Discalimer: everytime…*sigh* I don't own anything that isn't mine ^_~
AN: Well I said this chapter would be longer didn't I? The next chapter should be just as long, if not longer. Well…I hope you enjoy it's a bit crappy in some places ^^;;
""-Speech
'Italics'- animal talking
Italics- Thoughts
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The White Tiger Chapter 3: MidnightThe next day was fine except for the fact that Harry had kept a very good eye on Hermione. It' not like she didn't like it, its just it got very unnerving with him following her all over the place. The problem that was really bothering her is he never said a word to her until after lunch.
"Hermio…" she cut him off before he could finish.
"Harry I know you're worried about what happened yesterday, but why do you keep following me? You almost followed me into the girls bathroom for bloody sake."
Harry blushed. "I'm...sorry. It's just…well here. Madam Pomfrey told me to give you one of these after lunch everyday." He said as he handed her the bluberryish pills.
Hermione just looked at his hand. "I've never seen that kind of medicine before. What is it and why can't I take it myself?" She asked. Mad at herself for not knowing what they were.
"Hermione you can't know everything." Harry said while shaking his head. He could tell she was getting worked up about it. "Pomfrey said they've never really had to use these that's why know one really knows of them." Hermione's face relaxed a bit. He continued, "You have to take them because we were both worried about you, and still are, because you seem so stressed lately and the school year just started. The reason I don't want you to keep the bottle is because Pomfrey said that if you take to much or to little something bad will happen." Seeing the look on her face he shrugged. "She didn't say what, exactly, but just to make sure nothing happened she asked me to keep it for you." Harry held out his hand. Hermione picked up the pill and put it in her mouth.
Her face turned from curious to disgust. "Ew that was horrible." She exclaimed.
"Well, no one said it was going to be gourmet food." Harry said as he put the bottle back into his pocket.
Hermione glared at him. As they walked off they failed to notice the bottle leave from Harry's pocket floating to the corner and disappearing. Then within seconds the bottle returning to Harry's pocket. Hermione heard a snicker and turned and looked in the corner. She saw a flash of blonde, but shook her head telling herself she was just seeing things.
When they got to the common room Hermione went up to the girls dorm while Harry went to talk to Ron.
"Hey Ron." Harry said as he sat across from him.
Ron looked up a little bit nervously. "Um…hey Harry."
Noticing his nervousness Harry grinned even more. "So, what happened last night?"
"What are you talking about Harry?" Ron said coolly though the reddening of his cheeks proved other wise.
"You know what I'm talking about. Out with it. What happened with Lavender Brown?"
Ron blushed even more. Knowing he wasn't going to be able to get out of this, he sighed and started talking "Well, we were walking outside. She didn't say anything at first. So I was about to say something when she stopped me."
"What happened after that?" Harry asked anxiously.
"Harry don't interrupt me. As I was saying when I was about to say something she turned to me and stopped me. Then well…she kissed me." Ron said with a glazed look in his eye. Harry smiled and sat back in his chair smugly. He knew something had happened.
"So what happened after that? Did you two have a nice snog under the moonlight?" Harry could barely hold his laughter as he spoke.
"Um well…no." Ron said as he laughed a little. "McGonagal caught us." Harry burst out laughing with Ron soon joining him.
****
The next few days went on as usual. Ron and Harry getting in trouble from Snape, Ron running off with Lavender somewhere, and the Weasley twins brewing up a new potion for some new candy. Usual, until Friday.
Lavender was running around the Gryffindor Common Room. "Harry? Harry!? Has anyone seen Harry!?" She yelled desperately to all in the common room. As most everyone shook their head she let out a frustrated yell and ran out the door. "HARRY!!!" She yelled really loudly down the empty hallways. Growing more frustrated by the second she stormed down the hallways yelling his name. She soon became desperate and almost started crying. As she turned the corner someone tapped her shoulder. She jumped. "Harry!? Don't scare me like that!" She yelled then threw her arms around him. "Thank god I found you!"
Harry stood there awkwardly looking at Lavender. "Um, why were you yelling my name?"
