Chapter 5 Hogwarts
Disclaimer ~ I don't own the characters. Only the plot.
~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~
"I f he wakes up, you need to give him this straight away." Hermione told Ginny and Molly Weasley, handing the thick bottle of green syrup she retrieved when Ron was first brought to her flat. Both women nodded and she set the bottle on the table next to her bed.
"I mean it. Before you even talk to him, give him about a cup full. Then get to me as soon as you can. Understand?" They nodded again and Hermione grabbed her wand. "Alright, then. Keep a good eye on him." She told them before apparating into the Forbidden Forest.
Harry stood in the middle of the forest looking at his watch. "Took you long enough." He said impatiently. She nodded and walked to where he was standing. She looked around at the giant charred ring of grass. "This is where I found Ron." He pointed to a clearing just behind some tall plants. "That's where I saw the- the thing. Whatever it was."
Hermione nodded and kneeled on the ground touching her fingers to the grass. "Was there a fire?" She asked looking up at his face.
"Nope. There was like a huge force field that was blocking Ron's spells, and using them to build a defense shield for the thing. I've never seen or heard of a spell like that before, have you?"
Hermione shook her head fiercely. "Perhaps it was a spell invented by whatever the thing was." She stood up again and turned back to Harry, who had begun to walk towards Hogwarts.
"I reckon."
"Was it human, Harry?" She asked jogging to catch up with him.
He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think it was completely human. It was taller than Ron, around nine feet I'd say." He looked over at Hermione from the corner of her eye. Her arms were at her side and she had a thoughtful look on her face.
"Do you reckon it could've been part giant? You know, like Hagrid?"
"That's what I was thinking." He said looking at the ground. They came to the clearing and crossed the Hogwarts grounds to the castle. "We're going to go ask some questions to the kids that were attacked."
Hermione nodded and followed Harry to the infirmary. Catching several confused glimpses of the children, while the Minister of Magic's son waved at her. Hermione smiled and waved back. Passing her old Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom she peered inside quickly to hear a familiar voice talking to some third years about Grindylows.
Harry pulled her arm away from the door and she walked further down the hall. She had to walk fast to match Harry's step, as for every step he took she had to take two. Finally they were at the opened door of Hogwart's infirmary. She followed him into the crowded room.
They both looked around at the children who lay in the hospital bed. A man stood at the end of a bed, taking pictures, while the woman standing next to him was interviewing a child on the bed.
"Harry?" The man with the camera approached. "Harry Potter?" A smile spread across his face as he raced over to Harry shaking his hand vigorously.
"Hullo Colin." Harry said politely shaking his hand. "You know Hermione." Harry said pointing to her. Colin nodded while the woman interviewing the young boy strode over.
"Dr. Hermione Granger?" She asked pulling out a pad and a Quick-Quotes Quill setting them on a table nearby. She turned her attention to the quill as it stood on its tip on the pad, waiting to exaggerate any words that came from her mouth. "I'm Renee Skeeter, reporter for the Daily Prophet." She held her hand out to Hermione.
Hermione looked down at her hand with a look of disgust and batted it away. "I know exactly who you are."
Renee shrugged her shoulders and began again. "I was wondering if I could have a word with you. Oh, and Mr. Potter of course."
"We're very busy today, Miss Skeeter. If you would be so kind as to leave." Harry told her as he pushed both her, and Colin out of the door.
"Goodbye, Harry!" Colin waved as Harry shut the door.
"Some things never change." Harry shook his head walking to the bed where the boy Renee was interviewing earlier, sat. "Hello, I'm Harry. Do you mind if we ask you a couple questions?" He asked the frail looking boy as Hermione took a seat at the other side of the bed. The boy nodded his head. "Can you tell us how the thing appeared out on the pitch?"
The boy opened his mouth to answer, and a loud scratchy cough came out of his throat, while he tried to sit up in the bed. Hermione jumped up. "No. You need to lie down. Harry, he's not well enough to be talking yet. We need to wait until he's recovered."
Harry opened his mouth to protest, but shut it again remembering that it was useless to fight with Hermione when her mind was set. Especially when someone's health was in danger. He nodded and turned to the boy. "Is there anyone else who saw it that I can speak to?"
The boy nodded and squeaked out, "Phinius Harbrick. He's a third year Hufflepuff. He was early to quidditch practice yesterday, too. We both saw it." Harry nodded and stood up, Hermione mimicking his movements.
She turned back to the boy before leaving the infirmary, "Get plenty of rest, alright?" She saw the boy nod, and Harry roll his eyes out of the corner of her eye.
The two traveled down the halls trying to decide the best way to find Phinius Harbrick. Finally deciding to find Professor Dumbledore. But instead of finding him, he seemed to find them as they wandered the hallway. "Ah, Mr. Potter, and if my eyes do not deceive me, Miss Granger."
