Disclaimer: All recognizable people, places, and things belong to JK Rowling.
Chapter 8
Drowning Pool
Hermione was still fuming as she got ready for bed. It was almost eight o'clock and everyone else was already peacefully asleep. Hermione, on the other hand, was scrubbing furiously at her hands and arms under the icy cold spray of the shower (all the hot water used up two hours ago.)
She still can't believe what happened! Professor Dumbledore gave her detention for being in Professor Snape's classroom uninvited, even after she told him of how Professor Snape beat up on poor little Neville.
And what a horrible detention it was. Cleaning mountains of boys' stinky slick underwear by hand, UCK!
Scrubbing harder, Hermione wasn't satisfyingly clean until her entire body was a light pink.
Putting on a blue sleep shirt and blue panties, Hermione strode into the sitting room, determined to give Professor Snape a piece of her mind, the charm necklace he gave her clutched firmly in one fist.
Retrieving a piece of parchment and some ink from the chest, Hermione wrote a scathing letter addressed to Professor Snape:
P. Snape,
I am very upset with you display of violence towards poor Neville. You are not the type of man I thought you were, and I can no longer accept your gift. I think it best if I no longer had any contact with you.
Goodbye,
Hermione
To it she attached her snake charm.
Sitting in front of the fireplace, glowering, Hermione decided she simply could not sleep a wink until she personally delivered this letter to his desk.
Shoving her feet into blue slippers she headed out into the hallway.
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30 minutes later…
Hermione couldn't believe it! She got lost again!
Passing another fish painting lined hall, Hermione thought for the umpteenth time that the hallways had to move about, she simply could not get this lost without help.
She made her way to a pale blue door with gold fish handles. Smiling she opened the door, and her breathe caught in her throat.
When she was four, her daddy had taken her to ocean, she had swam around for hours and when it came time to leave she carried on in such a way, her father decided she should have a swimming pool at home. She's been a water baby ever since.
And the water baby in her screamed to be let lose in the football field sized, tropical fish filled, pool that was stretching out in front of her. All thoughts of what had taken place earlier fled her mind.
Stripping down to her blue panties, flinging Snape's letter to the side, Hermione flung herself into the warm salty waters.
For hours, Hermione explored the underwater mazes, was kissed by fishes ranging from the size of a jelly bean to as big as a History book, and was delighted by coral, some in colors she didn't even know existed.
By the time she reluctantly dragged herself out of the pool, her fingers and toes were pickled and she could barely lift her arms and legs.
And her clothes were gone.
Great! Hermione floundered. What should she do now?
Deciding to make a run for it, Hermione crossed her arms over her bare breasts and streaked down hallways and through doors.
After the longest twenty minutes of her life, she arrived back at the girls' rooms unscathed.
Running to the small bathroom closet, Hermione stripped off her damp panties and slipped on a black pair of pajama bottoms and a baggy button down shirt.
Tiredly, she headed off to the bed.
And found a completely empty bedroom.
After waiting in the living room for some one to reappear, Hermione decided to take matters into her own tired hands and go looking for them.
This is turning out to be one hell of a night, Hermione thought as she slipped on a pair of black slippers and once again headed back out into the hallway.
After checking the kitchens, Hermione realized she hadn't the foggiest idea of where to look for them and was about to head back to the girls' rooms when a guttural cry shattered the deathly quiet.
Not giving it a second thought, Hermione shoved open the doors to the Great Hall to help who ever it was that was in such horrible pain.
And wished she hadn't.
Gone where all the tables and chairs and in their place was the entire population of the school, lined up and seated cross legged on the floor facing the wall away from Hermione. The girls covered from head to toe in white. The boys in black silk robes and red face paint. The teacher sat on the platform where their table should be, Dumbledore in the middle, wearing some kind of elaborate headgear. He looked like a samurai warrior.
Stunned, Hermione didn't know what to do.
Gazing about the robed girls, Hermione recognized Hailey's signature gold tipped nails and tip toed to her.
Sitting down beside her, Hermione tapped Hailey's knee and hissed, "Hailey, what's going one?"
Hailey started to shake.
