Author's Opening: There has been quite a gap between these chapters, but now that I
have made some definite decisions on plot and whatnot, I'm ready to make a
commitment. Get yourselves ready for
some steady updates!
This installment is dedicated to my dedicated and
super-talented BETA reader, Arabella, and, as with everything I write, to my
father.
Ron
watched worriedly as Hermione descended the burnished staircase. Her face was
squished up in worry, and, in spite of the heat, she held her shoulders in a
hunched position, as if she were hugging herself. Harry, too, had put down his
cards (they were attempting to play Exploding Snap) and was regarding Hermione
warily as she came over to the couch. Both of them waited for her to say something,
about anything, but she seemed quite content to stare at the fire for the time
being. Ron sighed.
"Hermione,
are you okay? Listen, we need to talk. This whole thing is really, really…bad."
The air was ready for the sarcastic comment that should have come flying through at the last remark ("Eloquent, Ron,
seriously,") but Hermione nodded and wrenched her eyes towards the boys with
effort.
"Yes,
we definitely need to talk. This is horrible. I've never felt more
uncomfortable in a place I used to think was home." Hermione pulled her legs up
underneath her and looked around sharply, breaking out of her pensive attitude.
"Were you guys being…jerked around, before?" Harry got himself odd looks from this comment and hastily went about explaining.
"I
mean, controlled. My knees just contracted and reflexes were working and I was
standing up. I didn't want to be
standing up, but I was. And then I couldn't talk to either of you-"
"Yeah,
me too!" said Ron eagerly. "It was just like the Imperius Curse! I bet that's what
he's doing."
"It's couldn't have been the Imperius Curse,
Ron, because Harry's immune to that." Hermione looked to be fighting back a
'You should have known that.' "But that brings us to another interesting point.
Where is Dumbledore? I mean, there was absolutely nothing in the Daily Prophet
all summer about him resigning. None of the teachers will even speak of it! I
tried to speak to Professor McGonagall, but she started talking over me quite
loudly."
"Well,
the Daily Prophet's been less and less accurate every day. But…I mean, I guess
it explains why Hagrid was so upset. I know
that Dumbledore wouldn't step down. And if he was away on business about
Voldemort then he would leave Professor McGonagall in charge!" Harry was
massaging his head, aware that his friends were biting back queries about his
scar. All of a sudden, Hermione clapped a hand to her forehead and cursed under
her breath. The outburst made the boys snap to attention.
"Do
you two remember last year, when we were in the hospital wing
after…everything…when Dumbledore was trying to convince Fudge that You- that Voldemort was back, and Fudge said that
he would contact him as to the running of the school? Oh, I know he's been
sacked…what if he was sacked?" Hermione laid her head in her hands and tugged
on her hair tightly. Ron watched Hermione's gradual breakdown with a mixture of
realization and concern. He put a hand on her back and moved it back and forth
a couple of times, trying to comfort her.
" Calm
down. Fudge wouldn't be dumb enough to put a total stranger in charge of the
largest wizarding school in Britain. He's dim, but not the only one who has a
say in decisions like that. It has to be something else. I wish Dad wasn't away
with Bill right now…he might know a bit about this. Still, there's an
explanation somewhere, and we need to start looking for it."
Hermione
sighed deeply, nodded, and concentrated on the feeling of Ron's large hand
tracing her spine and shoulder blades. He seemed not to have noticed that she
was no longer hysterical. It really was rather nice…gave her funny chills and
jumps in her stomach.
Suddenly her head was spinning and the fire was
leaping up to meet her tired eyes. Ron caught her head as it lolled forward in
sleep, and the slight jerking motion woke her just as quickly.
"Sorry
about that," she muttered, reddening. "I guess I better head up, then. We'll
continue this in the morning?"
"'Night,
Hermione," called the boys quietly.
As
they climbed the stairs, Ron stretched, yawned, and pulled at his collar. Harry, too, was noticing how stuffy it
seemed to be in the common room that night, but in light of the current
circumstances, the temperature change was the last thing on his mind.
