Chapter Nine: Breakdown
With a sly grin, Bellatrix Black suspended the Time Turner in front of her face, examining it closely. "Why, what do we have here, Siri? A gift for your girlfriend? How pathetically sweet."
"Give it back!" shrieked Hermione. Sirius stepped in front of her.
"I'll handle this," he whispered, drawing his wand. "Give it back, Bella. Or else."
"I'd like to see you try," she spat maliciously.
A voice came from the other end of the hallway. "Petrificus totalus!" Sirius dropped to the floor in a full body bind, and Hermione spun around on one foot to see Severus Snape stepping out of the shadows with a smirk of victory on his face.
"You little..." began Hermione, her hand reaching for her wand. Before she could grab it, Snape stepped right behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist, effectively pinning her wand arm to her body, his other hand covering her mouth.
"Your little boyfriend can't save you now," he whispered into her ear. Hermione shuttered in disgust, while mentally reprimanding herself. That was the second time she had turned her back to a Slytherin-not a good idea indeed! Bellatrix stepped closer to her, until they were only inches apart.
Hermione once again shuddered. She couldn't remember ever being surrounded by so much filth. Bellatrix was grinning with triumph and Snape was literally breathing down her neck with a tight grip around her waist. She started to struggle, but knew full well that resisting would only cause her more trouble.
"You shouldn't associate with such trash, Granger," said the girl, indicating Sirius's form on the ground. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with his blood, of course." She flipped her hair arrogantly and Hermione was appalled. "But there's one in every family, I suppose."
Hermione, growing more and more angry, bit Snape's hand. He howled in pain, jerking his hand from her mouth, while the other arm held its unfortunate grip "That was a mistake," he hissed into her ear.
"Just let me go," Hermione demanded, "and give me back my necklace."
"Let you go?" Bellatrix said in an incredulous voice. She put her wand under Hermione's chin, forcing her to look at her pale face. "I really don't think that's an option. You see, we have big plans for you, Ranger."
Hermione's face reflected horror and fear as she stared into Bellatrix's malicious eyes. Things were starting to look bleak when a sudden blast of air hit the wall just inches from Snape's head.
"You heard the lady," spoke James, his wand pointed straight between Snape's eyes and a look of pure loathing on his face as he glared at Snape and Bellatrix. "Let her go." Hermione smiled at his arrival, it was the second time he had saved her from these two jerks. She pushed her way out of Snape's grip and walked over next to James.
"Thanks," she said to him with a smile.
"Any time," he replied, his trademark goofy smile similar filling his face. "I always enjoy saving damsels in distress."
Hermione laughed. "But what are we going to do about these two bozos?" Her hand outstretched, indicating where the two Slytherins were standing. But there was one problem. They weren't standing there anymore! While Hermione and James had been caught up staring in each other's eyes, the duo had slipped away.
"Heh," scoffed James, "those wimps."
Hermione, on the other hand, did not take their disappearance lightly. "Oh no!" she cried, "where did they go?"
"Don't worry about it, Hera," said James, walking over and gently taking her hand.. "They're not worth it."
Under other circumstances, Hermione would have all but fainted at the touch. She was, however, a bit distracted at the time. "But my necklace, they took my necklace!" Hermione tore her hand away and ran down the hall in the direction she presumed Bellatrix and Snape had escaped.
James looked after her for a minute, utterly confused, and then took off after her. "What necklace?" he called, struggling to catch up with the distraught girl.
*****
*A/N: Just to clear up any confusion, Hermione is referred to "Hera" in this section because it's the POV of people who know her only by that name. *
The four boys sat in the room that James and Sirius shared, the atmosphere gloomy. Words hadn't been spoken for some time, and all four were left to their own thoughts. All their thoughts, however, focused on the same person: Hera Ranger. She had run around the castle for hours the previous night, searching in vain for the thieves who stole her necklace. She even went as far as trying to get into the Slytherin common room, only stopping at midnight when a Slytherin prefect threatened her with taking a hundred points from Gryffindor if she didn't shut up and return to her own dormitory.
After that incident, she had not emerged from her room. According to Lily, Hera was sitting on her bed, not crying or anything, just staring at the wall with an empty look on her face. She sat there for hours, through the meals and the Hogsmeade visit. Now with evening approaching, the boys were growing more worried.
