Hey everyone, sorry it's a little late but I have an excuse,
Yes another excuse but it was legitimate— for the past three weeks my hand has been wrapped up tighter than Tutankhamun due to me being an idiot and burning the entire palm of my hand on scalding steam and the lower ends of my fingers. It has been hell to do anything much less write.
But here it is, a long one to for the delay so yay more reading. A lot has been covered in an… abridged sort of version, I just want to get as much in as possible so nothing is left out and I can get on with writing stuff for the HBP.
I don't own HP, some of this does have stuff from the book and so I don't own that either, all goes to J.K and… well, yeah, happy reading.
Toodlepips for now.
PS: if there are mistakes, again I'm sorry.
There was some silence's, Hermione mused, that perfectly encapsulated the way a person was feeling and the emotions that came with it. A blissful silence could mean that the person was relaxed, at ease with the moment and was enjoying the quietness. A tense silence meant that a person was most likely nervous, worried and perhaps frightened.
This silence however, the silence that she been sitting in for a good while now, was deathly. It lingered all around the room and clung to the very fabric of her clothes as she sat in the chair and just like grim atmosphere her emotions were just as negative as the air that surrounded her.
Despite the stillness of her body, the stone like posture she had adopted on sitting down those few hours ago, her mind was working frantically as the fury and hate built up with each second that passed.
She was angry. So very angry, in fact she couldn't recall a time where she had ever felt this rage before, but despite the sheer loathing that was burning through her veins she couldn't find it in her to move from her seat and hunt down those that were responsible for the incident which led her to being in that room in the first place.
She tilted her head slightly and gazed upon the still form of her Mother lying in her hospital bed. The older woman had been lying there for over two days now, put like that straight from the school and so far hadn't moved a muscle, it killed her to see just how immobile the normally dependable woman looked and not for the first time, wished for nothing more than for this to be a bad dream.
A lot had happened over the past few weeks to get to this point. After more detentions and seeing how Harry's hand was they had decided enough was enough, if they weren't getting the education they needed from the incompetent bitch then it was decided that a group would be set up to give them what they needed.
Of course it was not something to be taken on a whim and so they talked and plotted over the course of the weekend and by Monday, Hermione had a full contract written up as well as a sign up sheet which she explained to both the boys at breakfast.
Few weeks previous
"So they have to write their names on both?" She shook her head at the red heads question, "No, once they write their names on the sign-up sheet, it will then transfer to the contract sheet using a simple linking charm placed on both."
He nodded slowly just as Harry spoke up. "So… why the contract," she rolled the first parchment up as he glanced over at the worded agreement making sure no one else could see it.
"That's just an assurance of sorts," he turned to look at her, "For what?"
Smiling she took the sheet back from him before rolling up and stowing it in her bag, "You never know,"
She left it at that as it was time for class, seeing as she had Runes and they had Divination she snagged a last bit of toast before it vanished and departed with a smile their way leaving them to question the vagueness of her statement.
A few days later and once word has spread to the other houses, Ron stated none of them would be stupid to include the snakes with those around him agreeing, but Hermione knew that in order to keep those snakes away from such a precarious movement especially in its infancy, then she needed eyes and ears to the inquisitorial squad.
So sitting in her Runes class, she was thankful that the boys didn't have the aptitude or patience to take the class as she sat next to Blaise with the Italian boy being only one of a small minority of Slytherin's she did trust, before very carefully telling him about the group and asking if he could keep a watch in his dorms to see what Malfoy and the rest of his pack of inbred minions did.
She knew it was risky ask, going against his house in order to keep their enemy founding safe, but she knew that Blaise's first and foremost loyalty was to himself, of course he did hold his friends in high regard but in a house of the ambitious and calculating, with classmates of the same qualities he had to make sure that he survived the year and so with his status as impartial known to all, even if he did get taunted for it, if the offer outweighed the risks then he would fall to whosever side seemed more likely to be on top. A characteristic she should have initially worried about seeing as now the magical world's biggest enemy had risen, she had already gone over the 'what if's' in her head and so should have pondered her allegiance to someone who would no sooner turn on them then help them.
But she never did, intelligence was a valued commodity and in her eyes sorely under lacking in the school, the pragmatic side was telling her to ditch the possible would-be traitor but then who was she to judge a person whose best mannerisms might just be his only means of survival.
Blaise wasn't stupid, if he was then surely he would have been in the red and gold along with her, it was purely because of a personal wish that saw her in the lions house, yes there had been times that she questioned her own sound judgement, especially seeing what they had gotten into in the past, but as the years wore on and peoples true colours were shown she was glad now more than anything that the hat didn't put her in Slytherin, she would have outright killed Pansy and Draco within the first or second year, Crabbe and Goyle the first official night.
But much to her delight, Blaise agreed. Apparently the blonde prat had been vaunting himself down in the dungeons with the others hanging onto him and bragging about all the extra credits and power Umbridge had given him, it wasn't so much a sore point within the dorm rooms but an annoyance at having to hear it every night almost and he along with Theo was getting sick of it, so if there was a chance to one up the little prick then he would take it and so decided to act as the informer.
With her little spy in place Hermione got on with the people that had signed up, once word got about there was no shortage of people wanting to join, of course she had to make sure that they knew to keep it a secret, she hadn't let them in on the fact of the second – more important sheet – both boys knew but was still unsure about its significance, something that was going to stay that way until somebody slipped up.
Next there was the meeting place. After counting how many people had put their names down she totalled it to twenty eight. Ron had made a joke about a 'mixed bag' of the sacred twenty eight, and how they would be falling down in horror at the mockery they were making of their greatest social circle.
Once she had managed to scout a place for them to hold the first meeting, all that was left was to name the time and date as the next Hogsmeade weekend saw both Harry and Hermione trudge through the snow and up to the Hogs head Inn. Harry looked at the faded sign overhead with a slight crinkle to his nose as he turned to his best friend.
"This place?"
Rolling her eyes she looked at his obvious reservations and sighed. "Oh I'm sorry, but the Grand suit in Rosmerta's was all booked out. Yeah, apparently the Goblins needed it to count more of their Galleons. It seems that fifteen hour working days simply aren't long enough,"
He held up his hand cutting off her acerbity with a nod of his head. Truthfully he was just glad that he didn't have to do all this, the planning and every other miscellaneous task Hermione had dealt with and the only thing he needed to do was show up and… well teach.
All things considered he thought that was a fair trade and so gave her a smile in gratitude before taking a deep breath.
"Alright then. The Hogs Head it is," before they carried on up the path and after tilting their heads towards the boar's head mounted over the door, as custom according the Flitwick, they entered the building.
