FANTASY. WRITTEN BY GIRL-WHO-IS-CONFUSED-BY-HER-OWN-STORIES.
Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing that appears in the original Harry Potter books. Thank you for your kind attention.
Chapter Eight: Waking of Worries.
The next morning, Hermione woke with a start as three pairs of hands dragged her out of her bed and onto the cold floor. She groaned and looked at her watch. It was six thirty in the morning – much too early for comfort. She glared at the people who had woken her. Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil and Ginny Weasley all glared back.
"Don't look at me like that, Hermione! I didn't wake you up because I wanted to! Ginny here – (she glared at Ginny) – woke Parvati and I! So that we could help wake you up! So we did." Lavender paused to yawn. "Now Ginny, can we go back to sleep?" Ginny nodded and thanked them as they trudged back to their own beds.
"We have to tell Dumbledore now!" Ginny said as she continued to drag Hermione along the floor.
"Ginny, I'm not even changed yet! Breakfast is at eight not half six! She might show up at breakfast."
"I don't care, I haven't had any sleep. We have to tell Dumbledore!" Ginny cried. With a wave of the Weasley's wand, Hermione was dressed in her school uniform. The two girls broke into a run. "I tried to wait, Hermione! I really did! But she's one of my best friends and I've lost her, just like that. How would you feel with Harry or Ron went missing? Drat! I don't know the password!"
They had arrived in front of stone gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office.
"It was Rumplestiltskein last week, but they change it every week, don't they?" Hermione said, quite surprised that she wasn't breathless.
Ginny nodded, biting her lip. "Maybe it's . . . Humbug! I heard he liked those."
The gargoyle sprang aside and the two girls climbed the stairs as quickly as they could. They thought that Dumbledore might have been asleep but he was there – along with the rest of the staff at Hogwarts. Hermione and Ginny stood still for a moment as all the adults in the room turned to stare. Hermione smiled awkwardly.
"Professor Dumbledore, we have something urgent to report!" Ginny exclaimed, ignoring the stares they were receiving. Dumbledore gave a nod as a few members of staff stood and exited, each giving the girls a reassuring nod. A select few people were left in the office – Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, Hagrid and Professor Hoover.
"Take a seat." Dumbledore gestured to four comfortable armchairs beside Professor Snape. They sat down and were about to explain why they had come, when the door burst open and two desperate boys rushed in.
"Professor Dumbledore, we have something urgent to –
Here, the boy stopped and noticed that there were many other people in the room.
"Take a seat, Mr Haven. You too, Mr Pennyfeather."
They nodded and sat on the two remaining armchairs beside Ginny. One of the boys had scruffy blonde hair – he was the one who had spoken first. The other boy had mousy-brown hair and wore thick glasses. They both looked extremely worried.
"Now, all four of you seem to have something urgent to tell me. Seeing as Miss Granger and Miss Weasley were here first, they may speak first."
Before Hermione even had a chance to open her mouth, Ginny began. "Well, Professor, I was with my friend yesterday – so was Luna, Luna Lovegood – and she went with this Slytherin boy and she never came back. We searched everywhere, Luna checked in the Ravenclaw common room and the dormitory too but we still couldn't find her!"
Dumbledore took his glasses off and wiped them calmly. "And . . . what about you Mr Haven?"
The boy with scruffy blonde hair replied. "Much the same thing as Ginny. Except it was Ben that went with that Slytherin guy." Dumbledore nodded.
"So, what are you going to do about it?" The boy who Hermione assumed to be 'Mr Pennyfeather' asked (rather rudely, she thought).
"They'll be back soon Mr Pennyfeather, I can assure you. Minerva, if you please." Professor McGonagall got up and ushered the four teenagers towards a door that led to another room. The room was small but had a fireplace and some comfortable looking couches and armchairs.
"Do not touch anything and do not go through that door. That leadsto Professor Dumbledore's personal chambers. Do you understand?" Professor McGonagall gave them a warning look, as if to say that there would be consequences if any of them were to disobey. They nodded and she swiftly left the room. Silence filled the air. Hermione held out her hand to the two boys, which they shook.
"I know this is no time for introductions, but still. My name's Hermione Granger - I'm in Gryffindor, and Head Girl this year."
The blonde-haired boy smiled slightly. "Alex Haven. I'm a Hufflepuff, sixth year."
"Yes, and my name's Daniel Pennyfeather." The other boy stated, his glasses sliding further down his nose. "I'm a seventh year, Hufflepuff, and we all know Ginny of course." Ginny smiled as her name was mentioned, while the others sat themselves down.
"So, who's this Ben that went missing?" Hermione asked tentatively. She wanted answers, but didn't want to upset anyone.