"Harry come quick something's happened to Hermione!" Before she could finish he raced down the corridor to the Gryffindor Common Room. As Lavender trailed behind him, she yelled out, "She's in the girls dorm!" He nodded and disappeared around the corner.
Harry burst through the common room portrait. Everyone turned to look at him; he ignored their curious stares as he sprinted up to the girls dorm. Ron, Ginny and Parvati started to follow when Lavender came in struggling to stand up.
"Man can that boy run." She collapsed next to the portrait. "Parvati, Ginny, Ron, don't go up there." They looked at the girl's dorm and then walked over to Lavender to help her up.
****
"Hermione?" Harry whispered.
"Harry…I think, I think I was given too much. I feel funny." Hermione whispered. She sounded scared and confused. She hated it when she didn't know what was going on. She hated it even more because what she didn't know was happening to her.
Harry's eyes widened. "Oh no…" he whispered to himself. He walked over to her and picked her up. Hermione was in so much turmoil she couldn't bring herself to stand. Before leaving the common room, going unnoticed, he slipped into the boy's dorm to get his invisibility cloak. He didn't need anyone crowding around him.
As he walked into the common room he slowly let out a breath, relieved that the attention was more on Lavender. He slipped through the portrait and headed to the hospital wing. As soon as he got there he set Hermione down and called out to Madame Pomfrey. She walked up to him noticing he brought Hermione with him. Seeing the worry on Harry's face and the fear on Hermione's she knew what had happened.
"I need to get Professor Dumbledore." She said quickly and then left.
As soon as she left Hermione spoke. "Harry, I'm scared." She shivered. She hadn't remembered being so scared before. Even when in the first year the troll could have killed her. She knew then what would have happened, but now when she was given some medicine she never heard of and when she was given an overdose of it and no one knew what was going to happen to her. That's what scared her, scared her more than death. Not knowing. It was something that never happened to her. She always knew what was going on, what things were, and who they were, but she never knew nothing and if she didn't know it, she could always find it in a book. But for some reason what ever was happening to her, it was almost as if she wasn't allowed to know what was to happen. And she hated it.
Harry saw the fear in her eyes. He didn't know what to do. He had no idea what was running through her head, all he knew was she needed to be comforted and he was there to do it. Without saying anything he walked over to her and sat behind her as he pulled her from behind and hugged her. Harry didn't know what else to do. It was his fault this happened to her. He just wished he knew how to help her.
Dumbledore walked in, a small, sad knowing, smile on his face. "Please follow me, Harry, Hermione." He said as he walked out. With faces full of confusion, Harry helped Hermione up as they followed Dumbledore out the door and down a strange corridor they never noticed before. Dumbledore stopped in front of a giant door. He turned to them.
"The two of you will be staying here from now on." Before Hermione could speak up, he smiled. "No Miss Granger you aren't in trouble, but we can't be having an animal running around the castle now can we?" Dumbledore said lightly. Hermione looked down and Harry spoke.
"Why, not that I mind, but why am I staying with her?"
"Because, my boy, someone needs to look after her and who better to do it but the person she is closest too." Dumbledore smiled as they blushed. "And she will need to look after you." He said quietly.
Harry didn't hear him, but Hermione did and she looked up wanting to ask. Dumbledore looked at her and smiled slightly. She then knew she wasn't going to get a straight answer so she didn't bother asking.
Dumbledore walked away, but Madame Pomfrey stayed with them.
"Madame Pomfrey?"
"What is it, Harry?" She asked politely.
"How long do you think this will last?"
"I don't know Harry, I don't know." Harry hung his head and jumped when Hermione suddenly screamed. He turned around quickly and gasped.
"M…my hair…it…it's …" She couldn't finish, so Harry did it for her.
"White." He also noticed it had gotten shorter. What used to be mid back length was now shoulder length. Harry also noticed another thing that changed. "Um…not to make it worse, Mio, but your eyes are um…turning uhh…"
"Spit it out already Harry!" Hermione said frustrated.
"Purple."
"What!?" She grabbed a mirror and then dropped it. Harry flinched when it came crashing down. No one bothered to repair it. "Oh no…" Hermione whispered as tears came to her eyes.
