Chapter 2: Playing Dumb

Hermione resisted the urge to just run and lock herself in the girls dormatory. She kept herself composed (though she wasn't sure how) and just looked at Ron questioningly.

"Keep it down, Ron!" Harry said. He had noticed a couple of heads turn down in the common room. "We don't actually know if it's true, remember?"

"Know if what's true?" Hermione asked. She was using the most clueless voice she could manage. It looked like it was working, with Harry anyway. She thought maybe Harry didn't believe it was true. "What is you problem?"

"Of all the people in the school," Ron said. He sounded as if Hermione had just made the biggest mistake in her life. There was anger rising inside her, but she fought it down. "I mean, why Percy?"

"Why Percy what?" Hermione said, looking from Ron to Harry. "What are you talking about?"

"Maybe you're wrong," Harry said to Ron. "I mean you really just made an assumption from what Fred and George told you. They didn't have any proof."

"Proof of what?" Hermione thought she should be her usual quizzical self so she didn't add anything to their suspicions. She stared at Ron for an answer. "Will someone tell me what's going on?"

"Well," Ron began. He was sounded hurt. "You keep running off without telling us where you're going, and you never meet us for lunch anymore. We barely see you at all anymore!"

"I'm sorry," Hermione said calmly. "I've picked up tons of extra assignments and I've been studying for final exams. There's only a month left you know. You should be studying too."

"That's what we were suppose to do with you tonight," Harry added quietly, looking at his feet. So he did believe it. Or that something was going on. "You've been really distant and, well, we're just worried about you I guess."

"Yea," Ron added. "And we should be. I mean, come on! I've had to grow up with Percy."

"What are you talking about Ron?" Hermione let some irritation slip into her voice. She wanted to get this over with and go to bed. "What does Percy have to do with anything?"

Suddenly the door to the common room opened and someone entered.

"Speak of the devil," Ron grumbled. They watched Percy sit down in front of the fire in one of the big comfy chairs with a library book. "He is acting wierd! He didn't even yell at Fred and Lee for--"

"Lee! If I see that enchanted paper place hit anyone else it's going into the fire! Should you be studying?"

"Seems fine to me," Hermione said indifferently, making sure her eyes didn't linger on the Head Boy. "Now unless you're going to tell me what's wrong, I'm going to bed, I'm exhausted."

"No Time-Turner next year, huh?" Harry asked. Hermione just smiled and shook her head. It had been too much for her, taking double classes. But so had sneaking around during lunch hours and after dinner. She really did need to study!

"I need to go down and get my Arithmacy book and then I'm going to bed. Any objections?" Harry shook his head and Ron just looked at her suspiciously. She went down stairs and over to the table where Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet were leaned over their History of Magic books. 'Numerology and Gramatica' was next to Angelina, who asked Hermione for some help. Hermione sat down happily and began helping Angelina and Alicia.

"Shouldn't everyone be getting to bed?" Percy asked downstairs. Most just look up and went back to what they were doing. Some looked at the time and decided they did want to go to bed. Angelina and Hermione looked at Percy

"We're studying tonight," Angelina explained, "so that we can have fun tomorrow! It's a weekend Perc, we don't listen to you weekend nights remember."

Hermione saw Percy smile at Angelina and felt a stab of jealousy, until she saw his eyes flick over to her. It took all she had to not to smile and blush. Harry and Ron were still watching from the stairs and she didn't want to give them any ammunition.

"Did you see that?" Ron whispered to Harry. Harry shook his head. "That look! Didn't you see that look he gave her?"

"He was talking to Angelina," Harry said. "I think you need your head examined! Or some sleep maybe. You're starting to see things that aren't there."

"I am not!" Ron protested. He was watching Hermione, just waiting for her to look up from Alicia's paper. "Just wait, you'll see it!"

"I'm not waiting anymore," Harry yawned. "I'm going to bed! We're going to see Hagrid tomorrow morning and see what's happening with Buckbeak tomorrow remember?"