Standing just on the other side of the door the pair of them surveyed the room. It was not at all like the other Inn, whose large bar gave the very clear impression niceness and all round cleanliness. The Hog's Head mainly comprised of one small, dingy, and very dirty room that held the overpowering aroma of something that might have been goats she didn't know. The windows were so encrusted with grime that very little daylight could permeate the room, which was lit instead with the stubs of candles sitting on rough wooden tables.
All in all, the entire place was disgusting. If Harry had stated his doubts before then he really didn't want to know just what she had done or said to the unfriendly looking man staring at them over at bar in order to allow them to have the meeting there.
"Oh, but look," she said tapping his chest and nudging to the floor. He followed her gaze to see the ground was brown and looked like it held an earthy quality to it as she shrugged.
"At least some of its natural, no trees were harmed in the making of its floors… it's actually the ground underneath our feet, how quaint." She smiled and stepped forwards only to step back and look down when her boot had left a foot shaped print in what they came to discover wasn't ground or earth, but dirt.
Lots and lots of dirt. Tons of it actually. The floor was covered in every corner as he turned to look at her; she sucked in a breath before throwing him a weak smile.
"It might not be earth but at least it's still not wood… yay for the trees," his stare was flat as she tilted her head.
"No?"
It was his turn to roll his eyes before taking a brave step forwards and over to the bar, with her quickly following as the irritable looking man narrowed his eyes further at the sight of them.
"What,"
She idly wondered if he was morally questionable enough to allow them to buy alcohol, there was a man sitting at the stool just down from them drinking what looked like a smoking chemical. Not to say she wanted what he was having, but the bar keeper looked like he could care less what he served and so chances were he might have the same idea about who he served.
So before Harry could speak she cut in and gave him her most genuine smile. "Two fire whiskeys please,"
Silence took over as Harry choked a little and turned to stare at her, eyes wide as she kept hers focused on the grumpy man on the other side, a small battle of wills took place before a gruff laugh left the man's lips through his beard muffling his amusement before replying to her order.
"Do I look stupid?"
The question was a rhetorical, but it also gave her the unspoken answer as she sighed and her smile vanished, replaced by a resigned frown before amending her request.
"Fine, two Butterbeers instead, please."
He stared at them silently before reaching beneath the counter and pulled up two very dusty, very dirty bottles, which he slammed on the bar.
"Four Sickles," he said. She was about to reach into her pocket to get the money when Harry quickly stepped closer to the bar
"I'll get them," said Harry quickly, passing over the silver. The barman's eyes travelled over Harry, resting for a fraction of a second on his scar. The man then turned away leaving them to their own devices as they took their drinks and made their lay over to the other end of the room, careful to avoid bumping into the other bars more unsavoury patrons before taking the seats by the small fire.
She made herself was comfortable as she could in hard back chairs and looked up until she realized that he was staring at her, she looked at him for a moment until his eyes cut back to the bar and she knew what it was he on about.
"Worth a shot," she replied to his look with a shrug as he shook his head, an amused smirk over his lips before lifting the bottle to his lips and taking a swig. She watched him pull the bottle back with a disgusted look.
"Urgh! That's nasty," shuddering slightly before looking back to her. "I wouldn't drink that if I were you."
She smiled knowingly and pushed the bottle away with her middle finger, "I wasn't. Why did you think I asked for the alcohol?"
She waved her hand when he went to speak. "Other than the mere curiosity of trying— the liquor is most likely the only thing in this place he does keep updated. Chances are that butterbeer is so old it would do as the perfect cleaning product… which would probably explain why they're so filthy to begin with,"
She cast a distasteful glance around the room and along the floor, "You know, as well as literally everything else here." He chuckled a little and tilted his head, before sitting back as they made small talk whilst waiting for the others to arrive
"So who did you say is supposed to be meeting us?"
He faced her as she blew out her cheeks before responding "Just a couple of people," Hermione sighed lazily, checking her watch and then looking toward the door. "I told them to be here about now and I'm sure they all know where it is — oh look, this might be them now—"
They both turned to see the door of the pub open as a familiar red crop of hair poked through, Ron gazed around for them and smiled as he spotted the pair in the corner before stepping through. He didn't come on his own as soon after him, more followed.
A thick band of dusty sunlight split the room in two for a moment and then vanished, blocked by the incoming rush of a crowd of people. First came Neville with Dean and Lavender, who were closely followed by Parvati and Padma with Cho and one of her usually giggling girlfriends, Hermione glanced to see Harry's longing gaze and rolled her eyes.
Sometime over the course of the year, the green eyed mop a top had developed a crush on the older Ravenclaw, something that had come as a surprise to her as it had happened so suddenly she wasn't even aware that he had paid attention to anything other than brooms and getting detentions. But then according to Ron she never did have the best social skills and so an academic god wouldn't have time for something as mundane as crushes. After his statement she wasn't sure whether she should have cursed him until he couldn't walk or just pushed him down the stairs, instead she went with the silent treatment for a fortnight but not before reminding him of the last night of the tri-tournament and Cedric, before leaving him to fix his own essays and relishing his struggles.
Lastly the three to enter the room was Fred, George and Lee as the door shut behind them and Harry was left staring wide eyed at what seemed to be half of Hogwarts sitting in front of them. He spun back to Hermione who had been gazing over the throng pensively before nearly squeaking.
"A couple of people?"
"Yes, well, the idea seemed quite popular," said Hermione happily. "Ron, do you want to pull up some more chairs?" The barman had frozen in the act of wiping out a glass with a rag so filthy it looked as though it had never been washed. Possibly he had never seen his pub so full.
"Hi," said Fred, reaching the bar first and counting his companions quickly. "Could we have . . . twenty-five butterbeers, please?"
The barman glared at him for a moment, then, throwing down his rag irritably before passing up dusty butterbeers from under the bar.
"Cheers," said Fred, handing them out. "Cough up, everyone; I haven't got enough gold for all of these."
Harry watched numbly as the large chattering group took their beers from Fred and rummaged in their robes to find coins. He could not imagine what all these people had turned up for until the horrible thought occurred to him that they might be expecting some kind of speech, at which he rounded on Hermione again.
"What have you been telling people?" he said in a low voice. "What are they expecting?"
She eyed the chattering group holding their drinks before snorting lightly, "A nasty surprise if they think those drinks are going to taste good," but on catching his eye she could see his darkened irritation and knew now was not the time to joke and so coughed before replying.
"What does anyone who takes a class with an inept cretin like Umbridge want? A better lesson, all I did was simply inform them about the meeting. Not my fault if they seemed to think it's better than nothing."
"Jeez… thanks for that."