Pomfrey shook her head slightly. "Harry, you need not tell anyone about this matter. If anyone asks, Hermione went back home sick. She is highly contagious."
Harry just nodded. He still couldn't believe this was happening. It wasn't allowed to happen to Hermione. It was supposed to happen to him. Weird things always happened to him, not his friends, especially not his best friends. Silently Harry swore that whomever did this would pay and they would pay dearly.
Madame Pomfrey left the two alone. She sighed when she shut the door. "Once again history has a tendency to repeat itself. And the same animal too. I wonder why Dumbledore didn't want me to mention it happened to Harry's parents." She said to herself as she walked
down the hallway.
~room~
"Harry, I don't like not knowing what's going to happen. It frightens me." Hermione said shakily. She didn't know why she had just said that, but she needed to.
"Mio, no matter what happens I'll always be there to take care of you." He moved towards her and wrapped her in a hug. Gee Potter you might as well confess your undying love for her while you're at it.
Shut up! And who said I loved her anyway?
The voice snorted. Why is the brain always so slow?
Before his brain could retaliate he felt the Hermione hug him back.
"Promise me Harry…promise me you'll never leave me when things get hectic."
"What?" Harry said confused.
"Just…promise please!" She pleaded.
"Alright I promise." He said shortly after.
Hermione smiled slightly. They just sat there in each other's arms. Neither one wanted to let go, but they did. Harry lay in one bed and Hermione the other, both thinking of the same thing.
Why her/me?
****
Her senses heightened. Her eyes bore through the dark like the sun at high noon. Her ears picked up the tiniest things. The breathing of her fellow friend, the creaking boards under Filch's feet. She could smell the fear building in her friend. She crouched down, the smell of fear seemed to excite her, waiting for the right time to pounce she swished her tail back and forth. There was a slight intake of breath and that was all she needed to jump her prey.
He was having a bad dream. He couldn't get out of it. Luckily for him the bed seemed to move, taking him out of his nightmare but not his sleep. Something nudged his arm. He tiredly swooshed it away and turned over again. He soon felt warm breath on the back of his neck. Opening his eyes slowly, he turned to face whatever it was. He squinted as he tried to get the white fuzzy blob in focus. Giving up he reached for his glasses. Blinking a couple times before everything came clear he looked up. He saw a white-stripped face with purple eyes. Blinking again, he cocked his head to the side. He jumped back as soon as he realized what was in front of him. "Ahh! Who…what…where…" He stuttered as the initial shock started to wear off. "Hermione?" He said after a couple minutes.
'The one million dollar question isn't it?' The tiger grinned a toothy grin.
Harry blinked. "You…I can understand you?"
'Apparently so.' She turned around a couple times on his bed and then jumped off. 'I guess it's not so bad being turned into a tiger. After the shock wore off first, it's better than being a turtle.'
Harry laughed. "Well I guess we should go tell Dumbledore then?"
The white tiger just nodded and then gasped.
"What is it?"
'I almost forgot!'
"What!?" He asked totally confused at why she was jumping up and down. Mind you he thought it looked utterly ridiculous watching a tiger jump up and down.
'Watch.' She said. She stopped jumping and closed her eyes. She took in a breath and bowed her head slightly. In a blink of an eye the White Siberian Tiger had grown white wings.
Harry's mouth hung open. If possible his eyes would have probably been out of his head by now. "Wow…that's…wow…your beautiful. I've never seen a white tiger, let alone one with wings, that looked like you before. I mean not that you weren't beautiful before, no that's not what I meant, not like that, well I did, but uh…" He blushed. He couldn't believe he was getting speechless with a tiger for Merlin's sake.
I guess that proves, lover boy, that you don't like her just as a friend. No matter what shape or form she's in you still love her.
Who said anything about love!?
No one never mind we're not getting into this now.
Hermione just shook her head and brought the wings back in. 'Well are you just going to stare at me all night or are we going to go see Professor Dumbledore?'
Even though the words she spoke were in his mind he could've sworn he could hear her bossy voice coming through it. "How are we going to get past Filch this late!? And even if we do you know Mrs. Norris could probably smell you!"