"Ben's my twin brother. We were just talking when this boy – I don't know if you know him, Flewington or something – he came and asked for him, said they needed a private chat, so he went. When he didn't come back for ages, we started looking for him but no one had seen him. It was like he disappeared," said Alex, as he stared glumly into the blazing fireplace.
"I really do wonder where Madeleine is." Ginny said. She sat beside Hermione, looking down at her feet. Hermione sighed. There was nothing to do but try and make conversation.
"Do you guys know Madeleine Chang?" Hermione asked.
"She's the quiet one that sits next to me in Charms." Alex replied, nodding. "She doesn't talk much. But she leant me her quill the other day."
"I saw her in the library once," said Daniel, looking thoughtful, "It was a while ago though, and she was with her sister. They looked like they were studying together."
It was then that Hermione suddenly realised something. Madeleine Chang was absolutely nothing like her pretty and popular sister. She was much the opposite, quiet and reserved, and most definitely not the sociable type.
"This is bad, this is. After that big step our plan took yesterday . . ." Hagrid mumbled, shaking his head in disappointment.
"Are you sure that Miss Chang and Mr Haven will be alright, Albus?" Professor Flitwick squeaked.
"Yes, are you sure we shouldn't send out a search party?" Professor Sprout agreed.
"Do not worry my dear Professors. Wait until breakfast, at least. They should be back by then."
"Albus, is this all part of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's plan?" McGonagall asked worriedly. Dumbledore nodded solemnly.
"I'm afraid so. Our plan has been going well until now, but no matter. We must keep trying. We do not know what he is planning, but Voldemort's plans shall not get in the way of ours."
"His plans are usually very cunning," said Snape, "The problem here is not his plan, but his spy. A good spy would never be found out so quickly, but this spy is not very good at staying hidden."
"Only too true Severus," Professor Hoover agreed, "But Albus, I think you should be getting back to the children now. They must be very worried." Everyone agreed to this, and so the Professors decided to leave Dumbledore to talk to the four teenagers.
Dumbledore entered the room to find the four students sitting quietly by the fire. He did his best to give them a reassuring smile.
"May I ask you a few questions?" He asked, pausing as they nodded. "Who asked for Miss Chang or Mr Haven?"
"Callum." Ginny said.
"Flewington." Alex added.
"Did he say why?" They shook their heads.
"Very well. You may leave for breakfast, everyone else is already there."
As Hermione sat eating her buttered toast, she noticed that Ginny couldn't stop glancing at the door. The moment Ginny had entered the Great Hall, Luna had rushed up to her and asked her whether she had seen Madeleine and the answer was, unfortunately, no. Madeleine and Ben were still missing. Ginny was getting more and more worked up by the minute. Breakfast had nearly finished and it was ten minutes until lessons would begin when Dumbledore stood and waited for the Hall to quieten.
"Silence! Silence, please! Yesterday, two of our students went missing. Miss Madeleine Chang and Mr Ben Haven have not been seen since yesterday at precisely two thirty-one in the afternoon. If anyone has any idea where they –
Dumbledore stopped suddenly. Everyone turned to see what was going on. The Great Hall doors opened and a blonde-haired boy wearing Hufflepuff robes peered around the door. Hermione presumed that this was Ben, as he was almost identical to Alex. Dumbledore smiled as Hermione heard a loud sigh of relief from the Hufflepuff table.
"And here is Mr Haven now. Do you happen to know where Miss Chang is?" Ben, by now, had seated himself by his brother. He shook his head, while munching on a bit of toast.
"No, Professor. I haven't seen her."
Professor Dumbledore nodded and looked towards the Slytherin table. Hermione did the same. She noticed that Callum wasn't there. She did have her suspicions about that boy. For one thing, he was much too nice to be a Slytherin. Dumbledore turned back to Ben.
"Do you know where you have been, Mr Haven?"
"I just went for a little walk after Callum spoke to me and I accidentally walked into the forest. I think I got lost, but I managed to wander out after a while. I got back to the castle really late last night, and I was so tired I forgot the password, so I slept in the library instead."
Hermione frowned. How could you walk into a forest accidentally? It was pretty big and hard to miss, and for another thing, Hermione and Draco would have seen him in the library when they had been patrolling the castle that night, surely?
"And where is Callum?" Dumbledore continued to question. Ben shrugged and continued to eat. The Great Hall doors burst open and there stood Callum, closely followed by a small black-haired girl. Callum appeared to be quite furious. Hermione noticed something that wasn't there before – a plaster had been stuck on one of Callum's cheeks. Although he seemed to be fairly angry, he smiled the moment he realised that he was being watched. Dumbledore smiled as well.
"Ah, Miss Chang, where have you been?"
Hermione looked at the girl who had entered. She did indeed look much like Cho, with her long black hair, rosy cheeks and fairly good complexion.
