CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Summary: Hermione has recently found out that she is a witch and is off to attend her first year at the prestigious Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Wizarding World. There she meets a strange family of red heads, the famous chosen one - Harry Potter, a tight nit group of pranksters and Quidditch players that don't feel quite complete, along with meddling professors and ghosts. What will happen when long kept secrets are finally revealed? Will the new bonds of friendship and love that develop at Hogwarts create the saviours that are needed?
Disclaimer: All canon/original characters, plot line and rights belong to the author J.K. Rowling. Non-canon events and characters belong to me. I am not making a profit from posting this story. Some of the characters may be OOC and the plot is a mixture of both canon and non-canon with some of the main events from Rowling happening differently to canon.
Doe Patronus meaning - empathetic, power and experience, balancing weaknesses and regeneration.
Phoenix patronus meaning - energy of fire, renewal, growth, strength, wisdom, power and spirituality.
Mouse patronus meaning - innocence, resourcefulness, shyness, determination and awareness.
Updated: 19/09/18
Page count: 16
Hogwarts - Tuesday 17th September 1991
A week had passed and Hermione had now been at Hogwarts for three weeks. A lot has happened in that time as Fred had completed both of his dares and he had been greatly humiliated and injured. When Fred entered the great hall with the group of Gryffindors he was wearing a skirt and anyone who had witnessed the sight had burst into laughter. Fred and George sat next to Ron and Lee, Hermione and Oliver sat opposite them and Hermione didn't miss the glares she received. Fred had distracted Ron and stole a piece of bacon from his plate and he quickly shoved it into his mouth to hide the evidence. Unfortunately for Fred four pieces of bacon later, Ron had caught on and the next time Fred had gone to steal another piece of bacon, he had been stabbed with Ron's fork, as he yelp in pain.
George had also completed his dares. He had managed to lock filch in a broom cupboard on the second floor whilst heading to breakfast, he had woken Lee up far too early for his liking and when they had entered the great hall that morning, George had sported a black eye. And every time George saw Professor Snape, he had burst into song no matter where he was or who was watching. Hermione had very graciously offered to teach George muggle love songs to serenade Professor Snape with and he hadn't let her teachings go to waste.
Hermione could still remember the first time it had happened….
Flash back...
Monday 9th September 1991
Hermione and the boys entered the great hall for lunch and they all sat down and began eating, when Professor Snape walked in and took his seat at the head's table. George took the opportunity to start his dare. He climbed onto the Gryffindor table and stood in the middle. Every occupant of the great hall watched on in anticipation, knowing that something was going on with the five Gryffindors as they had been doing strange things lately. George took a deep breath, pointed at Snape and began to sing at the top of his lungs, "You're still the one," by Shania Twain.
"Looks like we made it, look how far we've come, my baby. We might of took the long way, we knew we'd get there someday. They said, "I bet they'll never make it," but just look at us holding on. We're still together, still going strong. You're still the one I run to, the one that I belong to. You're still the one I want for life. You're still the one that I love, the only one I dream of, you're still the one I kiss good night."
Halfway through the song, Hermione, Fred and Lee, climbed onto the table and stood behind George. They began waving their arms slowly back and forth and most of the students waved along, as they laughed loudly. Professor McGonagall couldn't hold her laughter but she managed to hide it behind her hands, whilst the other professors and Dumbledore didn't bother to hide their laughter, letting out full belly laughs. Professor Dumbledore had managed to get gravy all over his white beard.
"Ain't nothing better, we beat the odds together. I'm glad we didn't listen, look at what we would be missing. They said, "I bet they'll never make it," but just look at us holding on. We're still together still going strong. You're still the one I run to, the one that I belong to. You're still the one I want for life. You're still the one that I love, the only one I dream of, you're still the one I kiss good night."
All through the song the occupants of the great hall had tears crawling down their faces and even the Slytherins couldn't deny it wasn't funny to see their head of house embarrassed in such a manner. Professor Snape was surprised and when he looked at the three other Gryffindors of the group, he understood what was happening between them. After all he was a half-blood so he knew the game they were playing. When he looked at Hermione and saw the amusement and mischief in her eyes and the way she was doubled over on herself, he knew that he had her to thank for the little display. When George had finished Professor Snape was traumatized.
When George hit the last verse of the song Hermione joined in with him and they put their arms around each other and belted the final verse, pointing and making overly dramatic arm movements whilst the great hall continued to laugh and wave their arms slowly in the air to the sound of their voices.