Hermione smiled her head. "Hullo Professor Dumbledore." She curtsied in front of him, and Harry snickered at her. She glared at him from the corner of her eye and turned back to Dumbledore.
He laughed heartily before replying, "That isn't necessary any longer. After all, we no longer share a teacher/pupil relationship. Please call me Albus."
She blushed and cleared her throat. "Alright, Albus." She heard Harry snort with laughter again and she lightly kicked the back of his leg. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as the two shared their friendly row.
Harry straightened and looked at Dumbledore, "Sir, do you know where we can find Mr. Phinius Harbrick?"
He nodded. "He is in Defense Against the Dark Arts right now. It's in the same room." The two nodded and began to walk down the hall as Dumbledore called after them; "It is really nice to see you two together again!"
Down the hall Hermione grabbed Harry's forearm and he patted her hand. They nodded to each other, both knowing that it was really good to see each other again.
~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~
Ron turned in his bed and slowly opened his eye slowly. A pain shot through his entire and he groaned as the bright white light hit his face. Opening his other eye, he looked around the room. He tried to turn his head but the pain was so terrible that he hut his eyes and felt himself fall back into unconsciousness.
~*~*Flahback*~*~
Ron held the ring up to his left eye and gazed at it. "It is quite lovely." Harry said smiling at the sparkling jewel. "She'll love it, Ron."
Ron looked up at the man, "How much did you say it was?"
"Its 1300 Galleons." The man replied, looking at Ron, "But for you, it's 1000."
Ron smiled at the man's generosity. It was true; Hermione would love the ring. And although he had Auror School to pay for, and finding money to live on with only a part time job wasn't going to be easy for him, but the ring was perfect. "I'll take it." Ron smiled as he pushed the ring back over.
"But, Ron! That's so much! Are you sure-" Ginny began, but stopped as Ron put his hand up.
"Don't worry, I'll manage."
~*~*End Flashback*~*~
~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~
Harry and Hermione stood in the open doorway, watching the class. Hermione's eyes widened as she got a better look at the teacher. Harry smiled over at her and knocked on the door. The class, including the professor, looked to where the two stood.
"Come in." He smiled warmly, as his face roamed down Hermione. She blushed and looked around the classroom. "Who's this lovely female you brought with this afternoon?" He bowed and picked up her hand, bringing it to his lips, causing her to blush even more.
Harry smiled, trying to keep from laughing, before clearing his throat. "This is Hermione Granger. You remember her, don't you?"
The professor's face turned a sickly color of pale green. "Oh. Hello, Hermione." He said turning back to Harry. "What can I do for you?"
"We're looking for-uh, what's his name 'Mione?" Harry looked to his new partner.
She sighed and rolled her eyes, before smiling at him. "Can't you remember anything? His name is Phinius. Phinius Harbrick." She smiled as Harry leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, receiving a suspicious glare from the professor who looked back at him through his narrow eyes.
"Ah, yes. Mr. Harbrick! Would you please come up here?" The professor called to a boy with dark blonde hair and eyes almost a color of purple. He got up from his seat and went to the front of the classroom. Hermione heard him gulp as he turned to his professor.
"Yes Professor?"
"These two would like to take you from my class for a short while." He turned to Harry and Hermione and added, "I expect him back here rather quickly. We're very busy," He said nodding to a short creature in the corner.
They both nodded, leading the boy out of his room.
~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~
"Now Mr. Harbrick," Harry said sitting next to Hermione and across the table from Phinius. "Would you say what you saw was more human, or more beast?" Hermione looked up from the parchment with her quill in her hand, ready to take notes of what he said.
"Well, It was a little of both." Harry sighed. Hermione set down her quill. For the past ten minutes they'd been receiving the same kind of vague answers.
"How so?" Hermione asked leaning across the table at him.
"Uh, Well, it was both a beast and a man."
Harry sighed. "That's all Mr. Harbrick. We'll be contacting you soon for more information."
"But-"
"That's all. Hermione, would you escort Phinius back to class?" Hermione nodded and she stood up from her chair and walked to the door. She stood aside waiting for him to walk ahead before following him out the door.
~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~ The two walked silently down the hall, stopping in front of the door, "Go back to your seat now," She told him and he nodded as he walked back into the classroom. She poked her head through the doorway, "Thank you Professor Malfoy." She nodded and smiled before turning to leave.
"Granger! Er, Hermione- Wait!" Hermione paused as she saw Malfoy jog towards her at the door.
~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~
A/N: Well, please read and review. And to all of those who also are reading 'Who Knew?', I'm sorry about not adding a chapter when I said I was going to. I'm just having a lot of trouble putting what is in my mind onto paper without sounding awfully cheesy. As for those who are loving this. I'm working on the next chapter. It'll probably be done by the time I post this, so I will post the next one soon!