She rolled her head back at his dry tone before sighing and heaving herself to her feet. "Relax. If it helps, I'll say something first. Give you time to muster up that famed courage,"
Before clapping his shoulder and moving to stand in front of them, the noise soon died down on seeing her standing up as soon all eyes were on the Gryffindor girl. Sucking in a small breath she began to speak.
"Anyone who knows me knows I don't do speeches. So abridged version of this is going to be. Harry here, thought it would be a good idea if—"
She bit back the curse word on her tongue when a foot collided with the back of her calf. She whipped her head around and glared at Harry who seemed to be giving her dark looks back as the others looked on confused at the pair. Eventually she sighed and faced them again.
"Fine… we thought it would be a good idea to study defence lessons again— and I mean, study it, not that crap the stupid bint deems appropriate because the Ministry authorized it, I mean most of the time those idiots are so far up their own arses, they couldn't even find water if they fell out of a boat. So are we going to really trust them with our education?"
She paused to take a breath, mindful of the mumbles her words had caused before carrying on.
"Well anyway, I thought it would be good if we took matters into our own hands. And by that I mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just theory but the real spells —"
"You want to pass your Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. too though, I bet?" said Michael Corner from his seat in the middle. She fixed him a weird look before speaking.
"Well duh? Isn't that what everyone wants… well on saying that I know you have no aspirations, otherwise you wouldn't be so mediocre in class, but I bet everyone else here does."
She ignored his furious stare. "But I want more than that, theory is good yes, but so is the practical. And that is going to be more important than ever because…"
She turned back to Harry who had been silent before looking back to them "Because Voldemort's back."
The reaction was immediate and predictable. Cho's friend shrieked and slopped butterbeer down herself, Terry Boot gave off an involuntary twitch, Padma shuddered, and Neville gave an odd yelp that he managed to turn into a cough. She stared at them fighting the urge to roll her eyes again before speaking.
"Really? I say the threat of failing a class and you're all shivering at a name." she shook her head in disappointment, it truly did seem that nobody had any priorities anymore, and if they did then they were sorely misguided as those who had been staring at Harry.
"Well . . . that's the plan anyway, if you want to join us, we need to decide how we're going to —"
"Where's the proof You-Know-Who's back?" said the blond Hufflepuff player in a rather aggressive tone of voice making her look over to him.
"Well, Dumbledore believes it —" but once more was cut off when he interjected again. "You mean, Dumbledore believes him," he, nodding at Harry.
"Who are you?" Ron cut in rather rudely, glaring from his seat.
"Zacharias Smith and I think we've got the right to know exactly what makes him say You-Know-Who's back."
It was silent as they stared off. Though he was looking at Harry occasionally his eyes would meet her own darkened ones as she observed him with a semi sneer. The rest could see her expression and wasn't sure whether to feel sorry for him or think he would get what he deserved for being hostile. In the end her expression shifted, going from disgust to contemptuous. The smirk adorning her face did little to make them feel safer— especially those right next to her as Harry finally decided to say something.
He had been silent right up until it dawned on him just exactly why so many had come that day, instantly his anger flared and so rather than let Hermione defend the reasons, he felt it was time to make himself known and so stood. She felt him behind her and turned as he stood next to her.
"It's okay, Hermione," said Harry before turning to look at them all. "What makes me say You-Know-Who's back?"
He asked, looking focusing on Zacharias in particular. "I saw him. But Dumbledore told the whole school what happened last year, and if you didn't believe him, you don't believe me, and I'm not wasting my afternoon trying to convince you lot of that!"
No one moved, made a sound or looked away. Harry took a few deep breaths, his anger always rising to the surface as the blonde boy spoke up once again.
"Dumbledore told us nothing other than he had returned, nothing to prove to us that he had and nothing to say otherwise. I think we all would like to kn—"
"We all would like to know a lot of things, Smith." Hermione cut in this time, her patience with the blonde now gone as he turned to her.
"Whose going to win the house cup this year… what the weather will be like over the holidays, or why you sound suspiciously like a castrated little boy who hasn't learnt that fine art of knowing when to shut his trap… or what the consequences of his mouthing off will be,"
She glared at him with an air of ominous intent, as the blonde gave her a curt stare before replying. "Was that a threat?"
By now everyone has gone off Harry and focused on the other two as they listened eagerly to their exchange of words as Hermione laughed lightly and shook her head.
"Oh, no. I find that threats sometimes are all empty and mostly just hot air. No, that was a promise. And those are what I uphold the most…"
She let the insinuation linger but the stare given indicated clearly what she would do if he refused to listen and simply shut up when told. The mood in the room had grown a little heavier and so to save Smith from what possibly might be his next great mistake as it looked like he was about to speak, Harry stood in front of his friend cutting off her view of the blonde as he faced the group.
"Look, either way if you came here simply to know what happened that night then I'm afraid you've all wasted your efforts and can go away now."
His stare was hard as he glanced around once more. Someone who wasn't the blonde as by now he seemed to have taken Hermione's words to sense and sat back, or rather his friend had forced him back down, spoke in his place.
"Well what if we don't?"
Harry glanced up confused. "Don't what?"
"Keep our mouths shut. What's to say that some of us here can just go and tell Umbridge now what's going on, or the inquisitorial squad?"
The raven haired boy went to reply; his face contorted angrily but was moved out of the way as Hermione pushed him to the side clearing her view once again as she let her gaze roam over their seated forms.
"Because you're all contractually obligated to keep quiet about today."
The revelation caused the small outbreak in noise once more as some talked to each other and the rest looked to the female Gryffindor in bafflement.
"What does that mean?" She smiled and replied. "That sheet you signed, the one with all your names."
"You told us it was simply a sign-up sheet," she gazed to the back part where someone had spoken up as she nodded. "Oh and it was… but the second it was linked to however, no— that was the binding agreement."
Further noise of chatter rose up the more she revealed as Harry and Ron simply stared at her from the side lines as a few angry students turned on their friend.
"Take our names off!"
"We didn't make any agreement,"
"Is that legal?"
"Can we still tell?"
"Only a Slytherin would be that underhanded,"
She lifted her head as her eyes connected with the boy next to Zacharias. At hearing him both boys went to step in to try and stop her if she moved, but instead stopped, as she laughed and shook her head.
"Just because I'm not decked in green and silver doesn't mean that I can't take a few of their examples. Clearly the badger house has absolutely zero sense of pragmatism and instead holds the naive and the foolish,"
She dismissed the other outcries as a few of the other Hufflepuff's dotted about heard her insult as her eyes kept hold of those of Smith and his friend who bristled at her suggestion before addressing the rest who didn't look happy at what she had done either.
"I knew there would be the off-chance of some who attended today going off and telling others of what they had listened to, albeit some unintentionally, but others," she cut her gaze back to Zach and his friend who was still glaring.