"You're still the one, you're still the one I run to. The one that I belong to, you're still the one I want for life. You're still the one that I love, the only one I dream of. You're still the one I kiss good night. I'm so glad we made it, look how far we've come, my baby."
When they finished the song the hall erupted into cheers and applause and George took a bow as did the others. Snape rolled his eyes at them, struggling to contain his embarrassment and humour.
"Thank you, Mr. Weasley and Miss. Granger," Snape drawled.
"No problem, Professor," they replied in unison.
George had serenaded Professor Snape in the classroom, in the halls, in the dungeons, in the men's toilets and in the great hall. It's fair to say that Professor Snape had tried to avoid George as much as possible during that week.
Back in present time Hermione, Oliver and Lee were the only ones who had dares left to complete as Fred and George had completed all of theirs of which they were extremely thankful for.
The twins had informed Hermione that Lee had completed his dare by flirting with Professor McGonagall for their full hour and half lesson and he had been greatly shot down in his attempts to woo her. Luckily for Lee, Professor McGonagall had seen the funny side and she also had a suspicion that Hermione had something to do with his behaviour. If it had been anyone else, they would've been put in detention, but he got away with only his pride hurt.
Oliver had also completed his dare of wearing his clothes backwards and talking in only Gaelic during his lessons. The most embarrassing dare so far was that Oliver had to wear a fairy princess costume to dinner and Hermione had picked out a great outfit for him.
He had worn a pink dress with shoulder straps and the dress had been covered in sparkles, diamantes and glitter. It fell down to his knees and he wore pink elbow length gloves, a tiara and he had a fake fairy wand and fake fairy wings to match. When they had walked into the great hall it fallen silent; you could've heard a pin drop. Of course that had been until the students erupted into howls of laughter. Oliver had received a bigger reaction than to when everyone was first introduced to Fred's, Lee's and George's new makeovers.
And so far Hermione had only completed one of her dares which was to blow a kiss to Crabbe and Goyle whenever they walked passed. And that's just what she did. Now every time they passed her in the halls they would blush and she would chuckle to herself or if she was feeling cruel she would wink and their blushes would darken.
Hermione did attend Quidditch try outs but she had kept her distance as she had planned to prank the twins and leave afterwards. She had managed to put a Sticking Charm on the twins' brooms which she learned specifically for that purpose. When the twins were stuck to their brooms failing terribly to remove themselves, Oliver and Hermione had snuck up behind them and used the Aquamenti Charm, effectively soaking the twins until they were dripping water from their hair and clothing.
It had taken them a while to figure out that if they flew their brooms, the water wouldn't reach them, but they had eventually. Hermione and Oliver high fived, bowed to the students present at the try outs as they applauded and cheered them before she took her leave. True to her word, Oliver hadn't found a better flyer than Harry or at least that's what she'd told him because he hadn't seen Harry fly yet, meaning the only addition to the new was Harry.
Hermione had long since been avoiding all four of her boys since last Wednesday, as things had gotten worse for her in regards to her bullies as they add stepped up their terrorization of her, becoming more -if at all possible- cruel and violent.
Hermione was bruised black and blue, and was covered in injuries and cuts. She glamoured every single one of her injuries and kept her distance from anyone and everyone. The boys were worried about her and every time they were in the same vicinity as her, she would change directions and go the opposite way. Hermione had taken to eating in the kitchens with the house-elves who were always kind to her and Bopsy took great care of her injuries as he tried to convince Hermione to tell someone about her mistreatment. But of course she refused.
Due to these reasons Hermione had taken to sleeping in abandoned classrooms, being mindful to use ones she knew wouldn't be searched during the night. On the nights she found herself crying, Peeves would show up and keep her company, doing his best to make her smile and laugh, and when he'd succeeded, he would be beaming a smile of his own, and his cheeks would be more opaque than the rest of him. Peeves had become a good friend of Hermione's and he vowed to get revenge on those who dared to hurt her.
During the night, Hermione would sneak out of Gryffindor tower then sneak back in the morning, before accioing some clean clothes from the boys' room and when she was ready she would head down to the library, back to the abandoned classrooms or to the kitchens, and she frequented these places a lot.
Monday 16th September 1991
On Monday night Hermione had been walking down the stairs to the empty common room when she felt a presence behind her. Before she could turn around, she was falling forward, down the stairs until she hit the ground at the bottom, landing on her left arm and twisting her ankle in the process. When she turned her eyes back to the staircase, it was to see Lavender with a cruel smile on her face.
