"Dumbledore," she mumbled, awestruck. He really was quite handsome.
He had the same kind and caring look in his eyes, which seemed to make him
all the more alluring at his age. Realizing what an awkward silence this
must be to him, Hermione ripped her mind back to the present. "It's
Hermione Granger," she blurted out.
He raised an eyebrow, and gained a very curious expression on his face.
"I'm sorry to cut our conversation short, however, if you could do me a tremendous favor and tell me the password," she said as she motioned towards the portrait of the pink lady, "I'd be much obliged."
Again he raised an eyebrow, as he glanced at her scarf. It was of the Gryffindor colors, and she seemed innocent enough. "Wattlebird," he stated, as the portrait swung open.
"Thank you so much," Hermione gasped as she took a backwards glance over her shoulder, and scurried off into the girls' dormitories.
The ever so polite "Not at all" which escaped Dumbledore's lips was barely heard. He was left standing alone in the corridor, quite confused, as the end-of-class bell sounded.
Once Hermione reached the dormitories, she heaved a rather large sigh of relief. She had narrowly escaped total humiliation in front of dozens of people, even if that meant sacrificing her dignity to Albus Dumbledore. However, she was still going to have to face the horrifying questioning of several 6th year girls. Just then, something floating in front of the open iron cast window caught her eye. It appeared to be some sort of parchment. She walked closer to it, and found that it read the following:
Ms. Granger: Guest chambers of the utmost privacy have been arranged for your stay. We don't want students pestering you for answers to their futures, now, do we? They are accessible only by the following spell cast upon this window: alloggiamenti dell'ospite.
Hermione glanced up at the window, before looking back down at the parchment. The Headmaster was going through quite a lot of trouble for her. With just a few more seconds of practicing her pronouciation, she withdrew her wand. "Alloggiamenti dell'ospite!" she cried as the window transformed into a stony archway. As she took her first step towards it, shrill giggles were heard near the entrance to the dormitories. Her heart skipped a beat. "Dammit!" she screeched as she sprinted through the archway. The second her body had passed under it, a solid stone wall took its place. Hermione was now concealed inside the secret guest chambers of Gryffindor Tower. Its appearance was relatively simple, almost exactly the same as the regular girls' dormitory, only smaller.
"Hello, madmoiselle!" a small voice squeaked.
Hermione jumped. She whirled around only to come face to face with a house elf, holding three lovely black dresses.
"Jenny is sorry to bother you, madmoiselle! Jenny only wishes to give you these!" the house elf said as she reached up on her tip toes to hand them to Hermione.
"Thank you," she replied, as she held them up. The three were relatively similar. Each had a neckline which was low, yet flattering. The bodice was tight, but not too tight; and the skirt flowed gracefully to the ground, ending just over her toes. The dresses had sleeves, long ones, a little too long for Hermione's taste. However, the old fashioned Hogwarts robes, when worn over the dress, made this almost irrelevant. The robes were pretty much the same as Hermione's, save the added back buckle which tightened them a bit more around her waist. Jenny the house elf waited for her to change, to make sure that she had done it properly. She offered to put Hermione's hair up, and when she refused, the elf simply performed a straightening and cleaning spell to it, which added a smooth, silkly texture and a neat styling. Hermione spinned and twirled in front of a mirror, admiring herself, before Jenny tugged on the hem of her robes.
"Ms. Granger must be reminded that it is 7:00! Dinner is waiting!"
"Oh! Right, thank you, Jenny," she replied as she moved towards the stone wall where the entrance had been.
"Jenny is supposed to show you the way out, Ms. Granger, it is this way!" The house elf hopped up and down as she pointed towards a portrait of a vase of flowers. "Just say the same spell, and it will open up to a passageway. Follow it, and you should come out near the Great Hall."
"OK," Hermione said, feeling a bit nervous. "Alloggiamenti dell'ospite!" The potrait swung open, and just as Jenny had said, a passageway appeared.
"Jenny hopes Miss will enjoy her dinner!" Jenny squeaked as she sccuried away.
Hermione rushed forward. She didn't want to appear at the Great Hall during any conspicuous time, she just wanted to blend in. She followed the passage through some turns, slopes and curves, and soon found herself looking at the backside of a tapestry which she recognized as decor from the Entrance Hall. Listening to make sure no one was around, she pushed the tapestry aside and slipped out. It was like revealing herself to the world for the first time. She felt cold and uncertain, as if she knew that every person who saw her would immidiatly judge her, and claim her to be some sort of odd ball or missfit. Her shoulders curved as if they were attempting to hide her head. Her neck tingled as she walked, quickly, to the open doors of the Great Hall.