"Well they would waste no time in opening their mouths and yapping to whoever would listen. No doubt hoping to have heard Harry's tale and then going off and scorning it, thereby letting others know and soon word would spread all the way back to the very likes of those we wished to keep it from."
She took a step to the side moving her legs which had started to tingle a little before continuing. "Trust is a two way thing, and I think it's safe to say that neither one of us really knows the other that well to share our secrets, let alone a group dedicated to the very thing Umbridge is trying to stop. I know that she's also promised rewards to those that give information about such a thing as this and that is where any, if at all, limited trust I have ends."
She turned back to them a small sneer threatening to show as she regarded them once more. "I had to make sure that all who came here kept their gobs shut and so I needed an assurance,"
"So you tricked us,"
She smiled wryly, "Call it a failsafe if you will. Something that would guarantee that what happened here today stays just in this room and doesn't reach the ears of the inquisitorial squad."
She finished to more mumbling as they slowly processed the fact that they had misled and was now trapped. At the side of her it was now dawning on both the boys just why she had made the second sheet.
"Alright… so what does happen?"
She lifted her head to see a Ravenclaw looking unhappy but a little curious as he asked the next question on their minds. Once he had spoken everyone turned back to the deceiving Gryffindor whose brow had arched slightly, before a smile slowly crept over her lips, this one showing more tooth then what could be considered pleasant as she replied.
"Oh, I don't think anyone want to know what will happen should you betray that contract."
The warning hungover their heads like a grey thundercloud, the now warmer smile she gave them also failed to make any feel better. A little later when the meeting had ended and everyone had rushed from the bar, no matter how eager it seemed they had been to get in to listen, it was more important now they get as far as possible leaving the three left to tidy up as both boys watched their friend cautiously.
Looking between each other they each tried to get the other to speak first, neither wanting to piss her off by saying the wrong thing not when it seemed her mood was cheerful now she had shocked them all. In the end though Ron managed to work up the bravery to speak as he cleared his throat.
"Err… Hermione?"
From over the other side said girl was placing the chair back under the table when she looked back to them.
"Yes?"
Leaving him to speak again, he quickly fumbled for his words and scratched the back of his neck nervously before carrying on.
"You know when you said that contract thing," they watched as her face brightened considerably making both feel that bit more warier before she nodded.
"What about it?"
"Well— we were thinking about it, and— what actually does happen if someone blabs?" they waited as she smiled again, her teeth showing a shark like smile as they leaned back slightly despite the fact she was over on the other side of the room.
"Why. You thinking of telling anyone?"
The red head shook his head vehemently, a look of honesty though marred with annoyance on his face. "No, why would I?"
She tilted her head to the side, giving him her full attention as her nose wrinkled lightly, "Then I don't think you need to worry about what happens."
Nothing else was said on the matter and so they didn't press, they had known her for five years and during that time had come to figure out some of her idiosyncrasies, not all, but in this case it was to know when to leave things unsaid. Ignorance was bliss when it came to their female friend, and if they wanted to remain on her good side then it was in their best interest to stay in the dark.
A couple of weeks after the first meeting the very first DA practise was set up. Harry had unintentionally stumbled upon a room that housed everything they needed, of course he had learnt of it through Dobby but it wasn't as if he was expecting such a place to exist, luckily for them though it did and even more so as she had gone through the entire Hogwart's a History and even the school itself, but never once had come across a room like that.
A note was passed around charmed with a particular password so only those it was intended for could see it, it was a risky move seeing as it wasn't full proof and so any who had it could show it to those around them, harry had expressed this concern to her but she was confident that the agreement hovering over their heads would ensure their loyalty.
It seemed she was right as eight PM rolled around and Harry soon found himself standing with the full twenty eight that had turned up to the Hogsmeade meeting. Though she had specified that the contract didn't mean their presence was mandatory, just their silence, it seemed none was willing to take that chance and so all stood waiting as she observed them and inwardly wondered just how far her intimidation could reach when he began to talk.
Everything had been going well. Of course they had to come up with a more secure way of setting up meetings and by them they meant her, so she looked through books hoping to find a spell or charm that would help.
In the end though she figured that the charm she had used on the parchment would suffice. Though altered to suit the needs of more than just two items and with a lighter purpose in mind this time not the malicious intent the first had been.
The next lesson she gave each of the leaving members the coins she had used, ignoring the cautious looks given, seeing as she was the one who had handed them out, and any questions about them until Terry had bugged her enough to admit that she got the idea for them from the dark mark. After that everybody was a lot more quieter as they retreated back to their dorms.
Everything was going well after that, the use of the coins meant that no matter how many times they were stopped neither Umbridge or her minions could find reason to suspect them of any wrong doing, though the Slytherin's still took points purely for the sake of being able to,
In the classes things were going well. They had covered a whole range of things from defensive spells and a few practise duels, but with the holidays coming up it was decided between the only two who could produce a fully working Patronus that they would leave that until after the break.
"You're getting really good," he said, beaming around at them at the end of another session. "When we get back from the holidays we can start doing some of the big stuff — maybe even Patronuses." There was a murmur of excitement as he grinned in Hermione's direction. After everyone had left and it was just the three of them— well four, as Cho was still hanging around after having sent her friend back first and sensing that she seemed to want to be with harry alone, Ron and Hermione left also.
Ron still needing to do his packing and Hermione surprisingly still had some left to, though she knew even if she left it to the last minute she'd still be done quicker than the other boy and so with a wave in his direction they headed back to the tower. Half an hour later Harry walked back through the portrait door wearing a smile that looked like someone had told him he'd just won the Quidditch world cup itself, a smile he still wore even all the way down to the train the next day.
She was glad to be home. She missed the seclusion, the sounds, sceneries even the smells. Living close to a lake gave the air a purer scent then what the black lake did back at school, it was also serenely to look at if not extremely cold, but that was what hot-water bottles were for.
Many a time both Harry and Ron had asked her what it was like where she lived, apart from giving them pictures she couldn't really describe it, of course Ron only took the woods and the lake to mean that she lived in the middle of nowhere and that was it really. Also the fact she lived the closest to the school was enough to have him stop asking altogether.
Harry though seemed interested about it, she had told him about the calmness of the water on the rare days that it was warm and hot outside, how the water sparkled and shone with such an ethereal quality that it had kept her there for hours one day simply just embracing the nature around her, he seemed to genuinely enjoy listening and more than once she had caught his reflective gaze as she told him.
Of course having heard all about his life back in that box he called a room, the fact that he had never been on holiday, in fact if it wasn't for the camping trip at the world cup last year than he wouldn't have even been on one of those.