"I bet she'll skip that too!"

"Ron," Harry patted his friend on the back and headed up to bed. "You better be careful, people will start to think you're jealous!"

"Jealous?!" All heads turned to the stairs, including Percy and Hermione. Ron felt his face go bright red and ran to catch up with Harry.

"I wonder what his problem was," Alicia said with a laugh. She and Angelina went back to their work. Hermione's eyes rest for a moment on the spot where Ron had been standing. She turned them to Percy who winked. She smiled a little and then looked down at Angelina's notes.

****

"I'm telling you, Harry," Ron said, "there's somethin' going on with her!"

"Let it go," Harry said and crawled into bed. "So what if there is. She's aloud to have secrets, just like we are."

"But we don't." Ron sat on his bed pouting and thinking. "We've never had secrets."

"I thought you were still mad at her about Scabbers," Harry said. He hoped maybe if he rekindled Ron's anger he'd let go of his suspisions. Although then he'd have to listen to him mourn his lost rat again.

"I was," Ron mumbled. He didn't say anymore. Harry looked over at his friend to make sure he was still alive. It was very unlike Ron to just let something go that easily. Obviously he hadn't, Harry could tell by the look on his face, but he was keeping it to himself. Harry rolled over and closed his eyes. He'd talk to Ron tomorrow morning.

****

At around one o'clock George, Fred, and Lee finally went upstairs. They had run out of people to torture. Percy was relieved that they hadn't started in on Hermione. He thought if they had he wouldn't have been able to hide the real reason he was sticking up for her, that it was no longer just because he was Head Boy.

Now it was just Hermione and him. He had noticed she was jumpy, looking at the stairs probably expecting Ron to come down and interrogate her all night. But now she was alone at the table. Percy smiled when he looked over at her. She had fallen asleep on her collection of open books a while ago, but he didn't want to wake her. She looked so peaceful.

"Hermione," Percy whispered. He was careful not to lean too close incase someone was peeking around a corner. "Hey, wake up."

"Hmmm?" Hermione looked up at Percy and smiled, then suddenly sat up.

"Don't worry," he whispered. "Everyone's in bed. You should get there too."

Hermione nodded. She was afraid to speak, afraid Ron was listening in on them. That would be just like Ron to spy on her. She got up quickly and stack her books. She ran quickly over to the stairs and stopped. She turned back and looked apologetically at Percy.

"Goodnight," he said with a grin. She looked adorable, too adorable. He wanted to follow her up the stairs and kiss her goodnight before she went into the girl's dormatory. But he knew he couldn't. They couldn't risk it, not right now. "Don't forget you're going to Hagrid's in the morning with Harry and Ron."

"Hagrid's?" Hermione thought for a moment. "Right! But how did you--"

"Ron told me." Percy laughed. "He came down just after you fell asleep. He just asked what I'd been up to expecting me to slip up on some secret I was hiding or something. You know Ron."

"Yea," Hermione said with a relieved smile. Percy was making sure to talk as if nothing was going on and she was grateful for that. She was behind on studying, they were trying to help Hagrid get Buckbeak back, and then there was Sirius Black and the Dementors. She had almost forgotten completely about the last. "'Night."

She ran up the stairs, pausing at the boy's dormatory door. She was relieved to hear Ron snoring, along with Seamus and Neville. She didn't think Harry would spy on her so she wasn't worried about him. She then remembered Harry had the invisible cloak. She went to bed that night worrying. Suddenly she was more paraniod than she'd ever been. Crookshanks scared her so bad she almost screamed. Luckily she kept it in. She curled up with her cat and fell asleep much quicker than she had expected.

Percy went to bed as well. He lay staring at the curtains that surrounded his bed. He didn't normally like keeping things from his family (well his mother and father anyway) but sneaking around was kind of exciting. He closed his eyes and rolled over. He fell asleep hoping to have good dreams.