Hermione didn't dignify Lavender with a response, she just stood up and limped out of the common room and she walked until she reached the kitchens, cutting through the secret passageways as to not get caught out after curfew.
When she reached the painting at the entrance of the kitchens she tickled the pear and walked through the passageway and made her way to her favourite chair by the fireplace. Bopsy rushed over to Hermione, talking in the sight of his injured friend. He examined her wrist and ankle, bandaging them up, before attending to her ribs, which she had hurt during her fall.
"Misses. Mione really should tells someones, yous is hurts very badly."
"Bopsy, I'm fine, honestly, I'm dealing with it the best way I know how; by not letting it get to me. This is the first time I've been faced with bullies, and once they realise I'm not going to allow them to get to me, they'll get bored. Please don't tell anyone, it may only make the situation worse."
"Okay, Misses. 'Mione," he agreed, but it was obvious he wasn't pleased. Hermione left the kitchens, glamouring her bandages before, limping to one of her abandoned classrooms, where she cried herself to sleep.
Present time … Tuesday 17th September 1991
Hermione had awoken in the cold classroom shivering, with the inability to feel her toes, fingers and nose and covered in goose bumps. She had been woken by a note that once she read it informed her there was to be a meeting after dinner for those who were to partake in Professor Snape's advanced potions class. Hermione quickly returned to Gryffindor tower to ready for the school day.
When she entered the room she was immediately surrounded by the girls of her dorm, and several others who she had seen in the common room. Hermione was pushed down on to the ground as the other girls held down her wrists and legs, as Lavender climbed on top of Hermione and she had somehow acquired a spike off the Venomous Tentacula plant.
The Venomous Tentacula plant was known to be dangerous and the spikes contained poison that could be fatal, depending on the amount of poison that was absorbed into the blood stream, as well the immune system of the individual as the poison was known to effect people in different ways.
Lavender took the index finger of Hermione's right hand and pricked her finger with the spike. She couldn't believe they'd attacked her with a potentially lethal plant. Hermione felt the pain of the poison enter her blood stream. The girls left her the dorm room, laughing as they did so.
Hermione quickly found her herbology book and re-read through the chapter on the Venomous Tentacula plant, being mindful to memorise the symptoms that would be a cause for concern as the poison in her system being fatal, and those were, headaches, nausea, drowsiness, nose bleeds, inability to concentrate, pains in the chest and stomach and cuts appearing on her body.
Hermione had skipped breakfast, being too focused on her herbology book, and she'd almost been late to her first lesson. She attended all of her lessons of the day, whilst documenting any symptoms she recognised in herself. When dinner came around she made her way to the kitchens to eat, and once she had finished, Bopsy noticed cuts appearing on her body.
Bopsy rushed to Hermione's side to try and heal the cuts but when he did they would just reappear worse than before, the wound being wider and deeper. Bopsy grabbed a hold of Hermione's right hand and squeezed which caused Hermione to break into sobs of pain. Hermione promised Bopsy that she would get them looked at later at the hospital wing. The only symptom she had noticed were the headaches, but that could've been caused by having her head stuck in a book for hours on end, and the recent cuts, so she assumed the poison would eventually make its way out of her system and she would be fine.
Hermione realising she was later for her meeting with Professor Snape, glamoured the cuts and left the kitchens. As she neared the dungeons, she ran into the man himself.
"Miss. Granger, aren't you supposed to be at a meeting?" he asked.
"I was just heading to the potions class room now, Professor," she replied.
"Very well, I will accompany you since I am heading that way myself," he said.
Walking down the stairs Hermione placed her right hand on the banister, forgetting about the pain in her hand, as it had been the hand the poison had been injected into. When her skin touched against the cold, she let out a quiet whimper, but not quiet enough. Professor Snape's head whipped around so fast she never saw it coming.
He gently picked up her hand in his and she whimpered again. He couldn't see anything injuries or tells that something was wrong, but he remembered her revealing that she was able to cast Glamour Charms.
Professor Snape held his wand against Hermione's hand.
"Finite Incantatum," he muttered.
What he saw made him bristle in anger. The veins in her hand were clear to see as they no longer appeared to be the regular blue colour, but they were black, and she had well the blisters and cuts to accompany it. Hermione's eyes widened; she hadn't had those when she left the kitchens!
"Are there any other injuries?"
Hermione reluctantly nodded, ashamed that someone would see her so weak and defeated, or at least in her opinion, she was weak.