"I'm not quite sure, Professor." She began to walk towards the Ravenclaw table, where she took her place next to Luna Lovegood. "Everything seems so . . . hazy, I don't know what happened."
Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. He gave his students a smile. "Lessons will begin in five minutes! Off you go."
Transfiguration was the first lesson that day. As Hermione sat in her seat beside Callum, she noticed how silent he was. He seemed to be thinking about something unpleasant – his eyebrows were furrowed and his eyes seemed to be glazed over.
"Today, we shall begin using our wands to transform these hedgehogs," Professor McGonagall held one in a gloved hand, "Into plants. We shall then use a reverse spell, to change them back into their original form. Now, I want everyone to take out a piece of parchment and write down everything that I am about to say to you."
The class obeyed as McGonagall continued. She explained that the transfiguring they were to do needed a special wand movement, which mostly consisted of waves, and not flicks. As well as saying the spell, they must also imagine what plant they were to change the hedgehogs into.
"Now, discuss the different types of plants with your partner and write it down on your pieces of parchment. I shall be walking around the room and discussing it with you as well."
Hermione nodded and glanced at Callum. He appeared very bored, his fingers tapping absentmindedly on the table. Hermione wondered if she should ask him about Madeleine and Ben. She was very curious about it, but she didn't know whether it would sound too rude – as though she was intruding in someone's private life. She decided that she would ask him next week, when things had settled down a bit.
"So, what plant do you think the hedgehog might be?" She asked, waiting for Callum's reply. It didn't come. She sighed – she wasn't going to get any work done this lesson.
Soon it was dinnertime, and Hermione decided that she should take a walk, as she didn't feel that hungry. She found Ginny and Luna sitting beneath a tree, whispering secretly to one another. Hermione decided to join them.
"Is anything wrong, Ginny? Luna?" She asked anxiously as she approached them.
Ginny sighed and patted the grass beside her, gesturing for Hermione to sit down, which she did. "It's nothing really . . . just . . . Madeleine's been acting really weird – ever since she's come back. We don't know what's wrong with her though. She used to be shy, but now . . . she's quiet and all, but almost too much. Do you know something? She ignored us all through our lessons today, which is strange for anyone to do! There's something wrong, I know it."
Luna nodded eagerly. "It's like she's a completely different person. Maybe some creature took away her mind and replaced it with something else . . ."
Although Hermione highly doubted that Luna's theory was true, she could sense that there was indeed something wrong. The sudden disappearance, the sudden change in personality, and everything happening overnight – there was bound to be something wrong, but what was it? She had problems to deal with herself, like why her stomach felt twisted and out of place whenever she was around Draco, and why she felt her ears turn red when he smirked at her.
She sighed, when suddenly Luna frowned and pointed at a couple that she saw in front of the castle gates.
Hermione and Ginny looked in the direction that Luna was pointing in. The pair gasped as they watched what was happening in front of them. Hermione didn't know why it hurt so much, but it did and she couldn't stop the tears from rushing to her eyes as she stood and walked away from Ginny and Luna. What she saw was a boy - Draco Malfoy - and a girl - Madeleine Chang – kissing, just outside the castle of Hogwarts.
'Hermione, get yourself together. Malfoy means nothing to you. Nothing. Remember that, Hermione – you're better than this.'
That night, Hermione couldn't get to sleep. She had walked calmly into the castle, trying to act as though nothing was wrong. Ginny and Luna had shouted after her, and she had merely shouted back that she needed a walk to get that disgusting scene out of her mind. When alone, she had begun to let the tears fall freely and eventually she had stopped. As hurriedly as she could, she did her night patrol before returning to Gryffindor tower, where she was safely away from the boy that she didn't wish to see.
Hermione cleared her mind, deciding that there were some things that were best forgotten – including her growing feelings for a certain blonde. She hit her head against the pillow. Yes, she would stop thinking about him, and about how she felt. Just maybe, she would stop thinking altogether.
Draco turned over in his four-poster bed. He felt confused – to say the least. Just then, that Chang girl had kissed him. Madeleine Chang was her name or something – the girl that had been missing before. They had bumped into one another when he had been trying to find Hermione so that he could question her about Flewington (Callum Flewington was, in Draco's opinion, a highly suspicious character. He had wanted to ask her if she knew anything about his disappearance. After all, they worked together in Transfiguration).
And then she had kissed him.
It had surprised him; but it wasn't the fact that she had kissed him, after all, he knew that he was irresistible. What had surprised him was the fact that he enjoyed it. Possibly because the Chang girl was very attractive - just the kind of girl he usually went for, but if that was so, then why was he so . . . surprised?
Edited Version: 3rd August 2005