Sirius Black stood up and strode to the window, staring out at nothing in particular. At first he had been bitter about being left forgotten, lying on the floor in a full body bind. His anger didn't last, though, when he realized how truly grief-stricken Hera was. His mind was filled with the look on her face when he refused to return the necklace. She had been so sad. Sirius pounded the wall with his fist. If he ever got his hands on those two bloody gits...he could not be held responsible for his actions.
James Potter had followed Hera around the halls for hours, experiencing her angst first hand. Her emotions had ranged from fear to anger to misery as she ignored his pleas to calm down. There had been nothing he could do except watch her sorrow. James sighed, thinking of Hera right now, sitting on her bed emotionless. He wanted to burst into her dorm, sit next to her, and take her in her arms. He wanted to make all her misery disappear. He wanted to protect her, to guard her. He had never felt this way about anyone before. With a sharp intake of breath, James Potter came to the realization that he was in love Hera Ranger.
Remus Lupin was lying on his stomach on Sirius's bed, playing with the edge of his blanket as thoughts raced through his mind. Hera was truly upset, but he suspected there was a lot more behind it than a silly necklace. For a while now he sensed something hanging over her head. The way she held herself was as if she had a heavy burden on her shoulders. The others were oblivious to it, all caught up in their own matters. But Remus sensed things in people that no one else could see. And Hera was definitely hiding something.
Peter Pettigrew's thoughts dwelled on Hera only briefly. He was sad that she was so miserable, for she was always kind to him. But Peter's thoughts automatically drifted to Hera's redheaded best friend. He had been infatuated with Lily Evans ever since he set eyes on her five years ago. Of course he could never bring himself to reveal his feelings, he was way too shy. But welling inside of him, he sensed the notions that if another man were to ever have Lily, he may just snap.
It was Remus who finally broke the silence. "You all know what tonight is, right?" He needn't say more, all the boys knew he was referring to the full moon.
"But what about Hera?" asked Peter. "Lily has detention tonight, are we just going to leave her alone in her room staring at the wall?"
Lily's detention had slipped the minds of the other three boys. It happened the other day in Potions, when Snape and Bellatrix switched the ingredients of Hera's cauldron so that when she added the last ingredient, it blew up in her face. The Potions Master took twenty points from Gryffindor; and Lily, furious at the inequity of the professor who just happened to be the current head of Slytherin, had stood up and objected, effectively earning herself a detention. "Well," started Remus, "one of you will have to stay back.
Sirius immediately stepped forward. "I will," he volunteered.
James stood up to confront him. "And, what, end up frozen on the floor again?"
Sirius's eyes narrowed. "Well, why should you get to be the one to stay with her?"
The boys' bodies tensed and their hands clenched into fists as they prepared to fight. Remus stood up in between of them, preventing the inevitable first blow.
"Ok, so you both want to stay behind," the other two boys glared at each other. "What about you, Peter?"
Peter abruptly shook his head, "It's, okay, I'll go with you, Remus."
"There's only one way to settle this," said Remus, "Rock-Scissors-Paper."
Sirius and James quickly drew their wands, still glaring at each other defiantly. They pointed the wands towards the floor, and yelled at the same time.
"Papyrus!" cried James, as Sirius said, "Petra!"
A piece of parchment and a rock appeared, the parchment quickly covering and consuming the rock. James grinned. "I win," he said right to Sirius's face. Sirius gritted his teeth, using every ounce of his willpower to not break his best friend's nose.
"I never understood how a piece of paper could beat a rock. In reality, the rock should blast its way through. No matter," he shrugged, "we all know she likes me better anyway. I mean, how could any woman resist this?" His hands pointed to his own body, and the other boys burst in laugher.
"Shut up Potter!" Sirius said, tackling him. They wrestled playfully on the ground while Remus and Peter cheered and placed bets.
Less than an hour later, James watched the other three boys drape the invisibility cloak over themselves and head out the room. He took a deep breath before heading out to try and coax Hera to come out of her room.
With a sly grin, Bellatrix Black suspended the Time Turner in front of her face, examining it closely. "Why, what do we have here, Siri? A gift for your girlfriend? How pathetically sweet."
"Give it back!" shrieked Hermione. Sirius stepped in front of her.
"I'll handle this," he whispered, drawing his wand. "Give it back, Bella. Or else."
"I'd like to see you try," she spat maliciously.
A voice came from the other end of the hallway. "Petrificus totalus!" Sirius dropped to the floor in a full body bind, and Hermione spun around on one foot to see Severus Snape stepping out of the shadows with a smirk of victory on his face.