The Dursely's were the worst kind of people in existence, she was willing to bet if she didn't despise them so much that both they and Umbridge would have gotten along fantastically, so sitting in the living room she was looking out the window deep in thought that she didn't hear the footsteps signalling the other woman coming into the room.
It wasn't until the hand on her shoulder had her turning to see the concerned expression. "Are you ok, dear?"
She smiled and nodded before making room so Minerva could sit next to her, as the older woman did so before letting a hand rest on her thigh.
"You seem lost,"
Hermione shook her head a pensive gaze crossing her features before she slowly replied. "Just thinking,"
"About?"
The younger woman glanced to her Mother still looking concerned but with a tinge of curiosity. "Harry asked me what this place was like… what being around here was like,"
Minerva nodded silently allowing her to carry on as Hermione thought about her next words. "I mean I tried telling him the best I could— give as much detail as possible, but it was hard." she let out a small laugh.
"I know there isn't a lot outside to describe. Just trees and the lake, but on some days they can be so…" she stopped and sighed, letting her head hang for a moment. the older woman rubbed her leg pityingly. She did know what it was like as when she first explored the areas surrounding the manor, she couldn't believe just how beautiful it was and also found it hard to fully encapsulate the wonders of what it all looked like.
"He seemed to like it though… from what little I told him he seemed fascinated by it, it was quite sad really."
That wasn't what she was expecting. Frowning, the older woman gave the leg a gentle squeeze making Hermione look up again.
"What do you mean by that?" she again had to think about her words as she spoke once more. "Did you know that he's never had a holiday? That he's never once been taken anywhere fun, and the only place that he did go he got punished for it simply because that whale he call's a cousin told a lie about him?"
Speaking to a boa constrictor technically wasn't a lie, she fully believed it happened considering the mess second year was, but he still didn't deserve what happened afterwards as Minerva looked uncomfortable at the mentioning of his home life. Luckily Hermione carried on before she could see the slight slip.
I know this place isn't a camping site, and is our home, something that's just… been for all our lives, but to Harry, to him it seemed like a holiday, even if it was just in words he seemed so glad to hear about it that it made me sad simply because of what my words brought him."
The lump in Minerva's throat tightened as she thought the urge cry, she had only ever seen what his childhood had been like only when he arrived those years ago skinny and timid to those around him. But when Hermione became friends with him and he slowly started to open up about life with his aunt and uncle, she was afforded the opportunity to hear more and horrified by what her daughter told her, it seemed to get worse with more he revealed.
In all honesty she really was surprised he had come out the other end as well-rounded as he had before she heard the younger girl speak again. Hermione had been carefully choosing her next words, she knew what it was she wanted to ask but knowing just how stubborn her Mother could be, especially when it came to Harry and Dumbledore's orders – if she liked them or not – she had to make a good enough case.
"Sooo… with that in mind. I was thinking that maybe perhaps he could stay for a few days."
Minerva blinked. Double blinked before shaking her head slightly in the hopes of making sense of what she had just been asked, though from the look on Hermione's face it was as she had heard it before reacting.
"Hermione, we've been through this,"
Said girl knelt up until she was sitting on her legs and giving the older woman a frustrated glance as she shook her head, hands held up as she did.
"I know we have but think about it, what does harry really have to benefit from by staying in a place like that."
Minerva gave her a pointed stare. Surely she wasn't playing this game was she, as the older witch sighed.
"The blood wards Hermione, Dumbledore insists that he stays there because of the protection it gives—" she was cut off by a shaking of her head as Hermione looked back to her.
"I've been thinking about that… and they don't work anymore."
Minerva stopped her next sentence as she regarded the younger girl, the earnest look on her face mixed with the determined line of her brow told her that she had been giving this some thought and so curious as to what her thoughts had come up with, Minerva slowly conceded.
"Go on,"
"Voldemort's back," She missed the flinch given as she carried on happy to be given the chance. "I believe Harry when he says that and well… he hasn't told us all of what went on, but did say that that little rat took his blood,"
Minerva was silent as she went on, her mind slowly working over everything she was being told. "They took his blood with the end result of resurrecting him, I'm not sure if it was a side effect or intentional but being that he can now touch Harry, as he did say that he caused him the most pain by touching him… then by that logical reasoning the wards no longer have any effect seeing as he can now physically circumvent the barriers preventing him before and just go after him if he wanted… there's nothing stopping him."
She was going to say more but was stopped by the shaky hand cutting her speech. Minerva had been mulling over everything and to her horror what she was saying made sense, admittedly she had learnt more about what happened in that half hour then she had over the course of the end of the year. But her statement proved to be an alarming one and she wasn't sure if Dumbledore had been contemplating the same thing or not, either way she would have to talk to him as she regarded the younger girl.
Hermione had been watching her and noted the drop in her face, it was clear she hadn't thought about the other ramifications other than the very large fact that he had come back, though given the utter dread everyone who believed them felt it was understandable they didn't think of anything else.
It was silent for a while as Minerva pondered and dreaded the outcomes her declaration had brought whilst Hermione continued to eye her carefully. Eventually she thought it was too quiet and so coughed lightly.
"So, what do you say?"
Minerva had only heard her faintly causing her to ask again, finally she looked back to her and noted the expectant stare as she sighed and shook her head.
"Regardless of the… unfortunate outcomes, I still don't think it would be prudent if Harry lef—"
Again she was cut off by the irritated sigh as Hermione rubbed her forehead in obvious tension before looking back up to her,
"You mean what Dumbledore want's," the look she got in return told her she was right as she sat back, annoyed at the older man's interference once again at what he thought was the best solution. Minerva exhaled heavily, feeling oddly drained by the drama surrounding the young boy as she saw the look of supressed vexation aimed at the headmaster before moving closer and wrapping an arm around her.
"I know he makes mistakes and when it comes to Mr Potter lord knows he has made is fair share. But I need you to trust that he only want's what's best for his welfare." She waited but when no answer was forthcoming she tightened her grip, pulling her closer.
"Ok, if not about trusting Dumbledore, trust me," that had her looking as Minerva smiled lightly, none of them said anything until finally Hermione nodded. Out of the two adults she trusted her Mother the most. That wasn't to say she didn't think the older woman always right and did let her know, but out of all the adults in the school she trusted her Mother above all else and so reluctantly gave in.
"…Fine, but I'm not happy," her remark earned another side hug as Minerva leaned over and kissed the side of her head. She tried not to think about Harry's situation too much by finding other things to occupy her days with, though the steadily oncoming letters over the holidays did little to help with that, in the meantime she went and visited Addie, wrote to Cedric who had started his year-long internship in the department of Law enforcement in the fraud division. He sent letters telling her what his job entailed and the ins and outs of what the department was like, she found it fascinating and so enjoyed when his letter came but doubted that it was something she would ever want to do.
