hermione smiled wickedly. "I'm going to do it!"
Harry waved his arms frantically, panic threatening to overwhelm him.
"I'll buy you eight books!"
Hermione froze, obviously considering it.
"Twelve, and I get to jump and you'll have a deal."
"No, Hermione, please, I'll get you anything, just please get down! I'll grab the ladder, please just be very careful!"
Hermione sized up the leap, took two steps back, then launched herself into space, screaming with excitement. Below her, Harry let out a scream of shock, terrified she would hurt herself. Hermione plunged into the pile, floundering for a moment as she was swallowed by darkness.
Outside of the pile, Harry dove in, shouting Hermione's name, certain she was dead, tears staining his cheeks as he struggled to find her. Harry had never jumped into a leaf pile, and was not prepared for the density of the dirty leaves and odd stick, and how much he struggled to dig into it. After a moment of futile burrowing into the pile, Harry stopped, trying to fight the hysteria and losing. He was surrounded by leaves, except for a small gap behind him.
"Hermione! Hermione! Hermione, Hermione, Hermione please! HERMIONE! Hermione! Hermione!"
Breathing heavily, and struggling to think rationally, Harry shoved deeper into the mass. Why didn't I watch her more carefully, why was I focused on her, why didn't I stop her, why didn't I stop it.... His brain ran in stress-driven loops.
"Hermione, please! Answer me!"
Harry heard crackling and shuffling from just ahead and surged forward.
"Here!"
Harry came out the other side of the pile and saw Hermione, looking slightly deranged and disheveled and absolutely filthy, but alive.
"I had done a summoning charm for all the leaves in the neighborhood. It was too insane, so I left most of the leaves behind and only bundled up all the leaves already in the yard. I must have brought branches as well, because I fell on this one and look! There's a lock on it. I'm certain that we can find the key."
Harry held his arms to stop shaking and let out a breath. "Y-You... Hermione.... Why did you do it?"
Hermione seemed enraptured by the branch and shrugged. Harry felt choked and rubbed the tears away roughly, then hugged her tightly.
"Please, please, please, Hermione, never do that again. Never do that again. You could have died. Please, Hermione, I don't want to lose you."
Hermione nodded and hugged him back, then raised her wand. "Wingardium Leviosa."
As one, all the leaves and branches raised into the air and flew into the neighboring yard.
"Have fun." Hermione muttered, still clutching onto her branch. Harry took it. It indeed had a lock on it, through a hole in the wood.
"We could pull it off." He suggested, feeling ill from what happened.
"I already tried. It's a magical lock. It can only be opened with the proper key, and look and it. The lock will open, and then we can open the branch. There's something inside."
Harry pointed his wand at the lock.
"Accio key."
Hermione sat beside him, a book open on her lap. A moment later, when nothing happened, Harry tried the next spell.
"Sivocare clavem!"
Nothing happened and Hermione sighed sadly. "Next one."
"Ego-advocabit Vestra Clavis."
The lock stirred. A key flew towards Harry and he caught it, then tried to put it in the lock, but it didn't fit. "Maybe you have to mean it. For some spells you have to believe it will work, or actually want it to work." Hermione suggested.
Harry coughed and tried again, pointing his wand directly at the lock. "Ego-advocabit Vestra Clavis!"
This time the key flew directly to the lock. It hovered beside the lock and when Harry took it, he felt a strong pull towards the lock.
"I think we have it!"
He inserted the key and twisted, hearing a click. When he pulled the key out, it no longer pulled to the lock. Hermione opened the lock and then the branch opened up, revealing a large gap. Inside, there was a series of notes, and a box. Hermione took out the notes.
"They're letters. From 'D' to 'A' and back again. This seems to be the oldest."
"Do you want me to read them?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded. Settling back, Harry began to read.