"Yes, they're glamoured too," she muttered.
Professor Snape went to remove the rest of the glamours from her but she stopped him.
"Not here, please. I don't want anyone to see should they happen upon us," she said and he nodded, carefully leading her towards the classroom.
~000~000~000~
Meanwhile Fred, Lee, George and Oliver were all waiting in the classroom for the arrival of Hermione and Professor Snape. Hermione had informed him that maybe he should give Harry and Neville a chance in potions and if it didn't work then they could be moved back to normal lessons and he had hesitantly agreed. So Neville, Seamus and Harry were also present in the room, along with a number of fifth years that no one seemed to care about.
The occupants of the room were all watching the boys, pacing back and forth and in circles. Every couple of minutes they would all look up at each other, shake their heads and then continue to pace. This had been the case for the past fifteen minutes and the others were beginning to get nervous and fidgety. Hermione had been avoiding them all week; they knew something was wrong, they could all feel it.
Just when they were about to leave the classroom to go in search of Hermione, the door opened and the sight that met them had everyone go stiff. Professor Snape had an arm around Hermione's shoulders as she sobbed uncontrollably. Her eyes were puffy and red and she had tear stained cheeks.
"Hermione," the four boys whispered painfully.
She walked over to them and they all dropped to their knees so they were at eye level, given they were all much taller than her. Fred and George hugged her and then Lee and Oliver did the same, when she whimpered they pulled back from her as if it had hurt them.
"What happened, Love?" Hermione just shook her head.
"We'll do it now," Professor Snape said, and Hermione looked up at him terrified. "You have been caught out, Miss. Granger, it's time that the stop keeping secrets."
Everyone in the room watched on in horror as Professor Snape raised his wand to Hermione and cast the counter charm.
Everyone in the room gasped and they had looks of horror on their faces. They were all furious at the sight in front of them, even those that didn't know Hermione all that well. Fred, George, Lee and Oliver let out strangled cries as they looked at Hermione.
She had cuts and blisters now covering the majority of her face, arms and legs from the Venomous Tentacula poison, she had a broken left wrist, a twisted right ankle, and some scrapes on her palms, she likely had injured her ribs too, of which they could tell by the way she moved, but the most horrifying thing was that all of the veins in her body had now turned black.
Professor Snape stared at the young girl in sadness; she was clearly being bullied and had gone through it alone, and he knew the feeling. He raised his wand before sending his doe patronus off to deliver an urgent message to both Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall.
The entire room was silent; the only sounds that could be heard were Hermione's sniffles, and the rest of the occupants heavy panting with exhaustion as they tried to rein in their anger as to not make things worse.
A couple minutes later Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall entered the potions class before stopping in astonishment at the scene of Hermione Granger; bloodied, bruised, battered and bawling her eyes out.
"Oh, Dear Child," McGonagall whispered sadly, before she rushed forward and enveloped Hermione into a comforting hug. She eased up slightly when she heard Hermione yelp.
"Are you well, Miss. Granger?" Dumbledore asked.
"Of course she isn't, Albus," both Snape and McGonagall hissed at him, surprising many of those in the room.
"How long has this been going on for?" Harry asked, as he took a step forward.
"Since the night of the welcoming feast," she said quietly.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Neville asked, as he and Seamus both moved a step closer to her.
"I thought they were just trying to scare me so I wouldn't be a bad dorm mate, but then they changed."
"They changed?" asked Seamus.
"At first they would just keep me awake at night, trying to get to me through my curtains but the boys told me to touch my wand to a knot in the bed post and it acted like a barrier. They began saying cruel things when they passed me in the corridors. They pushed me around, and down the stairs…" she was cut off by her boys.
"What!" the four boys yelled together with looks of fury on their faces, and the twins' cheeks and ears began to turn red.
"When, Miss. Granger?" asked Professor Snape, Hermione looked to each person in the room and then to Professor McGonagall, who still held her closely in a hug. She hadn't let go of her once and she wasn't planning to until Hermione had finished explaining herself.
"Last night in the common room," she muttered.
"And no one witnessed this?" Dumbledore asked.
"No, Professor, it was late, or rather early and everyone had been in their dorm rooms. As I was walking down the stairs, I felt myself being pushed, until I fell and landed on the ground. I was able to get to the kitchens and Bopsy did his best to heal me."