He raised an eyebrow, and gained a very curious expression on his face.
"I'm sorry to cut our conversation short, however, if you could do me a tremendous favor and tell me the password," she said as she motioned towards the portrait of the pink lady, "I'd be much obliged."
Again he raised an eyebrow, as he glanced at her scarf. It was of the Gryffindor colors, and she seemed innocent enough. "Wattlebird," he stated, as the portrait swung open.
"Thank you so much," Hermione gasped as she took a backwards glance over her shoulder, and scurried off into the girls' dormitories.
The ever so polite "Not at all" which escaped Dumbledore's lips was barely heard. He was left standing alone in the corridor, quite confused, as the end-of-class bell sounded.
Once Hermione reached the dormitories, she heaved a rather large sigh of relief. She had narrowly escaped total humiliation in front of dozens of people, even if that meant sacrificing her dignity to Albus Dumbledore. However, she was still going to have to face the horrifying questioning of several 6th year girls. Just then, something floating in front of the open iron cast window caught her eye. It appeared to be some sort of parchment. She walked closer to it, and found that it read the following:
Ms. Granger: Guest chambers of the utmost privacy have been arranged for your stay. We don't want students pestering you for answers to their futures, now, do we? They are accessible only by the following spell cast upon this window: alloggiamenti dell'ospite.
Hermione glanced up at the window, before looking back down at the parchment. The Headmaster was going through quite a lot of trouble for her. With just a few more seconds of practicing her pronouciation, she withdrew her wand. "Alloggiamenti dell'ospite!" she cried as the window transformed into a stony archway. As she took her first step towards it, shrill giggles were heard near the entrance to the dormitories. Her heart skipped a beat. "Dammit!" she screeched as she sprinted through the archway. The second her body had passed under it, a solid stone wall took its place. Hermione was now concealed inside the secret guest chambers of Gryffindor Tower. Its appearance was relatively simple, almost exactly the same as the regular girls' dormitory, only smaller.
"Hello, madmoiselle!" a small voice squeaked.
Hermione jumped. She whirled around only to come face to face with a house elf, holding three lovely black dresses.
"Jenny is sorry to bother you, madmoiselle! Jenny only wishes to give you these!" the house elf said as she reached up on her tip toes to hand them to Hermione.
"Thank you," she replied, as she held them up. The three were relatively similar. Each had a neckline which was low, yet flattering. The bodice was tight, but not too tight; and the skirt flowed gracefully to the ground, ending just over her toes. The dresses had sleeves, long ones, a little too long for Hermione's taste. However, the old fashioned Hogwarts robes, when worn over the dress, made this almost irrelevant. The robes were pretty much the same as Hermione's, save the added back buckle which tightened them a bit more around her waist. Jenny the house elf waited for her to change, to make sure that she had done it properly. She offered to put Hermione's hair up, and when she refused, the elf simply performed a straightening and cleaning spell to it, which added a smooth, silkly texture and a neat styling. Hermione spinned and twirled in front of a mirror, admiring herself, before Jenny tugged on the hem of her robes.
"Ms. Granger must be reminded that it is 7:00! Dinner is waiting!"
"Oh! Right, thank you, Jenny," she replied as she moved towards the stone wall where the entrance had been.
"Jenny is supposed to show you the way out, Ms. Granger, it is this way!" The house elf hopped up and down as she pointed towards a portrait of a vase of flowers. "Just say the same spell, and it will open up to a passageway. Follow it, and you should come out near the Great Hall."
"OK," Hermione said, feeling a bit nervous. "Alloggiamenti dell'ospite!" The potrait swung open, and just as Jenny had said, a passageway appeared.
"Jenny hopes Miss will enjoy her dinner!" Jenny squeaked as she sccuried away.
Hermione rushed forward. She didn't want to appear at the Great Hall during any conspicuous time, she just wanted to blend in. She followed the passage through some turns, slopes and curves, and soon found herself looking at the backside of a tapestry which she recognized as decor from the Entrance Hall. Listening to make sure no one was around, she pushed the tapestry aside and slipped out. It was like revealing herself to the world for the first time. She felt cold and uncertain, as if she knew that every person who saw her would immidiatly judge her, and claim her to be some sort of odd ball or missfit. Her shoulders curved as if they were attempting to hide her head. Her neck tingled as she walked, quickly, to the open doors of the Great Hall.