Author's Note: None
of this belongs to me. This story is
based on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling and will
feature "offstage scenes" as well as scenes from the book reinterpreted from
Hermione's point of view.
Hermione's 4th
Year
Part 4: All the News…
By Elanor Gamgee
Later that night, Hermione was
sitting at a table in the Gryffindor Common Room working on Arithmancy homework
when Ron came striding in from the direction of the boys' dormitories.
"What, working again?" he said sarcastically. Despite his offhand manner, Hermione thought
he looked a little uneasy.
"Of course," she replied. "I've already wasted the entire afternoon,
so I had to make sure I got something done tonight." She paused. "What's wrong?"
Ron looked startled. "Wrong? Nothing." He sat down across
from her. Her question seemed to have
snapped him out of his uneasiness. "I
got detention from Snape," he grimaced.
It was Hermione's turn to look
startled. "What for?"
Ron turned slightly pink and looked
down. "Well…you know, after he
said…what he said…to you before class, I sort of…called him a few things I
reckon I shouldn't have." Hermione just
looked at him, not quite sure what to make of this. "But he deserved it!" Ron
added suddenly, raising his head.
Hermione smiled uncertainly. "Well, thank you…I think." So, she thought, once again Ron's temper had
gotten him into trouble. She remembered
the time in their second year when Malfoy had called her a "Mudblood" and Ron
had tried to curse him. She knew she
had found a true friend when she saw him burping slugs after his wand
backfired, and yet still going on about what a git Malfoy was. She reminded herself that there was a time
when Ron would have stood up for Harry in the same way. He still would, she told herself
sternly, he just won't admit it right now. Whatever else Ron was, she knew he was a loyal friend…present
circumstances notwithstanding.
She suddenly realized Ron was
speaking again. "…tomorrow night in his
dungeon." Ron hesitated a moment before
quietly adding, "Harry got detention too."
"What? Why?"
Ron looked like he was sorry he
brought it up. "Same reason," he said
shortly.
Hermione smiled to herself. Even if the two of them were fighting, it
was nice to know that each of them still considered her a friend worth
yelling at Snape for. It was actually a
pleasant change, as she often felt a little left out…especially when they
started talking about Porskoff Ploys and Firebolts.
"Well," she ventured, "maybe it will
give you two a chance to talk."
Ron just gave her an exasperated
look. "Maybe," he said in an uncertain
voice. Then his face suddenly tensed as
he looked past her to the boys' stairs. "Er…I have to go…I need to ask Fred something…" And he was gone, headed over to the other
side of the Common Room, where George and Fred were sitting with Lee Jordan and
Angelina Johnson.
"What…?" Hermione started to ask,
then turned and saw Harry emerging from the boys' stairs. He had a piece of parchment in one hand and
was looking around distractedly. When
he saw her, he hurried over at once.
"Where have you been?" he asked
tensely.
"I was in the Hospital Wing all
afternoon," said Hermione, thinking that this should have been obvious. "My teeth are fine, by the way, thanks for
asking."
"What?" said Harry, looking at her
in confusion.
"Never mind. What's wrong?"
Harry threw himself into the seat
Ron had just vacated, and slapped the piece of parchment down on her Arithmancy
book. "Read this."
It was a letter from Sirius. Hermione read it, her eyes growing wider
with each line. "Harry, he sounds
really worried. Do you think he knows
something more about all this?"
Harry looked back at her, anxiety
in his eyes. "Of course he does, why
else would he want to talk to me? Only
I hope he doesn't do something stupid and put himself in more danger…"
Hermione was looking over the
letter again. She lowered her voice and
leaned in towards Harry so that no one else in the Common Room would hear. "November 22nd…that's a
Sunday. We'll need a plan to make sure
the Common Room is empty."
"Right," said Harry, as though
relieved to be able to focus on some sort of action. "What should we do?"
Hermione chewed on a
fingernail. "Well…I could stay down
here and try to clear out the room…but what if someone decides to stay up
late? It will be a Saturday night after
all."
Harry looked around to make sure
no one was listening. He leaned in
close and whispered, "How about Dungbombs? Fred and George manage to empty the room out with those often
enough. I think I still have a bag
left…"
Hermione nodded thoughtfully, but
she was distracted. As Harry had leaned
in to whisper to her, she had caught a glimpse of the group seated across the
room. Fred and George were talking
animatedly with Lee, but Ron was frozen, staring at her and Harry with an
unreadable expression on his face.