'I'll just have to scare the both of them now won't I.'
He could here her giggle as she winked at him.
Harry laughed, imagining Filch and Mrs. Norris frightened. He then thought of something. "How…how are
we going to get to Dumbledore if we don't even know where we are?"
'Ah one of the advantages of being a cat.' She jumped on him so that he fell to the floor. She put her right front paw on his chest and looked down at him. 'Its called smelling Harry.'
She's flirting with you and she's a cat! What type of logic is that!?!
I have no idea.
I though you were supposed to be the smart one. You are the brain aren't you?
I am, but I think I have been shutdown at the moment.
Ah, young love, so…so…wrong…with a cat! A tiger to be exact! What was I thinking!? His heart yelled.
You aren't the brain so you weren't thinking.
True, very true. Oh well, love has so many faces. Harry shook his head, clearing his thoughts.
Hermione had already been waiting at the door before he decided to get up. He couldn't believe the conversations he was having. If he ever acted like this out loud he'd hope someone would shoot him for it. How embarrassing. As he went to open the door Hermione tugged on his shirt.
'Hey, how about I give you a ride? I mean I know where I'm going so it'd be a lot faster.'
"Uh…alright." He stuttered. Harry slowly and carefully climbed onto the back of the white tiger. Before he could situate himself Hermione had taken off running. Gripping onto her hair as tightly as she thought wouldn't hurt her, he held on for his life.
Corridor after corridor flew by in a blur. He tried to keep track of the turns but it was useless. He started sitting up slightly, getting used to the speed. It was almost like his broom, just more bouncy. He started sitting up all the way when Hermione suddenly came to a halt. Not
expecting it he let go and flew off. He landed a few feet in front of her on his face.
"Ow…" He said as he rubbed his face. He froze when an icy voice spoke up.
"What is this? A student walking out in the hallways? At 2 o'clock in the morning?" Without looking up he new Filch had a smirk on his face.
"Look up at me boy so I know who I'm punishing."
Before Harry could get his eyes past Filch's shin something white a fluffy jumped in front of him.
It was Hermione. She was growling at him, her fangs bared.
Filch slowly backed up as the white tiger advanced on him. Mrs. Norris had already scampered down the hall. If Harry didn't know any better, he could have sworn Hermione was laughing.
Hermione was waiting. Waiting for that one second when he would hesitate. That's all she needed. This is great.' She thought. I thought this was going to be horrible, but holy Merlin, being a tiger is the best. She could smell his fear. And to her dismay she liked that smell.
There it was. He almost stopped.
She let out roar and jumped at him. She didn't jump on him, just at him.
He was too afraid to scream so he just ran. Hermione smiled triumphantly.
"Mio, I think you're having way too much fun with this." Harry said as he struggled to get up. He had hit his head so everything was still a bit unfocused.
'You're right, I am.' She then looked up at him. 'Are you alright? I didn't mean to stop so suddenly.'
Harry held himself up on the wall. "Yeah I'm fine. Just need to uh sit down for a bit." He felt the wave of Nausea flow through him when he stood up all the way. Sliding down the wall he put a hand on his forehead. "Ok maybe not."
Hermione padded over to him and rested her head in his lap. Unconsciously he started petting her. 'I'm sorry Harry.'
"Don't worry about it Mio. We'll just have a short rest that's all." He said tiredly.
Hermione almost panicked. He couldn't fall asleep. He might have a concussion. She nudged his hand a bit. 'Harry we should get going. I don't think this can wait. And besides after getting hit in the head you shouldn't fall asleep.' The voice came out worried in his mind so he nodded vaguely and struggled to stand up.
"Alright…just help me out a bit will ya?"
'Just keep a hand on the wall to keep yourself up. Grab, gently, onto my tail so I can lead the way.'
Harry did so. It was a bit strange to be grabbing a tail, but he just shook it off, trying to clear his head. It took forever, but they had finally reached Dumbledore's office. Harry had just been able to walk without the wall.
'Harry, I know it seems a bit much, but since I can't talk you need to say the password…if you need any help just ask.'
