Disclaimer: I am sadly not J. K. Rowling, these are not my characters and so on
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Slowly I opened my eyes. "Something is different" was the first thing I thought as I started to wake up. It was not the fact that I was sleeping in another bed in another room, nor was it that I now knew the secret behind my nightmares. No, there was something different with me. I felt truly unnerved as I realized the thing that was different, was the fact that I felt well rested. I couldn't remember sleeping so well since last year! Sighing satisfied, I sat up in the bed.
That was when it really hit me that I was sleeping in the Hospital Wing. Frowning, I looked around in the room. My gaze, however, lingered on the fireplace. Had I flooed there? Memories from the day before were not clear just yet, but they were starting to become clearer as I looked around.
I was wearing bluish pajama pants and a white shirt that had the same spotty pattern. I recognized it as Hospital pajamasat once.
I then gasped loudly. As I looked down on my clothes, I remembered. The blood, the hole in my chest. With a ragged breathing and shaking hands, I unbuttoned the first buttons, and stared at it. There was no trace of any wound whatsoever. I quickly calmed myself by taking a deep breath. I did not have a hole in my chest. Not anymore, anyway. I was safe.
It was then I heard loud voices outside the entrance. I quickly buttoned up my shirt as I tried to listen to the voices.
"…she awake?"
"I don't think so. She's exhausted, the poor girl"
"If she is, would it be possible to-"
"Yes, yes, you may. I normally wouldn't agree to let you interrogate her in the state that she's in, but I think we all need some answers, and that quickly"
"Thank you, Poppy" Footsteps approached, and suddenly Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Snape, Trelawney and Madam Pomphrey walked in. I stared at them, a bit bewildered by how many they were. All kinds of different expressions greeted me. Relief, worry, confusion, a slight hint of irritation. I do not doubt you can guess to whom each of them belong.
"Ah, Miss Granger" smiled Dumbledore as he saw I was awake. "How are you feeling today?" he asked, his blue bright eyes piercing me. Feeling slightly uncomfortable with all the professors staring at me, I hesitated.
"I'm fine, thank you" I said, smiling back. Again, it surprised me how hoarse and soar my throat was.
I knew they wanted me to say something more, but I didn't know what else to say.
"Are you sure?" asked Madam Pomphrey. "There's nothing you need? Not some calming tea?"
"No thank you" I said, nervously.
"I think tea would be marvelous" said Dumbledore suddenly, smiling to Madam Pomphrey as she nodded and walked towards her office.
"I hope you will forgive me for bringing my colleagues along, but seeing that professor McGonagall is your Head of House, and professor Snape and Trelawney already are involved, I thought it fit. Unless you would feel more comfortable speaking alone with one of us?" asked Dumbledore kindly. I smiled, and shook my head.
It was then Madam Pomphrey came with a cup of tea. I smiled gratefully and took a sip, holding in a sigh of relief as I felt the warm liquid run down my throat.
"I'll leave you to it, then" said Madam Pomphrey, almost unwillingly, before she walked to her office. All the teachers, except Snape off course, sat down in chairs.
"Madam Pomphrey said that you've been quite exhausted, I believe the fraise she used was "sleeping like a rock"" said Dumbledore, tilting his head to one side.
"She did?" I asked, fumbling on the sheets.
"Yes. You have been sleeping for over two days" he answered, worry suddenly finding place in his eyes. I frowned slightly, but at the same time I wasn't really surprised. I hadn't exactly had a good night's sleep in a while. "Though I hope that you are now well rested enough to talk to us about what happened that day, three days ago" continued Dumbledore. I took another sip of my teacup, willing myself to stay calm.
"I-I don't really know where to start, sir" I answered honestly, fumbling with the sheets.
"Why don't we go through it together, hmm?" asked Dumbledore supportively. I almost sighed in relief, knowing that I would not have to explain everything alone.
"Your friends informed me that right before Potion's class, you started acting differently, as if you were feeling unwell. You had tried to deny it, but they could see you were not well. Are you with me so far?" asked Dumbledore. I nodded, but didn't look him in the eyes. Thinking back, that potion lesson seemed like ages ago.
"What happened next is a bit confusing to us. Professor Snape said that he heard Mr. Potter whispering the instructions on the board to you. When he asked why, you said you had forgotten to put on your lenses. Was this a lie?" There was no accusation in his voice, which really helped with me telling the truth.
"Yes" I confirmed. Dumbledore nodded.
"And why did you lie, Miss Granger?" asked Snape, speaking for the first time. I realized that McGonagall must have asked him to be extra nice, considering I was still sick, because irritation was lacking from both his voice and facial expression.