"What else has happened to you, My Dear? And please don't lie to us," McGonagall asked quietly and softly. Inside she was livid. She couldn't believe that someone could hurt her newest lion cub; especially her Gryffindors who were noble and brave. What they had done to Hermione is not how a Gryffindor should act.
"I was woken up by Professor Snape's note informing me about the meeting." She turned to look at the other students before saying, "I'm sorry about this, I know that this must be an inconvenience that has disrupted this meeting." They all looked at her as though she belonged on a psychiatric ward.
"I think this takes precedence over a meeting," a fifth year Gryffindor boy said and the other students nodded in agreement; McGonagall felt an instant wave of pride flow through her.
'Now that's how a Gryffindor should act,' she thought proudly.
"Please, continue, Miss. Granger," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes not twinkling as they usually did.
"Perhaps, this should be done in a more private setting," Snape suggested, pointedly looking at the other first through to fifth years.
"I believe you're right, Severus," McGonagall said. "Return to your common rooms and do not speak of what you have learned or witnessed, is that understood?"
"Yes, Professor," several voices answered, before the door was opening and closing, leaving only Hermione, her boys and the three professors in the classroom.
"When I woke I made my way back to Gryffindor Tower to…" Hermione was cut off again
"You made your way back to Gryffindor Tower?" Snape said.
"I've been sleeping in abandoned classrooms for the last week," she muttered.
"What!" Fred, George, Lee and Oliver yelled simultaneously.
"I couldn't sleep in my room, and when I tried to sleep in the common room, I was woken up by someone throwing water over me," she explained.
"But, Princess, you could've frozen to death."
"You could've gotten lost, Lassie."
"Love, you could've spoken to us."
"I didn't want to bother you with my problems, and you need your sleep."
"So do you and getting it by sleeping in abandoned classrooms, in the freezing cold, with damp walls and in complete darkness is not it, Spitfire."
"It wasn't so bad, I sometimes had company."
"Who?" the four boys demanded to know.
"Peeves," she answered and at her reply, they released the breath they were holding and their anger dissipated slightly.
"Peeves?" asked Professor Snape, confused and this was also the reaction from those that aren't aware of Peeves' soft spot for Hermione.
"Yes, he's very sweet; he spent most of his time making me laugh," she said with a small smile. The first they had seen.
"Back to your explanation, Miss. Granger" Dumbledore spoke.
"When I returned to the common room, I summoned my uniform from the boys' room and..." once again she was cut off.
"Why is your clothing in their dorm room and not yours?" McGonagall asked with a frown.
George answered for her.
"When we first arrived we placed a Privacy Charm on her trunk and the girls in her room repeatedly tried to break through it. So before the charm could be broken we moved her trunk and belongings into our room for safe keeping. Everything she has is in our room and we had the space for it."
Fred spoke after George wanting to be a part of the conversation.
"Yeah and her cloak was destroyed, it looked as though it had been shredded, there was hardly anything left of it." Everyone in the room took in a deep breath.
"I told you, Fred, that was an accident. It was a cat that did it," Hermione responded.
"Naw, Lassie, it wisnae, when Fred an' Lee told mae aboot it, a asked Lavender if anyone in ye dorm had a cat a' she told mae tha' naw one did."
"How did you do that without her getting suspicious?" Hermione asked Oliver.
"Oh ye know? A told her a was doing a survey fer a class," he replied.
"That's very muggle of you," she said with a twitch of her lip,
"Please continue, and no more interruptions," McGonagall said.
"Sorry," several people mumbled.
"When I entered my dorm room, I was surrounded by several girls, I was held to the ground whilst someone used a spike from a plant to prick my finger, which is the main cause for my appearance now. Bopsy tried to heal the cuts but they reappear worse than before."
"What plant was it, Miss. Granger?" Professor Snape asked softly and everyone stared at him in shock. They didn't think he was capable of the way he was treating Hermione, and he rolled his eyes at their reactions whilst McGonagall smirked slightly.
"Venomous Tentacula," she muttered.
Her boys frowned, trying to recall the plant they had once studied in herbology, whilst the professors stared at her in horror.
"Miss. Granger, the poison of that plant can be fatal," Dumbledore stated gravely and Hermione nodded unaffected by his words.
"I know," she mumbled. "I've memorised the symptoms that point towards it being fatal for an individual, I have only documented the cuts on myself, and I believe the colouring of my veins is due to my immune system fighting off the poison in my body. I believe the poison is not fatal for me."
"Who did this to you?" he asked.
"I don't wish to say, I don't want to get them in trouble."