Harry just nodded and stood dumbly in front of the statue. Shaking his head again he tried to think of something, anything. "Um…Surfing Pikachu?" Hermione looked at him strangely, his head was definitely not working right. Harry was thinking the exact same thing, but they both gasped as the Statue swung open. "Um…who would have thought?"
'I think I'll make a note to ask Dumbledore why he has such a strange password.'
Harry nodded and walked in with Hermione trailing behind him. When Harry opened the door, Hermione timidly walked behind him. When they heard a gasp they looked up to see Professor McGonagal standing next to Dumbledores desk.
Dumbledore motioned for Harry to sit, so he sat. Hermione sat next to his chair.
"I see the medicine has final taken its toll on you Ms. Granger?" Hermione nodded.
"M...Ms…Ms. Granger!?" McGonagal said aghast.
She nodded again. McGonagal just gasped. "You poor dear!" She then stopped to think. "Albus didn't this happen to…" She was cut off when he raised his hand for her to stop speaking.
'Happen to who?' Hermione asked. Forgetting no one could understand her she nudged Harry's arm.
He jumped slightly. "Oh...um...she said happen to who?" Harry stated.
Before McGonagal could speak Dumbledore stood up. "That is for another time. Right now we need to discuss prior matters." He nodded his head towards Hermione. "First off, no need to worry about keeping her cooped up. For I will announce that you are taking care of her for Hagrid." He rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "As extra credit." Harry opened his mouth to say something, but Dumbledore continued. "Now then we can't go around calling her Hermione now can we." He said as his eyes twinkled.
Harry shook his head.
"So dear what should we call you?" Dumbledore said bending down to pet Hermione. Hermione nuzzled up against his hand, feeling comfortable. Dumbledore definitely knew how to take care of animals. 'I'll agree as long as it isn't stupid.'
Harry suppressed a laugh as Dumbledore grinned. "Well Harry, since she is 'yours' so to speak, give her a name."
"Um…" He looked around the room trying to figure out something, anything. "Midnight." He spoke suddenly.
"Odd name to give a white tiger." McGonagal said.
Hermione, or should I say Midnight, grinned and nodded.
Any name he would've picked you would have agreed to.
Shut up! That's not true!
Oh so your saying that if he said fluffy, you would not have agreed?
She thought about it and blushed inside.
Didn't think so.
As Harry and, now, Midnight left McGonagal turned to Dumbledore. "Albus, why can we not tell them about his parents?"
"Because, Minerva, it would not be the same. They will find out later. It would not be good for them to find out about that now." Minerva just nodded, she knew not to ask Dumbledore what he meant, for that would just lead to greater confusion.
When they got back to the room they noticed it had changed. What used to be two beds was now one king size. At the foot of the bed looked like a place for Hermione to sleep. There was also a large freezer on one side of the room.
"I wonder what that's for" Harry said as he walked over to it. He opened it and gasped.
'What is it?'
"It's full of meat!" He looked on the door and found a note. For 'Midnight.' Being a tiger does have its disadvantages. "I'm guessing it's for you."
'Oh…I guess your right. I have been wanting some meat.' He didn't know how, but he knew she was blushing.
"That's alright Mio. I understand." He grinned. "So what other things have you picked up?"
She grinned, her toothy grin. 'Well I hate to admit it, but I like the smell of fear. And I can smell things and hear things I never could before. Did you know Snape talks in his sleep?'
"Oh do tell." Harry said getting ready to hear something juicy, at least he hoped.
'I'd love to, but it was all fuzzy.'
Harry laughed. "Oh well, maybe next time. Goodnight, Midnight." He grinned as he got up to scratch behind her ears.
She purred. 'Goodnight Harry.'
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Hey hey hoo!!! Ehehe ok anyway, I hope you all liked it. That was pretty long wasn't it. If I had any mistakes, such as with the names, please tell me so I can fix it next time. I'm a bit lazy to go look 'em up^^;
Also I want to have a little vote. I'm giving away a piece of the story, but I would like to know what I should make Harry turn into. Because he will become an Animgus. I'm thinking maybe he could become two things or just one. Please give me your suggestions!!!
~*Misty Wildfire*~