Disclaimer ~ I don't own the characters. Only the plot.
~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~
"I f he wakes up, you need to give him this straight away." Hermione told Ginny and Molly Weasley, handing the thick bottle of green syrup she retrieved when Ron was first brought to her flat. Both women nodded and she set the bottle on the table next to her bed.
"I mean it. Before you even talk to him, give him about a cup full. Then get to me as soon as you can. Understand?" They nodded again and Hermione grabbed her wand. "Alright, then. Keep a good eye on him." She told them before apparating into the Forbidden Forest.
Harry stood in the middle of the forest looking at his watch. "Took you long enough." He said impatiently. She nodded and walked to where he was standing. She looked around at the giant charred ring of grass. "This is where I found Ron." He pointed to a clearing just behind some tall plants. "That's where I saw the- the thing. Whatever it was."
Hermione nodded and kneeled on the ground touching her fingers to the grass. "Was there a fire?" She asked looking up at his face.
"Nope. There was like a huge force field that was blocking Ron's spells, and using them to build a defense shield for the thing. I've never seen or heard of a spell like that before, have you?"
Hermione shook her head fiercely. "Perhaps it was a spell invented by whatever the thing was." She stood up again and turned back to Harry, who had begun to walk towards Hogwarts.
"I reckon."
"Was it human, Harry?" She asked jogging to catch up with him.
He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think it was completely human. It was taller than Ron, around nine feet I'd say." He looked over at Hermione from the corner of her eye. Her arms were at her side and she had a thoughtful look on her face.
"Do you reckon it could've been part giant? You know, like Hagrid?"
"That's what I was thinking." He said looking at the ground. They came to the clearing and crossed the Hogwarts grounds to the castle. "We're going to go ask some questions to the kids that were attacked."
Hermione nodded and followed Harry to the infirmary. Catching several confused glimpses of the children, while the Minister of Magic's son waved at her. Hermione smiled and waved back. Passing her old Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom she peered inside quickly to hear a familiar voice talking to some third years about Grindylows.
Harry pulled her arm away from the door and she walked further down the hall. She had to walk fast to match Harry's step, as for every step he took she had to take two. Finally they were at the opened door of Hogwart's infirmary. She followed him into the crowded room.
They both looked around at the children who lay in the hospital bed. A man stood at the end of a bed, taking pictures, while the woman standing next to him was interviewing a child on the bed.
"Harry?" The man with the camera approached. "Harry Potter?" A smile spread across his face as he raced over to Harry shaking his hand vigorously.
"Hullo Colin." Harry said politely shaking his hand. "You know Hermione." Harry said pointing to her. Colin nodded while the woman interviewing the young boy strode over.
"Dr. Hermione Granger?" She asked pulling out a pad and a Quick-Quotes Quill setting them on a table nearby. She turned her attention to the quill as it stood on its tip on the pad, waiting to exaggerate any words that came from her mouth. "I'm Renee Skeeter, reporter for the Daily Prophet." She held her hand out to Hermione.
Hermione looked down at her hand with a look of disgust and batted it away. "I know exactly who you are."
Renee shrugged her shoulders and began again. "I was wondering if I could have a word with you. Oh, and Mr. Potter of course."
"We're very busy today, Miss Skeeter. If you would be so kind as to leave." Harry told her as he pushed both her, and Colin out of the door.
"Goodbye, Harry!" Colin waved as Harry shut the door.
"Some things never change." Harry shook his head walking to the bed where the boy Renee was interviewing earlier, sat. "Hello, I'm Harry. Do you mind if we ask you a couple questions?" He asked the frail looking boy as Hermione took a seat at the other side of the bed. The boy nodded his head. "Can you tell us how the thing appeared out on the pitch?"
The boy opened his mouth to answer, and a loud scratchy cough came out of his throat, while he tried to sit up in the bed. Hermione jumped up. "No. You need to lie down. Harry, he's not well enough to be talking yet. We need to wait until he's recovered."
Harry opened his mouth to protest, but shut it again remembering that it was useless to fight with Hermione when her mind was set. Especially when someone's health was in danger. He nodded and turned to the boy. "Is there anyone else who saw it that I can speak to?"
The boy nodded and squeaked out, "Phinius Harbrick. He's a third year Hufflepuff. He was early to quidditch practice yesterday, too. We both saw it." Harry nodded and stood up, Hermione mimicking his movements.
She turned back to the boy before leaving the infirmary, "Get plenty of rest, alright?" She saw the boy nod, and Harry roll his eyes out of the corner of her eye.
The two traveled down the halls trying to decide the best way to find Phinius Harbrick. Finally deciding to find Professor Dumbledore. But instead of finding him, he seemed to find them as they wandered the hallway. "Ah, Mr. Potter, and if my eyes do not deceive me, Miss Granger."
