"Harry?" Hermione said quietly.
Harry heard her, and went back to the passage he was reading in his Charms textbook. It seemed he'd been reading that same section over and over again for the past half hour, and never really comprehended any of it. He knew why. His thoughts were elsewhere, and his mind kept fluttering back to worries worries over.... that. But he thought that if he just read it one more time...
"HARRY?" Came Hermione's voice again, louder. Nervousness bordered on fear. Hermione was worried too.
"I'm here, Hermione, and I'm fine," Harry responded, opening the curtains around his bed. "Can't a boy have some privacy?" he said, half-jokingly.
She smiled gently. "There's been a lot going on lately, and it hasn't just been today, it's been for the past four months, since we came back to Hogwarts. I think we both have a lot of explaining to do."
Harry winced, feeling as though Hermione had just shoved a knife through his heart. "Yeah, well, it's been a bit hard to cope... and you were acting so weird," he struggled to say, as old wounds of the heart continued to bleed.
"I suppose I should go first," she admitted. "On the first day of school, Collin Creevey approached me."
"The Camera Boy?" Harry interupted.
"Well he's outgrown that," Hermione said indignantly, "but... he said he needed a favor. He said he'd been stalked by Snape over the summer, and he needed my help to find out what was wrong. We kept finding all these clues... but we couldn't figure it out, and he convinced me that we needed... a Polyjuice potion, so that he could get to the bottom of it.. and--oh Harry, I feel so stupid!" Her voice broke, and she shivered, fearful of this strange emotion.
Harry was slowly putting the pieces together. "Collin Creevey did it? But--what does he have against me?"
"That's not the only thing, though. I felt so guilty for not telling you everything. We were researching in the library after hours, and discussing things, and eventually brewing a Polyjuice potion in that old girl's bathroom. Collin convinced me that if anyone found out we would get in huge trouble, and maybe even expelled, but that we just had to find out what was wrong with Snape. He had me convinced that Voldemort was controlling Snape, and he was spying on him to get... to you. We even made Myrtle keep her mouth shut.
"But I still felt so bad, you know, keeping you in the dark about this. You must think I am some sort of idiot, going along with this, but really, Collin is very nice; I really got to know him over the past few months, and I can't imagine him doing anything like this just to hurt you!"
"You don't have to imagine; you already saw it with your own eyes," Harry said sourly. "What else could it be?" He absently turned a coin around in his fingers, over and over again, across the smooth copper surface. He was in love with Cho. That was it.
At that moment Ron stepped into the room, shoving the last of his cupcake into his mouth. "I've decided I believe you, Harry," he said.
"Why the sudden change of heart?" Harry asked. "Was it the food?"
"No," Ron answered. "It's because I saw you leave the Great Hall--twice."
Harry heard her, and went back to the passage he was reading in his Charms textbook. It seemed he'd been reading that same section over and over again for the past half hour, and never really comprehended any of it. He knew why. His thoughts were elsewhere, and his mind kept fluttering back to worries worries over.... that. But he thought that if he just read it one more time...
"HARRY?" Came Hermione's voice again, louder. Nervousness bordered on fear. Hermione was worried too.
"I'm here, Hermione, and I'm fine," Harry responded, opening the curtains around his bed. "Can't a boy have some privacy?" he said, half-jokingly.
She smiled gently. "There's been a lot going on lately, and it hasn't just been today, it's been for the past four months, since we came back to Hogwarts. I think we both have a lot of explaining to do."
Harry winced, feeling as though Hermione had just shoved a knife through his heart. "Yeah, well, it's been a bit hard to cope... and you were acting so weird," he struggled to say, as old wounds of the heart continued to bleed.
"I suppose I should go first," she admitted. "On the first day of school, Collin Creevey approached me."
"The Camera Boy?" Harry interupted.
"Well he's outgrown that," Hermione said indignantly, "but... he said he needed a favor. He said he'd been stalked by Snape over the summer, and he needed my help to find out what was wrong. We kept finding all these clues... but we couldn't figure it out, and he convinced me that we needed... a Polyjuice potion, so that he could get to the bottom of it.. and--oh Harry, I feel so stupid!" Her voice broke, and she shivered, fearful of this strange emotion.
Harry was slowly putting the pieces together. "Collin Creevey did it? But--what does he have against me?"
"That's not the only thing, though. I felt so guilty for not telling you everything. We were researching in the library after hours, and discussing things, and eventually brewing a Polyjuice potion in that old girl's bathroom. Collin convinced me that if anyone found out we would get in huge trouble, and maybe even expelled, but that we just had to find out what was wrong with Snape. He had me convinced that Voldemort was controlling Snape, and he was spying on him to get... to you. We even made Myrtle keep her mouth shut.
"But I still felt so bad, you know, keeping you in the dark about this. You must think I am some sort of idiot, going along with this, but really, Collin is very nice; I really got to know him over the past few months, and I can't imagine him doing anything like this just to hurt you!"
"You don't have to imagine; you already saw it with your own eyes," Harry said sourly. "What else could it be?" He absently turned a coin around in his fingers, over and over again, across the smooth copper surface. He was in love with Cho. That was it.
At that moment Ron stepped into the room, shoving the last of his cupcake into his mouth. "I've decided I believe you, Harry," he said.
"Why the sudden change of heart?" Harry asked. "Was it the food?"
"No," Ron answered. "It's because I saw you leave the Great Hall--twice."