The days went by steadily and all too soon it was time to return to the school. Minerva had been meaning to speak to Albus about what Hermione had told her, but for some reason she found that he seemed to be missing largely throughout the holidays and so grudgingly had to wait until the new term as she and Hermione made arrived back at the school hours before the train leaving her to make her way to the tower to unpack.
As usual before everyone else arrived she read a couple of chapters of her book before being alerted that the students were arriving back and so to get changed before going to the hall. She met the ongoing stream as they crammed through the doors and drifted into the hall, sitting in the middle of the table, they always sat in the middle and so they would find her as everyone else hurried to take their seats.
"Hey,"
She turned to see Harry beaming at her, Ginny brought up his rear as the other girl smiled warmly to her before sitting on her left.
"Good holiday?" she nodded just as Ron plonked down on the other side, the hall fell silent as Dumbledore gave his normal welcome back speech, halfway through there was a noise making them look to see Ginny eyeing the head table in disgust.
"See she's still here," looking they saw where her ire was aimed as Umbridge, in all her pink glory was sat near to the end of the table.
"Also see she's closer to the head chair," Ron mumbled bitterly making Harry look over in slight panic to see he was right.
"Bitch is just biding her time."
With that nothing more was said. But as if his words had prophetic meaning, it was the start of their downfall as soon after, and one by one, things slowly fell apart. It began with Hagrid returning, the three of them couldn't wait to see where the giant man had been and so as soon as they were able to, rushed down to his hut only to be met by the sight of the oversized man nursing various wounds.
Despite all their asking he was hesitant to tell them anything, but they weren't the only ones to have noticed his return as Umbridge turned her attentions to him and his classes. The DA lessons were going well, they had moved on as Harry promised to Patronuses, with his Stag cantering about the room acting as inspiration and where the others finally learnt of her own already fully formed Patronus, with Xerxes flying around joining with the Stag as it ran.
The two animals playing seemed to prompt the others into working hard, they all wanted to learn the advanced spell and so practised as much as they could. Seeing as she had already mastered hers she helped Harry in moving around and aiding those who were struggling. Finally though after much effort the rest had found their animals and watched in awe as they hopped, jumped, skipped, and raced around the room as happy as their castors feelings allowed.
The sight made her smile as she watched hers and Harry's join the others in the middle, standing to the side she knew that this truly had been the best thing they had come up with, making this group really had been the right choice for them and it showed by just how incredible they had all become.
That was her thought until the room started to shake. The tremble caused the others to stop what they were doing and look around, another tremor shook this time harder just as Harry felt something tugging on his robes and he looked down in astonishment to see Dobby pulling his clothes frantically.
"Harry Potter, sir . . . Harry Potter, Dobby has come to warn you, but the house-elves have been warned not to tell . . ."
He tried to hurt himself only to get caught in time before any damage could be done, "What's happened, Dobby?" Harry asked, grabbing the elf 's tiny arm and holding him away from anything with which he might seek to hurt himself.
"Harry Potter . . . she . . . she . . ."
Hermione's eyes narrowed at his visible terror, another tremble rocked the room making a few move nervously to the sides.
"Who's 'she,' Dobby?" Harry asked keeping hold of his arms, "Dobby, who is coming." But they all knew who 'she' was as Dobby let out a squeak and removed his hands from his mouth to blurt out in fear.
"UMBRIDGE IS COMING, UMBRIDGE KNOWS OF THE DA!" before going back to hitting himself. Hermione had pushed away from the wall at that, her entire body tense with anticipated energy just as he turned to the terrified, and motionless group whose eyes were on the self- harming elf.
"Well what the hell are you waiting for? Run!"
His words didn't need repeating. No sooner had he finished, a stampede broke out and all inside the room ran towards the exit which had materialized just as the shaking stopped and on opening the door with a scuffle building up as they flowed from the room, were promptly caught by the gleefully waiting Inquisitorial squad, Filch and Umbridge, as yells and cries of panic filled the corridor.
Harry took a deep breath and was about to go see if he could help when a hand yanked him around to find Hermione shaking her head.
"Hermione, what—" she hit his head as a sudden cold feeling washed over his entire body. Instantly he knew what she had done as she hastily did the same to Ron before pulling them to the door, it was her hope that in among the scuffle they wouldn't notice them making their way through as they were sure to touch one of the Slyhterin's in their escape and so hoped that they wouldn't feel them and if they did, just think it one of the struggling DA members trying to break free.
She dragged them through staying as close to the wall was possible, feeling only slightly bad for the others who had been caught. But there was no way in hell that she was facing one of those detentions and so pushed down the guilt at having thrown them under the train as she managed to pull them out as they made a run for it down the hall. At the other end they stopped when they heard the shrill shrieking of Umbridge who had no doubt been waiting for one person only.
"FIND POTTER! I KNOW HE's HERE SOMEWHERE! FIND HIM AND BRING HIM TO ME!"
With Harry now officially marked it was time to leave, turning they ran from the commotion and taking a detour, took the long way around as the pounding footsteps saw the snakes starting a search for the DA leader who had slipped their grip.
They rushed back to the tower as the charm was starting to wear off as Harry spat the password before making hasty scramble inside, the other two following just as the door closed and they made it to the sofa before it wore off completely leaving them standing in the middle of the dorm.
"Goo… good thinking... mione," Ron panted, bent at the waist in order to get his breath. She waved off his compliment before throwing herself on the sofa as Harry followed suit staring at the fire as he did, a couple of minutes later saw a hand touch his and he tilted his head a little before she spoke.
"I know that what I did seemed cowardly, but it was for the best. She would have had no problem expelling you, especially after the incident before the year started."
"She's right mate," Ron cut in taking a seat at the side of them. "She's had it out for you the moment she set eyes on you, if you got caught there then that might have been it,"
Harry said nothing as they watched him. Always was his hero complex the downside to his rational thinking, she sighed and sat back still eyeing him silently, he could be annoyed or he could just brood, she did what she had to do and mostly it was for her own purposes as well as his.
She had blemish free, unscarred skin and was going to keep it that way, turning away she still felt the racing of her heart beat rapidly against her chest. All was quiet until Ron cut the silence.
"How the hell did she find out?"
That was a good question, Harry finally turned to them just as her thoughts pondered over the query and with only one way to find out, pushed herself up quickly before moving to the girl's stairwell. She returned a few minutes later, fury on her face and spitting vitriol at the opened scroll before re-joining them.