"What is it?" Hermione leaned closer.
Some of the other girls must have noticed Hermione, because one screamed and wrapped her arms around her head, while other began to cry.
"Tell me what's going on!" Hermione grabbed Hailey's knee.
Hailey began to whisper something over and over. Leaning real close, Hermione strained to hear her.
"Hermione's dead. She's not here." Over and over Hailey chanted.
Frightened, Hermione leaped back and jumped to her feet. "I'm not dead!"
"Professor Dumbledore," She cried, rushing over to where he sat. "I'm not dead!"
Grabbing his ornate arm, "I'm right here!"
"I've heard more compelling arguments form specters, my dear," Dumbledore kept his eyes shut.
"Why are you still sitting here, like this?" Hermione waved her arms around. "I'm not dead!"
"We will stay here until dawn, my dear," Dumbledore's voice was soft and sad. "When your soul will be guided to the after life by the sun's warm rays."
"I'm sorry," came a grief stricken voice. Neville sat to the right, tears streaking down his make up, couldn't bring himself to look at her.
Going over to stand right in front of him, Hermione dropped down on her knees.
"There's nothing to be sorry for, Neville," She looked into his eye. "I'm not dead."
Continuing on as if she hadn't spoke, Neville fell forward. "I tried to find your body, I tried so hard, but I failed." He started to cry, a squeaky sound rising from his body. "I never wanted this to happen."
"This is unreal!" Hermione twirled around, "I'm standing right in front of you and you still believe I'm not here!"
"I will regret for all my days, giving you that detention, Sweet Little Hermione." Dumbledore's quiet voice broke towards the end. "I meant it when I said that Hogwart's was your home. I'm so sorry for playing a part in your tragedy." His voice became thick with tears.
Hermione opened her mouth to stubbornly shout that she wasn't dead, when a curtain of black fell from the ceiling right in front of her.
"I can't let her go!" The curtain of black screamed and reached for Hermione.
Suddenly Dumbledore was right there grappling with the now recognizable form of Severus Snape.
"NO, Severus," Dumbledore shouted over the grunts and growls the professor made as he attempted to free himself of Dumbledore's hold. "Letting her spirit bond with you will only prolong her agony and yours." Cupping Snape's now still face in his hands, Dumbledore continued, "She's gone, dear friend, and nothing you do will bring her back."
Professor Snape's face twisted in agony, his body going limp, as violent sobs of pain racked his body.
"I'm not dead." Hermione whispered, stunned by what was going on around her. She started to back out of the room. "I'm not dead."
The last thing Hermione saw as the big doors to the Great Hall closed in front of her was Professor Snape's body dissolving into a black puddle and slowing dripping up on to the ceiling.
Hermione turned and ran to the girl's rooms, her mind not absorbing what she just seen.
Once inside, just like she did when she was a little girl, she wrapped herself into a quilt and covered her head and waited for the nightmare that had become her life to melt away in the morning.
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Morning came, warming Hogwart's from the outside in. All the students and teachers slowly began to make their way back to their rooms. Professor Dumbledore carrying Snape's limp and withdrawn body.
Hailey's whole body hurt. In her mind she replayed all the fun she had with Hermione in the short time she was here.
As she passed a group of boys, one stood out in his grief. The boy Neville. She could see why Hermione felt he was worthwhile. He seemed really sweet.
Suddenly hundreds of screams filled the air as girls began to run, screaming back down stairs.
"Hermione's ghost is haunting us!" Victoria screamed as she flew past Hailey.
"That can't be right!" Dumbledore motioned to the now alert Snape and the other professors. "This way."
Quickly the men swept halfway up the stairs, intent on getting to the bottom of this, when low and behold the lady in question appeared at the top of the stairs.
"I told you I wasn't dead." Said a panama clad Hermione.
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A/n: I can't wait to read the reviews on this chapter. I was going to end the chapter leaving you guys hanging about whether or not Hermione drowned in the pool, but I don't want to anger my audience. And for those that have been worrying about me not finishing this one because I started A most painful crush, don't. I have plenty of time and ideas to be able to do both stories simultaneously.