At this Fred, George, Lee and Oliver scoffed.
"They'll get a lot more than just getting in to trouble. -" George said.
"- We'll kill them," Fred said, and Lee and Oliver nodded in agreement.
"I think it's best that no one knows the identity of the ones responsible, I don't want them going to prison for murder," Hermione pointed to the boys.
"We have to do something; those involved must be punished for their actions. Who was involved?" Professor McGonagall said.
"The girls. Some of them were directly involved, whereas others preferred to verbally abuse me or just laugh when someone did. I don't know why, but the female population hates me."
"I'm sure that's not true."
"It is; they either glare or sneer at her, or they look disgusted when she's in the room," Fred said.
"I don't want this happening to someone else. Can we call a meeting and inform the school. I was weak and I was scared, I just wanted to wait until they got bored of hurting me, but now I see they would've continued for as long as I allowed them to. Seeing as my secret's no longer so, I want the school population to know and understand what happened to me, so it can be prevented from happening to someone else."
"That's a very brave and inspiring decision, Miss. Granger," Dumbledore stated.
"Gryffindor," she said as she pointed to herself and they chuckled at her.
"And if we have a school meeting we can watch the way the crowd reacts to the news. We can distinguish between those that are guilty and those that are innocent," spoke Snape.
"I didn't think of that, that's very sneaky," Hermione huffed and Snape pointed to himself.
"Slytherin," he said, she and the other professors laughed at him as her boys stared in astonishment. Snape just made a joke! They couldn't believe it. He had actually made a joke. In front of them!
"May I place my glamours back on? I don't want anyone to see until we're in the great hall, the shock factor will hopefully work in our favour."
"If that is what you wish, Miss. Granger." She nodded and did so.
McGonagall pulled back slowly from Hermione before taking her face in her hands.
"Are you sure you want to do this, My Dear? You don't have to if you don't want to."
"I'm sure, Professor; if I do this they'll see what's happened to me. Then maybe they'll think twice about doing it to someone else, maybe the other students will realise how harmful bullying can be."
McGonagall smiled proudly at her young cub. 'A true Gryffindor indeed,' McGonagall thought to herself.
Dumbledore raised his wand and cast his patronus and he sent the magnificent phoenix off with a message for all professors to gather all students and as many ghosts as they could find and to send them to the great hall for an emergency meeting. He provided instructions to separate the boys and girls placing them on opposite sides of the great hall. Dumbledore thought it would be easier to spot the culprits as well as to see if what he had been told about the female population of Hogwarts was to be true.
When McGonagall moved away from Hermione she made her way over to Fred and George who hugged her close to their bodies as they breathed a sigh of relief in knowing that she was going to be okay. They let go of her as she turned towards Lee and Oliver and they mimicked the twins' actions, hugging her gently and close to their bodies whilst sighing in relief.
McGonagall looked on at the scene and at the bond that surrounded the five Gryffindors. She looked over to Snape to see him giving her a look that she translated to, "See? I was right," and she nodded subtly to him.
She now understood what he had observed between her cubs and she decided that she would keep a closer eye on them. Especially Hermione, all of this had happened right under her nose and she would never forgive herself.
A patronus of a mouse appeared in front of Dumbledore, letting them know that the students and ghosts had been gathered and they awaited their arrival in the great hall.
"Are you sure you are feeling up to this, Miss. Granger? Perhaps we should have Madam Pomphrey check you over before heading to the great hall," McGonagall said.
"I feel perfectly fine, Professor, I know my appearance may be frightening, but I'm only experiencing one of the symptoms of fatality from the poison and it appears to have stopped now. I feel as though I did before the incident occurred. I see no danger in waiting for Madam Pomphrey to look me over afterwards."
Fred and George each took a hold of one of her hands, Oliver rested his hand on the small of her back, and Lee walked beside them, with the professors walking in front of them.
"Am I correct in my assumptions that you wish to accompany, Miss. Granger?" he asked her boys and they nodded in confirmation.
Professor McGonagall put her arm around Hermione's shoulders, Professors Snape and Dumbledore were in front of them and the boys were behind them.
The great hall doors were pushed open and the group entered and walked down the walkway towards the front, as the students and ghosts began whispering between them, and the professors who don't know what was happening watched on in confusion.