"So who was it," there was no need to ask what was wrong as she simply lay the sheet out on the table allowing them to lean over and see down the list of names until the one leaping out at them in brilliant red had the pair looking up in confusion
"Marietta Edgecombe?"
"Why would she tell Umbridge about the club?" Ron asked, bafflement clear in his voice as Harry shrugged wordlessly, Hermione had been staring at the red scrawled name feeling her anger slowly rising until it was as colourful as the red on the page.
"I don't know but that little bitch is going to pay for betraying the group," they turned to her to see the stormy dark green eyes gazing menacingly at the name written down, they eyed her silently feeling a slight chill run down their spines, as Ron spoke again.
"But, didn't you say the contract had a jinx on it that would deal with any blabbers?" her eyes cut to the taller boy who swallowed thickly as she stared at him in silence. Whilst it was true that the parchment had a clause, she wouldn't exactly say it was a jinx that affected the traitor, in fact by the time they had exhausted all their efforts into fixing what the problem was, it would take a curse-breaker to undo the damage done.
"Yes, but that was merely a collective threat. One that wasn't just for the person who made the agreement, but for the rest of the group who had also risked potentially, their educational career. You hurt the leader, you hurt the rest, and soon the others will know exactly who it was that turned them in."
She looked away again and back to the fire, eyes still dark with possibilities, "However, that being said, I don't take too kindly to backstabbers and so to make up for the fact that I made us leave them, I'll make sure Marietta knows just how very wrong she was in ever daring to open her mouth."
The two boys didn't speak, knowing that they wouldn't be able to stop her, not when she enjoyed reprisals just a little too much that if they did she would simply round on them, they nodded as Ron dragged the newspaper lying next to the parchment before opening to the first page and began to read.
Present day
She was watching the rising and falling of the older woman's chest. Up… down… up… down. It was all very repetitive, all very soothing, if it were not for the fact she was anything but calm.
She was so very angry,
That night would be the night that stayed with her forever. As soon as she saw the Aurors with Umbridge she knew a confrontation was going to happen, the woman had been out for Hagrid as soon as the half giant came back. They had all known he was going to make dash for it and go hide someplace until everything had settled over and so rather than fret like Harry was doing, she observed the vocal conflict from her spot by the stone gargoyle, it was only when the doors opened and her Mother rushed out did she sense a rush of foreboding nervousness rise in her stomach. "How dare you!" the figure shouted as she ran. "How dare you!"
"It's McGonagall!" she heard someone whisper as Hermione looked on fearfully. The build-up of dread the more the older woman moved closer to the cabin. "Leave him alone! On just what grounds do you have for attacking him? He has done nothing, nothing to warrant such—"
Parvati, and Lavender and a few others all screamed as no fewer than four Stunners had shot from the figures around the cabin toward Professor McGonagall. Halfway between cabin and castle the red beams collided with her. For a moment she looked luminous, illuminated by an eerie red glow, then was lifted right off her feet, landed hard on her back, and moved no more.
The silence was resounding. No one dared moved or even breathe as they looked on in horror at what they had just witnessed, Hermione's heart froze at the motionless form as a maelstrom of panic and rage rose in her chest.
A few screamed again when three of the nearby telescopes they had been using suddenly broke apart loudly, the pieces all falling down in an explosion of metallic clanging and on turning to see the reason why, suddenly dawned on them just who was in the class with them.
They all stared wide eyed and admittedly fearful of the girl who had at one time, intimidated them all. Even the teacher seemed a little hesitant to go near her as she kept her gaze fixed dead ahead. eventually she removed herself from the ledge and over to the door— ignoring all who had shuffled out of her way as she made for the door , only to be stopped by Harry.
"Hermione—"
"Let go of me, Harry,"
But the boy shook his head. He had seen that look before down in the chambers, it was the look she wore right before she stabbed the book and watched in delight as he writhed right in front of them, no good came from that look and he feared she would so something stupid.
"I can't Hermione. don't you see, you—" but he never got the chance to finish. The others gasped in further horror and disbelief as he was flung harshly into the lower half of the wall. He skidded along the floor and to a stop as his back collided with the stone, coughing he fought to get his breath back and looked up to see Ron leap out of her way as she carried on through the door and down towards the grounds.
She left the rest of the class speechless as Ron moved over to help the fallen boy to his feet. Harry stumbled upwards, using the arm offered to steady himself, he wasn't sure what he was expecting but that wasn't it as he moved to the ledge and peered over as the doors opened again and instead of seeing Hermione like he thought, he saw Pomfrey running out as she rushed over to where McGonagall lay.
More fighting occurred as Hagrid lashed out and knocked two of the Aurors unconscious before managing to flee into the forest dodging all Umbridge tried to throw at him. Once it had died down and they watched the Transfiguration teacher being taken back to the castle, it was time to leave. They gathered their things and trudged back to the tower, their thoughts firmly on the older woman and their classmate who had disappeared.
"Probably gone to the hospital wing," Ron muttered a while later as they sat around the sofa. A few others agreed with him as Harry kept silent, he had a feeling that's not where she went but didn't actually know where she could have gone, in the end there was nothing they could do except retire for the night, so they bid each other a shaky goodnight and climbed the stairs, each hoping that the Professor would be alright.
Hermione did in fact see her Mother, the nurse was having her taken up the stairs when they met and she stopped dead in the hallway on seeing the younger girl, not knowing what to say she stepped aside and let Hermione move closer, the younger witch staring down at the pale form lying so lifeless and knew that those would not be allowed to get away with what they had done. Leaning over, she kissed the cold cheek and turned to the quiet nurse who had been watching, before asking if she was going to be ok.
Not knowing quite what to say at the question she nodded, she was fairly confident that the other woman would pull through as Hermione nodded and without another words turned and made her way downwards leaving the nurse stunned by her departure. But she had a patient to see to and so hurried to the hospital wing along with the stretcher as fast as she could.
Umbridge had gone by the time she stepped outside, back to her room no doubt to celebrate her little victory. But that was alright, her time would come. Moving slowly down to where the now abandoned Cabin stood, she quietly observed the two Aurors who had been watching unconscious co-workers, it seemed she had left them to watch the Cabin just in case the giant made a sneak return and so was left unguarded.
Moving closer she heard them talking to themselves, waiting for aid from St Mungo's… they would be long gone before anyone arrived.
"Couldn't they hurry up, bleedin freezing out here," The taller one lifted his hands to his mouth to blow hot air as he rubbed them together making her hand shake in absolute rage. They had just attacked a teacher of high respect and authority… more importantly the only person she cared for the most, and they were talking about being cold.
A flash of blue saw the two Auror's being struck directly as they were bodily flung into the side of the stone hut, before falling down and to the floor. They rolled over groaning at the hit before the first recovered first, and knowing when they were under attack, fell into position, crouching over his still winded partner.