***
The
next morning Hermione was up earlier than anyone else, and that was saying
something. It was still dark out as she rummaged in her trunk (she hadn't even
unpacked yet) and pulled out some slightly wrinkled robes. With a quick
Pressing Charm and couple of splashes of cold water, Hermione was ready to go
help the girls down to the Great Hall. As she went down the hall, she caught a
glimpse down the staircase and saw Ron and Harry sitting near the portrait
hole. She was quite proud that they were awake.
The girls were bravely pulling on robes and brushing their teeth with heavy eyelids. Hermione cast a couple of Lighting Charms around the place, to try and make it seem later, but the flickering light seemed to aggravate the sleepy attitude.
Hope
was ready first, and smiled sweetly at Hermione for a greeting. At last, they
were all prepared, and Hermione led the line down the confusing sequence of
corridors that led them to the Great Hall.
The
Hall was almost balmy as they all filed in. Hermione showed the girls how the
food was served up to the tables, then set out to find Ron and Harry, wondering
why they hadn't been able to wait for her. She found them down near the other
end of the table, whispering frantically.
"There
he is, in the flesh. I can't believe they weren't kidding. I really wanted them
to be kidding!" Ron put his fist down slightly harder than necessary, and
Hermione followed his gaze anxiously.
There,
sitting right between Malfoy and Crabbe, was a new boy. He had gold hair and a
fitting smirk. He sported robes of bright green and was staring around with an
expression of great distaste. The new addition just seemed to be too much of a
coincidence. Hermione shuddered.
"See
him over there? Wonder where he came from, eh? Fred and George said there was a
new kid in Slytherin. Couldn't even be bothered to come to the feast last
night." Harry spoke through a mouthful of almost-cold scrambled eggs. Despite
the early breakfast time, all the food seemed as though it had been prepared in
advance and then left out for some time. Hermione tore her eyes away from the
Slytherin table.
"Well,
he doesn't look very happy to be here, whatever the reason. Perhaps he's smart
enough not to trust Malfoy?"
"Nice
try, Hermione," muttered Ron. "Look at them, they're practically twins. I'm
sure he isn't going to be anyone we'll want to know."
Hermione
nodded slowly, shuddering again. The heat made her feel uneasy, as did
everything about the present situation. Her odd feelings must have shown on her
face because both Ron and Harry were
watching her cautiously out of the corners of their eyes. She cleared her
throat loudly.
"Well,
I'm going to go help the first years get their schedules and get them off to
class. See you later, then?" Without waiting for an answer, Hermione scurried
away to the other end of the table, breakfast untouched.
The
morning meal finished up quickly after that. Harry was dismayed to see that
there was only one class he wanted to go to less than Potions, and he had it
first thing in the morning. Harry and Ron trailed Hermione while she dropped
the first years off at Herbology, and then the trio set off for Defense Against
the Dark Arts.
The
room seemed too dark to learn in and warmer then any other in the castle. Even
Trelawney's shady lamps gave off more light then the sparse candle settings of
Echion's abode. The students filed in uneasily, and took seats as near to the
back as possible. As Hermione shuffled sideways along the desks behind Harry
and Ron, she caught a glimpse of bright green among the masses of black. The
new boy.
He was
sitting in the back, his smug smile in place even as he flipped through a
black-bound book. Ron and Harry must have seen him, but pushed past without
word. Hermione, concentration destroyed by those vibrant robes, burst out
before thinking.
"What
are you doing here?" The room was
mostly quiet by this point, and there was a tension as everyone waited for an
answer. Harry and Ron were watching the situation carefully, ready to bound forward
at any sign of Malfoy-like behavior. Hermione was wearing a shocked expression
and most likely beating herself up mentally for speaking at all. The new boy
looked up coldly.
"Being
the deputy Headmaster, I'm sure I needn't answer to anyone, certainly not you.
However, I will respond for the sheer necessity of authority being established.
I am going to be assisting my father in teaching these lessons, and therefore
will be treated with the same amount of respect you bestow upon him. Please
take this opportunity to remind yourself that I am on a much higher level than
you are, and any further outbursts after this point will not be taken lightly.
Now take your seats, the Headmaster will be here any moment."
The
quiet of before was positively noisy in comparison to the absolute dead silence
now. Hermione was too stunned even to become upset. She allowed Ron to lead to
her a seat and mechanically took out her text, parchment and quill. Ron spoke
first.