When they reached the front of the great hall they turned to face their audience. When Hermione was noticed to be the one at the front, most of the female population either glared or had looks of disgust aimed in her direction. The professors noticed this too and they weren't too pleased about it either. Snape's face twitched as he felt the urge to growl at the girls, McGonagall was horrified at the treatment of her new cub, especially the Gryffindors, and Dumbledore's mouth set in a thin, tight line and his eyes pinched. It was time to put an end to the mistreatment of Hermione. When Dumbledore spoke, the usual friendly and warm tone to his voice was not present; he spoke gravely and he was barely controlling his anger and disappointment.
"You might all be wondering why it is you have all been called into in attendance tonight and not only are your professors present, but the ghosts that roam this castle are aslo. It has come to my attention that we have a student who has been terrorized by the female population and terrible and unspeakable things have been done to her." His eyes scanned the crowd, seeing the surprised and confused looks of the males, and the worried and confused looks of the females.
"Fortunately for you, ladies, she has refused to identify her tormentors as she does not wish for you to be punished too severely for your behaviour and actions. It is thanks to her that you are still in this castle as if you are identified you will be expelled. Despite all she has been made to suffer, she wishes to protect her tormentors, the tormentors that could have easily killed her!" Dumbledore yelled and everyone could be seen flinching.
A third year boy gingerly raised his hand and Dumbledore looked to him.
"Professor Dumbledore, Sir, you said that they could have killed her, how?"
"I will leave that for her to tell you," Dumbledore replied, and he looked to Hermione "Are you ready, Miss. Granger?" Hermione nodded, and she stepped forward, no longer being shielded by her professors.
"For those that don't know, I'm Hermione Granger, and I've been bullied for reasons I can't understand. They began with insults which barely registered, before the verbal abuse worsened and I won't repeat the things they said to and about me. Once verbal abuse was no longer enough to keep them amused, they turned to physical violence, pushing me down in the halls or on the way to way to class, at one point, I had a plant pot dropped on my head, but the pinnacle of the violence occurred just this morning. I'm currently wearing a glamour, and it's going to be removed, so that you may see what it is they have done to me."
The moment the glamour was removed, the occupants of the hall gasped in horror and shock, as her entire body was streak with black where her veins could be seen. The hall broke out into noise; some of the boys shouting at the girls in disgust for what they had put Hermione through, some shouting, "what did they do to you?", "who was it?" and, "how did that happen?"
McGonagall quickly silenced the room with a Sonorous Charm and her wand pointed to her throat, when she spotted Hermione rubbing at her temples and wincing. McGonagall gave Hermione and encouraging nod.
"I'm not going to reveal identities of my bullies, as if I do, they are more than likely to be expelled, and I don't wish for that to happen," she spoke and everyone stared at her in shock.
A fourth year boy raised his hand and Hermione nodded to him.
"Why are you being so nice to them after everything they did to you?" he asked, confusion filling his voice and nods of agreement could be seen from others.
"What's your name?"
"James," he answered.
"Well, James, even though they did all of this to me, and they hurt me in more ways than one, I will never change who I am for anyone..." she was cut off by Fred as he stepped forward.
"Anyone who has gotten to know Hermione will know how selfless and kind she is."
George stepped forward next.
"Hermione's hilarious and scarily smart! Seriously, she scares me!" he admitted and chuckles were heard as Hermione smiled at him.
Oliver stepped forward, wishing to get his opinion on Hermione heard too.
"Hermione is tae loyal fer her own good," Oliver said whilst glaring at the Gryffindor girls murderously. "She's brave an' she's proving tha' fact by standin' up here in front af ye all an' telling ye her story." To lighten the mood slightly Oliver made a joke. "An' she's got a wicked arm on her, jus' ask Fred," he said, and Fred subconsciously rubbed the arm Hermione had punched a couple of weeks ago, remembering the incident.
"If I name those responsible, I'll be stooping to the same level as them. If my bullies want to do the right thing and come forward themselves, it's their decision and the right one to make, but if they wish to be cowards, then I feel sorry for them. I'm a Muggleborn, and magic was kept from me until I received my Hogwarts letter, and for that reason, just like other Muggleborns, I'm at a disadvantage in this world, as I have to learn how to be a part of a world the rest of you already know how to navigate. No one should be kept away from the world they were born into or born a part of. Turning them in would mean they'd lose their education and I don't want that to happen to anyone, no matter their behaviour."