"It may seem silly, but I was dizzy, so I had trouble reading the recipe on the board. I therefore asked Harry to read it for me, not wanting to admit that I was sick-"
"-Why?" interrupted Snape again. I frowned.
"Because I had spent the last night in the Hospital Wing, and I didn't want to do so again" I answered honestly. It was after all the truth, even if it wasn't all of it.
"Please continue, Miss Granger" said Dumbledore. I swallowed.
"I thought the dizziness would go over, but it didn't. It got worse, until it got to the point where I thought I was going to be sick. The thought of getting sick in front of my classmates wasn't very appealing. Therefore, I ran out and went to the nearest bathroom" I lied, still not looking anyone in their eyes. There was a long silence.
"If you felt sick, then why did you go to professor Trelawney" asked McGonagall suddenly, not accusingly, but curios. I sighed, what on earth was I supposed to say? I couldn't tell them the truth, but there wasn't any other reasonable explanation.
"Miss Granger?"
"What does it matter if I did?" I suddenly asked. "I for one am for interested in how I got a hole in my chest" As I said it, I regretted it at once. I was just so scared. I sighed.
"I'm sorry" I muttered, squeezing my eyes shut. Dumbledore smiled reassuringly.
"Don't be, we'll talk about the background later, perhaps private if you prefer. You are right when you say that we are all more concerned about that wound. But you said that you don't know how you got it yourself?" asked Dumbledore, frowning slightly. I sighed in relief that Dumbledore had let it go so quickly, even though I knew he would bring it up another day. Then I nodded and replied:
"I can't remember anything from about an hour after I left professor Trelawney, to when Snape found me" The professors exchanged different worried looks.
"What was the last thing you remember you did?" asked McGonagall.
"I was on my way to my dorm. I was just about to say the password to the Fat Lady when I suddenly found myself in the dungeons halls instead" I answered honestly. "There are no pictures or flashes of memories. It's not even black. It was as if no time passed at all between when I was outside the dorm to when I was in the dungeon"
"And you didn't see anything suspicious? A person perhaps?" continued McGonagall, sitting on the edge of her seat. I hesitated before I answered.
"I didn't see anyone, but then again I didn't really pay much attention to my surroundings either" As I said this, there was a long silence. It seemed as if we didn't have anything to go on. That was until Snape said:
"I have a question" I looked up at him, raising a brow as if signing for him to continue.
"When I found you, you were bleeding a considerable amount of blood, and there was a huge wound in your chest, on the size of a fist" I winced slightly, not really appreciating the amount of detail. "What my question is is why weren't you screaming in pain?" he finished. I frowned, as I tried to recall that evening. I pondered about this, opened my mouth to say something, then closed it again.
"Miss Granger, what are you thinking?" asked McGonagall, studying me. I swallowed before I answered.
"Well, he has a point. I should have been in agony, but I didn't feel any kind of pain whatsoever. A bit discomfort, yes, and exhaustion and coldness, but not pain" I said. There was a long pause.
"What do you think? Some kind of potion?" asked McGonagall, looking from Snape to Dumbledore.
"I believe that this question will be far easier to answer once we discover what caused the wound in the first place" said Dumbledore calmly, though his face was strained and I could see he was thinking hard.
"Quite" muttered McGonagall, looking unnerved.
"Minerva, would you mind talking to the Fat Lady, and ask her what happened when Miss Granger blacked out. Severus, I would highly appreciate it if you could speak with some of the portraits in the hall where you found Miss Granger. I will talk with some of the ghosts, and see if any of them saw anything" said Dumbledore suddenly, standing up.
"I do not doubt that he Bloody Baron was down in the dungeons that night, as he almost always is. What I do doubt is that you'll get anything out of him" said McGonagall. I froze
"The Bloody Baron" I muttered, frowning slightly as I sat up straighter in my bed. The three professors looked at me.
"Miss Granger?" asked McGongall, but I was not listening. I quickly stood up and walked to the window. "Miss Granger, you're still ill. Please get back in your bed at-"
"No, you don't understand!" I interrupted. "The Bloody Baron!" I exclaimed, as I started to smile. There was something about him. I couldn't for the love of me remember what, but I knew, I just knew, that the Bloody Baron had something to do with that night. That he was somehow involved.
"Miss Granger, use words! Explain yourself" barked Snape.
"The Bloody Baron was there, I think. I can't remember how or why or what happened, but I'm sure that The Bloody Baron had something to do with what happened that night" I said confidently as I looked from Snape to McGonagall to Dumbledore.
"You're not suggesting that he was the one who caused you these injuries?"
"No- or, I don't know. I don't think so, I mean- how could he? He is a ghost. I just believe that he was there" There was a pause as the professors regareded me. Finally, Dumbeldore said:
"Good job, Miss Granger. Well done" he said, as he smiled.
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