"Deputy
Headmaster? How in hell? He can't be older than sixteen! Ugh, I want to rip his
head off… so stuck-up and pompous, playing around in the role book as if he
were born in a classroom! Look at him, strutting around like that."
Harry
joined Ron's indigence. "Stupid git."
Hermione
looked like she might be ready to add her opinion, but at that moment Echion
strode into the room, embroidered robes billowing importantly. He joined his
son at the front of the class and a sturdy hand was clasped over a powerful
shoulder.
"This
is Chad, my son. He is to be treated as you treat me- is that quite
understood?" His face was incentive enough, and the students' heads mutely
moved up and down. "We will start lessons today by telling you to forget
everything you've already learned. It's time you children began some practical
work. Granger, bring me that vial."
Echion
pointed to a clear glass vial that contained a lavender liquid. It was
magically suspended over a counter next to Hermione's desk, and she stood to
retrieve it. As she reached out and took hold of the vial, there was a flash of
glowing light and a high scream. When everything was calmed down a bit, there
was seen a shattered vial on the floor, and Hermione, clutching her injured
hand in her free one, tears streaming down her face. Echion stood, twirling his
wand and frowning slightly.
"I-it
burned me, Professor. There was a curse on it, I think, and it seared right
through my skin!" She was crying and obviously angry with herself for it.
"Yes,
Granger. It did sear through the skin of your hand- there was a curse on that
vial which was to burn the hand of anyone who touched it and had no Echion
blood. You should not go about grabbing things you know nothing about."
Ron
and Harry were glaring menacingly with their mouths set in straight lines, but
mysterious magic was being exercised again, and the entire class was held in
their seats. Hermione struggled to her feet, still nursing her right hand.
"But I
don't understand. You told me to grab
it."
"Ah,
yes, and you trusted that there was nothing odd about that vial. Not a wise
choice, silly girl."
Hermione's
pained look was turning to one of anger. Hermione knew that she sometimes lost
control of her emotions a bit, but she also knew that she had done a lot of
amazing things that a lot of people her age hadn't had the chance to, and was
proud of that. She was a great many
things, but "silly little girl" was not among them.
"Well,
honestly, I never thought to mistrust a teacher!"
Ron,
at this point, much wanted to lean over and bop Hermione upside the head. While
she was as smart as the books allowed her to be, she wasn't showing much clever
work today. Her constant outbursts were making his stomach hurt, and bad. How
could she be so dim as to continually put herself in danger?
The class, still frozen, waited for Echion's
reply.
"That,
my friends, will be the first lesson of today. Stop trusting. Everything you've
depended on and believed in for all of your lives- all of that must be erased.
No one is your friend and everyone is your enemy. Remember those words, and
hold them near. As soon as you have that learned, we'll begin the real
teaching."
With
that, Echion swept out of the room, and the class visibly slumped with his
exit. Harry and Ron rushed over to where Hermione was slowly sinking into a
seat, her hand curled into a ball.
"Here,
let me see." Ron took her hand and gently uncurled it, wincing when she
whimpered slightly. There was an ugly red stripe across her palm, shiny even in
the low light. Ron looked at Hermione biting her bottom lip and turned over his
shoulder to see Harry's reaction. Harry's face looked a bit like Ron imagined
his own: a mixture of fury and concern. Hermione swallowed hard and removed her
hand from Ron's.
"Oh,
this is stupid. I'll just get down to Madame Pomfrey and have her fix me up…I'm
sure she'll have something for the pain.
"I'm
not supposed to let you do that." Three heads snapped up to see Chad standing
over them, an unreadable look on his face. "The Headmaster wants students to
learn from their mistakes. Any injuries received by fault of the student are to
be braved without any magical assistance."
"You've
got to kidding! That wasn't her fault- how was she supposed to know it had a
curse on it-"
"She
worships teachers, why would she think they were trying to hurt her?"
Ron and Harry both took rapid steps forward, passing Hermione and closing in on Chad. She sighed and tried to dart past them to create a barrier, but she reached out with the wrong hand and fell back, feeling ridiculously weak and quite angry. Chad replied to all the chaos rather simply; he held up a hand and everything stopped; memories of the speech he had given earlier came flooding back.