"As for my injuries, most of them have been healed, but I currently have a possible broken left wrist, possible cracked ribs and cuts and blisters covering most of my body. I've been pushed to the ground so many times I can't even count all the times it's occurred, but most recently I was pushed down a flight of stairs." Gasps rang out. "Luckily, I had almost reached the bottom, so it wasn't that bad a fall, but it could've been so much worse if I had been further up the staircase. I was terrorized during the night, so I wasn't able to sleep, and I started sleeping elsewhere. This morning when I returned to my dorm room to ready for the day, I was attacked by several girls, and in the process, I was injected with a poison from a potentially fatal plant. "
"What plant, Miss. Granger?" Professor Sprout asked with a frown, looking at her worriedly.
"Venomous Tentacula," she answered, most of the students looked confused, whereas those that took herbology at a higher level gasped, as did some of the professors. "Luckily, I have only shown one symptom of the poison being fatal in my blood, and I feel perfectly fine. I believe the cause for the black in veins is my body's immune system fighting to destroy the poison. My bullies got lucky, as it could have very well killed me."
"You are all now aware of how serious this situation is; Miss. Granger could have been killed due to the horrific and malicious actions of others. Let it be known, that not only has Miss. Granger been verbally and physically abused, but some of her personal belongings have been destroyed too. The verbal and physical violence alone could be cause for expulsion, and she has now been attacked with a potentially fatal poison, and that is grounds for a trip to Azkaban. If I were aware of those responsible for Miss. Granger's suffering, l would see to it they were suitably punished. All of those involved owe a great debt to Miss. Granger, for showing you kindness and compassion when you did not return the sentiment. The staff at Hogwarts are to be keeping a very close eye on the female population for the remainder of the school year, and you are not permitted to travel in groups of more than three." He kept his eyes on the crowd before him, before turning to look at Hermione. "Miss. Granger, do you have any final words?"
Hermione nodded.
"I was wrong for my response to my bullies. I thought that if I ignored it, if I didn't dignify them with responses, they would get bored and it would go away, but it didn't. I didn't tell anyone and I should've, and if I had, maybe things wouldn't have gotten as bad as they did, or maybe they would've gotten worse, I don't what would've happened, but I should've taken the risk. The only reason I'm stood in front of you all right now, is because a professor noticed I was hiding something. And if it wasn't for that professor I would still be suffering, so I would like to say thank you and I truly appreciate how observant this Professor is. I'm not going to say their name as I don't wish to get a detention for embarrassing them," she said, and the hall filled with chuckles. "But can we please get a round of applause for this professor?" she asked, and everyone in the room clapped, and Hermione knew that if the students knew who they were clapping for, half of them would never admit to willingly praising and thanking him.
"So before I go to the hospital wing to be checked over, I want to make sure that you all understand what is I have gone through and that you shouldn't have to. So if you are getting bullied, please tell someone like I should have, don't make the same mistakes as I." The hall burst into applause once more.
Hermione couldn't tell you what happened next. She felt fine, there was nothing wrong with her apart from the pain in her ribs and wrist, and before she knew it, she was looking out at the crowd in front of her, and she went light headed.
"I feel dizzy," she muttered, and the last thing she heard were gasps, as her eyes fell shut and she collapsed to the ground.
~000~000~000~
"Hermione!"
The four boys saw her sway on her feet, but she hit the ground before they could catch her. Oliver was the first to react, picking her up in his arms, before rushing down the walk way, out of the great hall and to the hospital wing, with Fred, George, Lee and Professors, McGonagall, Dumbledore and Snape not far behind him.
As Oliver reached the hospital wing, he kicked open the doors and the heavy wood slammed against the stones walls. Madam Pomphrey was beside him instantly, instructing him to place Hermione on one of the beds.
"Oh Goodness, what happened to her?" she asked, looking horrified at Hermione's appearance.
Oliver was in a stake of panic and shock, that he was barely able to get his words out.
"Bullied. Pushed doon the stairs. Venomous Tentacula poising," he muttered, not hearing her gasp in response.
When Oliver gently placed her on the bed and took a step back, allowing Madam Pomphrey to get to Hermione, he noticed that his white school shirt was now covered in blood, and he turned his eyes back to Hermione. She was pale, too pale. He couldn't see her chest rising or falling, indicating that she was breathing.
She wasn't breathing!
His panic intensified at the realisation and he pushed his blood covered hands into his hair, tugging on the strands painfully.
"Oliver," he heard.
He spun around, seeing the professors, Lee and the twins stood behind him and staring between him and Hermione.
"She isnae breathin'! She isnae breathin'!" he whispered with unshed tears in his eyes.