"Whose there! Show yourself!"
Nothing as she stared out into the dark. Seconds later another flash saw him deflect the blow but a second instant saw him fly back into the hut this time his head hit the rock and he fell faster this time out cold. The other had rolled over and was on all fours, his wand just in front of him as he reached to get it, but before he could a booted foot came from nowhere and stepped down snapping the wood in half.
He gasped at the sight of his broken wand and lifted his head, determined to see there attacker. "I'll have you arrested you little shit! Attacking and breaking an Auror's wand is worth time in Azkaban and—"
He stopped dead at the sight of the young girl in front of him, his brow dropped in confusion but soon turned serious again as she twisted her foot making sure that the wood splintered, and he stared down at the deliberate move.
"You little bitch! I'll—"
Like lightening she was crouched down in front of him making him gasp. It was maddening, a fully trained Auror stuck frozen and defenceless and all down to a girl who couldn't have been no more than fifteen. But as she kept his gaze he couldn't move, never before had he seen such anger and sheer loathing in the eyes of someone so young, the hate permeated the air and made it thick with tension, suffocating him as he tried to swallow the lump in his throat.
She eyed him analysing his entire being for a moment before finally she spoke. The voice calm and gentle, but he could feel the barely controlled temper held back by a single thread.
"If you think being cold is the height of your problems this night, then you have absolutely no idea what's coming next." She leaned in a little closer, her eyes searing him.
"By the end of this night… I'll make it so you won't be able to feel anything… ever again," she turned back to the others who were scattered about all needing medical attention before turning back to the still unmoving Wizard.
"Any of you,"
Before she had the others tied up like wild Hippogriff faster than he could blink and before he knew it, a foot was coming down as it hit his face dead on and he reeled back, a second blow to his head saw blackness cover him and Hermione stood over his prone form before tying him up like his fellow Aurors. Once she had them all incapacitated she stood still, taking a moment to breath.
Once she had gathered her thoughts she knew she didn't have long and so another disillusionment charm saw them blend in with the cover of the night before she slowly levitated them back to the castle. There was only one place she could put them until she was ready to deal with them and so carefully she made her way to the second floor bathroom.
Once she had dumped them in the chamber she silently made her way to the hospital wing where she stayed for the rest of the night, Pomfrey saw her arrive but said nothing as she sat down by the older woman's bed and take up vigil.
Thankfully it was the weekend and so as the night slowly blended into morning and the first rays of the new morning set in, Poppy came over with some new medicine. As muggle as it was she had set up an IV drip, allowing the medicine to enter her body that way as she fixed the new dose before looking down sadly at her friends unresponsive form.
She reached out and gently placed her hand on Hermione's shoulder, the younger girl having not moved from the chair and just seemed to have watched over her as if she was sleeping, she made her way back to her office but stopped and turned around to look on at the solemn pair and hoped, not for the first time that week, that Dumbledore would come back soon.
Breakfast came and went with Hermione not moving and so ignoring her stomach as she sat and watched. She took some comfort in the rise and fall of her chest… that was good, it meant she was alive, it meant she was still them and not gone like Hermione had feared halfway through the night.
It was the reason she didn't dare go to sleep.
The morning wore on and soon Pomfrey drew the curtain as soon as the first students began to trickle into the ward. It was clear that a few wanted to see the Professor judging by the muted whispers, but she paid them no heed, what anger she normally would have felt she bottled up, and kept it in with each person that she heard whisper.
The more angrier she got the more she would have to aim at the currently captive Aurors, eventually Poppy sent the students on their way once they had been dealt with as Hermione glanced out of the window to see the sun hanging firmly overhead.
Checking her watch she saw that it had gone mid-day and so pushed herself up from her chair, with one last look at the frail looking woman, she leant down and placed a kiss to her head.
"Get better… please get better,"
Before turning and striding from the ward. Poppy heard the door shut and looked to find the curtain drawn back slightly and the chair empty, as she gazed to the closed door wondering what was going through the younger girls mind right now.
If Poppy had been any sort of Leglimens, then she would have seen that the one thought on Hermione's mind at that moment as she made her way back to the tower dismissing the looks by students who passed her in the halls, climbing the stairs and moving down the corridor before coming to a stop in front of the portrait.
Harry and Ron looked over to see their female best friend walk through. Relief crossed both their faces as she eyed them for a moment but then moved for the stairs, she was stopped by the calling of her name as they turned to face her.
"How is she?"
Keeping her back to them she didn't reply for a minute as they stared at her in silence. Finally she spoke, her voice soft obscuring the still furious urge to go kill like she had wanted all night.
"Poppy says she lucky… but she's alive." Both of them broke into wide smiles at the news before she spoke again.
"Is Ginny about?"
Pausing both of them stared at her back, unsure as to why she had asked them neither replied for a moment before the Ron eventually responded.
"Err— yeah— yeah, she's upstairs,"
Without further word she left them, climbing the stairs and down the small corridor. Slowing outside of hers and the others room before carrying on further down the hall and to the fourth year room, without waiting she opened the door and moved inside, looking around she found the female Weasley reading on her bed but looked up quickly on hearing the door open, her face morphing into surprise to see her friend inside her room.
"Hermione?"
She threw her magazine to the side and shot up watching as Hermione gazed at her, the younger girl fidgeted a little, her nerves becoming more uncomfortable the longer the silence went on, eventually Hermione spoke, her voice breaking the building strain in the room.
"Do you remember that time we went shopping for the Yule Ball?"
The question completely threw the youngest Weasley, her face dropped of any nerves she might have felt as the utter bafflement took over and she eyed her friend both confused and concerned. She did remember though and so slowly nodded her head.
"Yes… why do you ask,"
Hermione didn't reply, not yet as she regarded the puzzling glance she was getting before answering. "Do you also remember when I bought that dress for you, rather than you paying it back like you insisted… what did I ask for instead?"
Now Ginny was feeling nervous again. She wasn't sure what the look was on her face as she even to this day, still really couldn't decipher the older girls emotions and expressions very well, but the twinkling light in her eyes did not look friendly at all, not like the headmasters did and the dread that had been bubbling in her gut was getting heavier.
"You… said that I would owe you a favour,"
Now she definitely didn't like the look on her friends face, it had gone from unreadable to pleased, in a matter of seconds after she said her response. But it was a malicious sort of delight, not happy, and it did nothing at all to settle the rapidly growing anxiety the red head was feeling.
"That's right… I did, didn't I?"
Moving further into the room the older girl kicked the door shut causing the red head to jolt at the sound of the door slamming and cutting them off from the others down the stairs.
"I think it's about time I called that in,"