"You will not speak ill of the Headmaster,
here or anywhere. Your friend needs medical assistance; I'm not supposed to let
you take her, so you'd better use some secret passageways. Hurry- you won't
have any trouble in the infirmary."
There
was a moment of muddled silence, in the seconds before anyone had time to fully
comprehend what he was saying. The mixed messages he sent were so befuddling
that even Hermione was trying to decided if he really wanted them to go or not.
"Is the Head-" Ron couldn't bring himself to say it. "Is Echion watching the hospital wing? Is it safe for us to go?"
"I
said, you will have no trouble in the infirmary! Now GO, and hurry. Her hand
will scar if you wait much longer."
Quickly
but warily, Hermione led the boys past Chad and out the door. No one dared to
look behind them as they scurried through the hallway and around the corner.
They stopped at the passageway hidden by a suit of armor that they had
discovered through the Marauder's Map, and Hermione was helped through.
The
trio didn't speak as they rushed through the corridors. It didn't matter,
though, because none of them were sure what to say yet. They all suddenly felt
extremely watched and violated.
By the
time they reached the infirmary, Hermione was out of breath and Ron had to hold
open the door for her. She seemed to be sweating profusely, and her voice was
higher than normal as she explained her injury to Madame Pomfrey.
"There was a small accident in Defense class,
and I grabbed a vial that I shouldn't have." That's for sure, thought Hermione bitterly. "I just have this burn
here."
Hermione
held out her palm, and Madame Pomfrey examined it gravely. Under normal
circumstances, she would have been all aflutter, frowning in a put-out manner
and muttering about dangerous school activities. Today, however, she was taking
deep breaths, carefully considering every issue and trying to subtly calm the
atmosphere. Harry and Ron noticed something was wrong, but neither of them said
anything. The idea that anything or everything could be monitored had put them
off a bit, and they had suddenly become quite introverted. Madame Pomfrey
walked over from her office with a grave face.
"My
dear, I'm going to have to be quite blunt in an effort to save time. There was
something more than a simple Searing Curse on that vial you touched. There were
also a few highly questionable curses that were designed to leave the bearer of
the burn ill. You'll need some immediate work, and we may need to pump your
stomach." Even the way she spoke was different; Harry and Ron looked at each
other, then sprang back to the scene unfolding in front of them.
"Pump
my stomach! But there isn't anything in my stomach!" Hermione's face, which had
been red from exertion moments before, had now gone pale.
"There's
nothing in your stomach that you put there. I'm sorry, but we'll need to
hurry."
"I just can't…I'm a prefect, I need to be back to help the first years through their first day, and besides, I don't really know if I'm up to having my stomach pumped- isn't that rather drastic?" Hermione was now slowly turning green.
"I
assure you that this is not an optional or precautionary procedure. If you need
any reassurance, I'll have to have you talk to Chad Echion later, but for now
you need to come with me."
Hermione,
finally realizing the gravity of the situation, slid down off the examining
table and hurried behind the curtain Madame Pomfrey had been motioning to.
Madame Pomfrey pulled a box from her cabinet and began to hustle after
Hermione, but impatiently stopped when she saw Harry and Ron, still frozen and quite
unsure.
"Boys,
I think it would be best if you went back to your classes now. The morning
break is over. Hermione will be fine."
Harry
and Ron looked at each other and wondered if there was even time to argue this
point. Everything was foggy and confused, but in the end Harry spoke up.
"All
right, we'll go, but we'll be back later. We'll bring books and stuff.
Everything will be fine!"
Hermione
stuck her head around the curtain and waved bravely. In truth, Ron looked much
more worried than she did, and rather conflicted as Harry propelled him out of
the infirmary and down the nearest corridor.
"Why
were you in such a rush to get out of there? Aren't you worried at all? She's
getting her bloody stomach pumped- ugh, can you even imagine? Harry, that's not
a pleasant experience, she can't go through that by herself-"
Harry
held his right hand over Ron's mouth and threw out his other arm to halt their
walking. "Calm down there, mate. I think that there's another conversation we
need to be having right now. Didn't you think it was odd, what Pomfrey said
about the reassurance? Hermione should to Chad Echion- now why would she send
her to him?"
Ron
sat for a moment, mulling everything over. Finally, he dropped the pensive face
and shrugged. "Let's go find out."