Hermione smiled her head. "Hullo Professor Dumbledore." She curtsied in front of him, and Harry snickered at her. She glared at him from the corner of her eye and turned back to Dumbledore.
He laughed heartily before replying, "That isn't necessary any longer. After all, we no longer share a teacher/pupil relationship. Please call me Albus."
She blushed and cleared her throat. "Alright, Albus." She heard Harry snort with laughter again and she lightly kicked the back of his leg. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as the two shared their friendly row.
Harry straightened and looked at Dumbledore, "Sir, do you know where we can find Mr. Phinius Harbrick?"
He nodded. "He is in Defense Against the Dark Arts right now. It's in the same room." The two nodded and began to walk down the hall as Dumbledore called after them; "It is really nice to see you two together again!"
Down the hall Hermione grabbed Harry's forearm and he patted her hand. They nodded to each other, both knowing that it was really good to see each other again.
~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~
Ron turned in his bed and slowly opened his eye slowly. A pain shot through his entire and he groaned as the bright white light hit his face. Opening his other eye, he looked around the room. He tried to turn his head but the pain was so terrible that he hut his eyes and felt himself fall back into unconsciousness.
~*~*Flahback*~*~
Ron held the ring up to his left eye and gazed at it. "It is quite lovely." Harry said smiling at the sparkling jewel. "She'll love it, Ron."
Ron looked up at the man, "How much did you say it was?"
"Its 1300 Galleons." The man replied, looking at Ron, "But for you, it's 1000."
Ron smiled at the man's generosity. It was true; Hermione would love the ring. And although he had Auror School to pay for, and finding money to live on with only a part time job wasn't going to be easy for him, but the ring was perfect. "I'll take it." Ron smiled as he pushed the ring back over.
"But, Ron! That's so much! Are you sure-" Ginny began, but stopped as Ron put his hand up.
"Don't worry, I'll manage."
~*~*End Flashback*~*~
~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~
Harry and Hermione stood in the open doorway, watching the class. Hermione's eyes widened as she got a better look at the teacher. Harry smiled over at her and knocked on the door. The class, including the professor, looked to where the two stood.
"Come in." He smiled warmly, as his face roamed down Hermione. She blushed and looked around the classroom. "Who's this lovely female you brought with this afternoon?" He bowed and picked up her hand, bringing it to his lips, causing her to blush even more.
Harry smiled, trying to keep from laughing, before clearing his throat. "This is Hermione Granger. You remember her, don't you?"
The professor's face turned a sickly color of pale green. "Oh. Hello, Hermione." He said turning back to Harry. "What can I do for you?"
"We're looking for-uh, what's his name 'Mione?" Harry looked to his new partner.
She sighed and rolled her eyes, before smiling at him. "Can't you remember anything? His name is Phinius. Phinius Harbrick." She smiled as Harry leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, receiving a suspicious glare from the professor who looked back at him through his narrow eyes.
"Ah, yes. Mr. Harbrick! Would you please come up here?" The professor called to a boy with dark blonde hair and eyes almost a color of purple. He got up from his seat and went to the front of the classroom. Hermione heard him gulp as he turned to his professor.
"Yes Professor?"
"These two would like to take you from my class for a short while." He turned to Harry and Hermione and added, "I expect him back here rather quickly. We're very busy," He said nodding to a short creature in the corner.
They both nodded, leading the boy out of his room.
~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~
"Now Mr. Harbrick," Harry said sitting next to Hermione and across the table from Phinius. "Would you say what you saw was more human, or more beast?" Hermione looked up from the parchment with her quill in her hand, ready to take notes of what he said.
"Well, It was a little of both." Harry sighed. Hermione set down her quill. For the past ten minutes they'd been receiving the same kind of vague answers.
"How so?" Hermione asked leaning across the table at him.
"Uh, Well, it was both a beast and a man."
Harry sighed. "That's all Mr. Harbrick. We'll be contacting you soon for more information."
"But-"
"That's all. Hermione, would you escort Phinius back to class?" Hermione nodded and she stood up from her chair and walked to the door. She stood aside waiting for him to walk ahead before following him out the door.
~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~ The two walked silently down the hall, stopping in front of the door, "Go back to your seat now," She told him and he nodded as he walked back into the classroom. She poked her head through the doorway, "Thank you Professor Malfoy." She nodded and smiled before turning to leave.
"Granger! Er, Hermione- Wait!" Hermione paused as she saw Malfoy jog towards her at the door.
~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~
A/N: Well, please read and review. And to all of those who also are reading 'Who Knew?', I'm sorry about not adding a chapter when I said I was going to. I'm just having a lot of trouble putting what is in my mind onto paper without sounding awfully cheesy. As for those who are loving this. I'm working on the next chapter. It'll probably be done by the time I post this, so I will post the next one soon!