"Restrain him, now!" This was wrong, this was all wrong. Why was the boy even there? That troll wasn't supposed to be there, the girl wasn't supposed to be there. How could he have failed as a headmaster this badly? Damn it all! "Severus, go to your dungeon and brew me a strong calming draught. Poppy, keep him restrained, if he breaks free he might hurt himself. Minerva, go check on your students and then contact the Ministry, we'll have to contain this before it gets out of hand."
"Albus, with all due respect." He simply glared at her. She knew there was no reasoning with the man when he was like this. His gaze followed her as she quickly paced out of the hospital wing. Then his eyes fell on the boy again. He was screaming and yelling, arms flailing around, his face still covered with a dark red smear. This was not part of the plan. Alterations had to be made and quickly, but for now, he couldn't leave him alone. A few moments later Snape rushed back in the infirmary with a speed that surprised even him.
"Alright, excellent work Severus. Poppy, apply the draught and make sure he's fully healed. I don't want any visible scars or marks that will leave questions." The matron nodded as she applied the potion. Severus had to keep the boy down as he was still trashing around. "Harry, listen to me, it's all going to be alright, I promise you." He started to calm down slowly until finally, he just lied there, staring at them blankly.
McGonagall rushed back into the infirmary. "Albus, the students are all fine." He nodded, assessing the situation. "We can't let this get out." She looked at him with a mixture of both shock and concern. "You can't mean… all of them Albus?" He gravely nodded as he weighed down the decision against the alternatives. "All of them Minerva." The boy was just lying there, not moving. "I'm so sorry Harry, but this is all for your own good." Harry saw a faint blue light before everything vanished from sight.
Harry woke up, gasping loudly. He looked around, but he was still in his bed, up in the tower. Carefully climbing out of his bed, he got his clothes and went down to the common room, seeing a bunch of other students there. A heavy depressing atmosphere hung around the tower and it would most likely stay that way for a while. They all marched down to the Great Hall, nobody really saying anything to each other, until they all sat down quietly.
It wasn't just his group, he noticed. All the other tables were quiet as well. He saw Professor Dumbledore standing up with a somber expression on his face. "If I may have your attention, please." The students all looked up to him. "All classes today will be suspended. You are expected to arrive in the midday for the funeral ceremony." The Hall remained quiet, nobody saying so much as a whisper.
Everyone had gathered in the Great Hall again. The colourful banners were replaced by black banners whilst the professors them dour black clothes. "We are gathered here to pay our final respects to Miss Hermione Granger, a first year student at Gryffindor. As you all know, Miss Granger lost her life trying to cast a very dangerous, and forbidden, spell. This tragedy only serves to remind us that even in our constant hunger for knowledge, we must always beware of the dangers."
He looked around. "Could Miss Granger's friends please step forward? Perhaps they can share some tales with us about her, so that we would remember her fondly rather than through this tragedy." He had a kind aura around him, like a doting grandfather. But even that fell when nobody stepped forward to talk. In fact, Harry noticed, he seemed to be a bit shocked, though he did his best to hide that of course.
"I see." The professor mumbled quietly. Harry was beside himself with anger however. Whilst it was true that he didn't know her, as they've got the chance to talk before, this felt wrong. Not just because nobody would speak, but something else was out of place, somehow. He just couldn't wrap his finger around it. "Harry, is there something you'd like to say?" He looked up and noticed Dumbledore looking at him, with a slight hopeful expression.
He was never good at peer pressure. He knew that Dumbledore had now focuses all attention on him. There would be shock and slander if he refused and so, he moved forward, towards the professors, before turning back to all the other students. His voice felt hoarse as he spoke. "I never got to know Hermione, she-she seems like she was a nice person and I wish I could've gotten to know her." He felt himself at a loss for words. The last year he had already gotten enough attention and now it felt like he was trying to get into the spotlights again, which was actually the opposite of what he wanted.
"I'm sorry professor, I just don't know what else to say." He whispered to Dumbledore, hoping that none of the other students would hear it. "Of course Harry, thank you for making the effort. I'm sure Miss Granger would've appreciated it." He placed a hand on his shoulders before sending him back with a smile. "I'm sure Miss Granger will find a better place now. Let us remember her by becoming the kind of student she always aimed to be. Hard working and diligent! And if anyone ever wants to talk, know that we are always ready to listen and aid."
The few days after went by as a blur. He didn't know why, but Harry found himself uncomfortable in the presence of Ron, much to the latter's confusion. The constant attention from the professors was distracting as well. It was pretty much a daily routine for a professor to visit him and ask how he felt. Not that he minded the attention too much of course. After all, it meant they were merely concerned for him.
But the thing that frustrated him the most however was that he only now started to show an interest in who that girl was. Only now instead of all the chances he had before. That made him feel guilty. "50 points from Gryffindor for Mr Potter's clear lack of interest in this class." Harry quickly looked up, like a deer caught in the headlights. "I'm sorry sir" That was the about the only reply he could mutter. Snape never seemed to like him much.
The glares he received from his fellow students wasn't helping either. Though that quickly changed when Neville managed to get another 50 points withdrawn for messing up his potion. All in all, life seemed to be the same as usual. After the lesson ended he was about to leave, when Snape called him by name. "Potter, a word." The others gave him a worried look, but weren't about to anger the professor any further by loitering around.
"Yes Professor" he wanted to be polite and not lose points this time. Then he noticed Snape looking around a bit. He turned to Harry with a small amount of kindness in his voice that surprised him. "How have you been feeling?" It wasn't the question that was odd, but rather the person that asked him. "I'm fine Professor, I've just been thinking a lot." Snape carefully raised an eyebrow. "It's nothing professor, it shouldn't be spacing out in class like that. I'm sorry."
"Very well Potter, move along now" he said in his usual cold tone, something that soothed him more than he thought. At least his professor was acting normal again. He didn't wait to overstay either as he hurried on to the Great Hall. Today was his first real Quidditch match and it was against Slytherin. The possibility that his professor might've been trying to distract him for his own team suddenly became a thought that was quite convincing.
He wanted to talk about it with someone, but lately he just didn't feel comfortable talking to Ron anymore. It wasn't that he hated him, but when it came to actually talking he found himself without anything to say. The two would just sit there, saying nothing, until one of them would leave and do something else.
He was actually standing there, broom in hand, ready to play. Ready to win for Gryffindor. He looked with a large grin at the other members of the team. A short, but powerful speech from the captain and they all rushed unto the field. Today, he was going to win!