The next morning, Hermione went down to the Common Room to meet Harry. He had taken to getting up extremely early to avoid Ron in the dormitory, then waiting in the Common Room for Hermione to come down. Hermione thought this was especially ridiculous, and had told him so several times. "How do ever expect to patch things up if you two keep avoiding each other?" she had said in frustration, but nothing she said seemed to change Harry's mind.
As she left the girls' stairs and
saw Harry in his usual chair, Hermione suddenly remembered something. "You and Ron have detention tonight, don't
you?" she said.
"Good morning to you too," said
Harry, standing and nervously running his hands through his untidy hair. Hermione privately thought it was actually a
bit humorous how both Ron and Harry got so nervous every time she mentioned one
to the other. "How do you know about
that?"
"Ron told me last night. Maybe it won't be so bad…"
Harry raised his eyebrows. "How do you figure?"
"Weeellll," said Hermione, as
though explaining something to a very small child, "maybe you two could take
the opportunity to talk."
"Maybe," replied Harry, in almost
the exact uncertain tone that Ron had used last night. "Come on, let's go to breakfast."
As they entered the Great Hall,
the mail was just being delivered. Hermione and Harry sat down at the Gryffindor table and had begun filling
their plates when Colin Creevey appeared at Harry's side with a copy of the Daily
Prophet in hand.
"Isn't it a wonderful article,
Harry?" Colin said breathlessly, his eyes sparkling. "That reporter was so nice, she interviewed me. She said she had heard we were friends so
she wanted to ask me a few questions, and I said of course, because we are
friends, right Harry?"
Harry gave
Hermione a look that clearly said "What now?". He turned to Colin. "Er…of
course, Colin. Can I see the article?"
"Sure Harry!"
Colin squeaked, handing over the newspaper. "I'm going to go tell Dennis—I'll be right back, Harry!"
But Harry wasn't listening; he had started reading the article and seemed to be in shock. His eyes grew wider and wider as they scanned the paper.
Hermione
leaned forward, trying to see. "What is
it, Harry? What does it say?"
He mutely
handed her the paper. She began reading
and had to stop in disgust after the third paragraph, which quoted Harry as
saying he still cried over his parents. She looked up and snorted. "This
is absolute rubbish, Harry, honestly! I
still cry about them, please! Don't
pay any attention—"
"Keep
reading," said Harry tonelessly, staring down at his full plate as if he had
lost the desire to eat.
"What, it gets
worse?" Hermione turned back to
the article, which continued onto pages two and six in the same vein. Then, near the end, on page seven, Hermione
saw something that made her gasp sharply:
'Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of one Hermione Granger, a stunningly pretty Muggle-born girl who, like Harry, is one of the top students in the school.'
Hermione felt
her cheeks burning as she closed the paper and handed it back to Harry. "Don't pay any attention to it, Harry," she
said, in a voice rather higher than she had intended. "Anyone with a brain will know that's a load of rubbish."
"Right," said
Harry glumly, poking at his food.
Hermione
looked down the table to where Ron was sitting with the twins. George was reading the article, and Ron was
looking over his shoulder, apparently trying to pretend not to be
interested. She couldn't tell what part
of the article they were reading, but she thought she could guess when she saw
Ron look in her direction. The
expression on his face was somewhere between hurt and fury, and he only met her
gaze for a moment before turning away.
Hermione
looked down at her plate. Suddenly she
didn't feel like eating either. "Come
on, Harry, let's go to class," she said, pushing her chair back.
He looked
more than ready to get out of the Great Hall. Copies of the article were now being passed around at every table, and
people were whispering and pointing at them.
Escape would
not be quite so easy, however, as Pansy Parkinson and her gang of Slytherin
girls were standing out in the Entrance Hall.
Pansy's eyes
glinted maliciously when she saw Hermione. "Stunningly pretty? Her?" she shrieked, as her friends cracked up
behind her. "What was she judging
against—a chipmunk?"
Hermione was
in no mood for this, but there was no way she was going to let a catty little
thing like Pansy get the best of her. "Ignore it," she said icily, sidestepping Pansy and starting up the stairs. "Just ignore it, Harry."
She hoped that Harry was following
her, because she was afraid that if she turned around to check, she might start
crying.