"You little..." began Hermione, her hand reaching for her wand. Before she could grab it, Snape stepped right behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist, effectively pinning her wand arm to her body, his other hand covering her mouth.
"Your little boyfriend can't save you now," he whispered into her ear. Hermione shuttered in disgust, while mentally reprimanding herself. That was the second time she had turned her back to a Slytherin-not a good idea indeed! Bellatrix stepped closer to her, until they were only inches apart.
Hermione once again shuddered. She couldn't remember ever being surrounded by so much filth. Bellatrix was grinning with triumph and Snape was literally breathing down her neck with a tight grip around her waist. She started to struggle, but knew full well that resisting would only cause her more trouble.
"You shouldn't associate with such trash, Granger," said the girl, indicating Sirius's form on the ground. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with his blood, of course." She flipped her hair arrogantly and Hermione was appalled. "But there's one in every family, I suppose."
Hermione, growing more and more angry, bit Snape's hand. He howled in pain, jerking his hand from her mouth, while the other arm held its unfortunate grip "That was a mistake," he hissed into her ear.
"Just let me go," Hermione demanded, "and give me back my necklace."
"Let you go?" Bellatrix said in an incredulous voice. She put her wand under Hermione's chin, forcing her to look at her pale face. "I really don't think that's an option. You see, we have big plans for you, Ranger."
Hermione's face reflected horror and fear as she stared into Bellatrix's malicious eyes. Things were starting to look bleak when a sudden blast of air hit the wall just inches from Snape's head.
"You heard the lady," spoke James, his wand pointed straight between Snape's eyes and a look of pure loathing on his face as he glared at Snape and Bellatrix. "Let her go." Hermione smiled at his arrival, it was the second time he had saved her from these two jerks. She pushed her way out of Snape's grip and walked over next to James.
"Thanks," she said to him with a smile.
"Any time," he replied, his trademark goofy smile similar filling his face. "I always enjoy saving damsels in distress."
Hermione laughed. "But what are we going to do about these two bozos?" Her hand outstretched, indicating where the two Slytherins were standing. But there was one problem. They weren't standing there anymore! While Hermione and James had been caught up staring in each other's eyes, the duo had slipped away.
"Heh," scoffed James, "those wimps."
Hermione, on the other hand, did not take their disappearance lightly. "Oh no!" she cried, "where did they go?"
"Don't worry about it, Hera," said James, walking over and gently taking her hand.. "They're not worth it."
Under other circumstances, Hermione would have all but fainted at the touch. She was, however, a bit distracted at the time. "But my necklace, they took my necklace!" Hermione tore her hand away and ran down the hall in the direction she presumed Bellatrix and Snape had escaped.
James looked after her for a minute, utterly confused, and then took off after her. "What necklace?" he called, struggling to catch up with the distraught girl.
*****
*A/N: Just to clear up any confusion, Hermione is referred to "Hera" in this section because it's the POV of people who know her only by that name. *
The four boys sat in the room that James and Sirius shared, the atmosphere gloomy. Words hadn't been spoken for some time, and all four were left to their own thoughts. All their thoughts, however, focused on the same person: Hera Ranger. She had run around the castle for hours the previous night, searching in vain for the thieves who stole her necklace. She even went as far as trying to get into the Slytherin common room, only stopping at midnight when a Slytherin prefect threatened her with taking a hundred points from Gryffindor if she didn't shut up and return to her own dormitory.
After that incident, she had not emerged from her room. According to Lily, Hera was sitting on her bed, not crying or anything, just staring at the wall with an empty look on her face. She sat there for hours, through the meals and the Hogsmeade visit. Now with evening approaching, the boys were growing more worried.
Sirius Black stood up and strode to the window, staring out at nothing in particular. At first he had been bitter about being left forgotten, lying on the floor in a full body bind. His anger didn't last, though, when he realized how truly grief-stricken Hera was. His mind was filled with the look on her face when he refused to return the necklace. She had been so sad. Sirius pounded the wall with his fist. If he ever got his hands on those two bloody gits...he could not be held responsible for his actions.
James Potter had followed Hera around the halls for hours, experiencing her angst first hand. Her emotions had ranged from fear to anger to misery as she ignored his pleas to calm down. There had been nothing he could do except watch her sorrow. James sighed, thinking of Hera right now, sitting on her bed emotionless. He wanted to burst into her dorm, sit next to her, and take her in her arms. He wanted to make all her misery disappear. He wanted to protect her, to guard her. He had never felt this way about anyone before. With a sharp intake of breath, James Potter came to the realization that he was in love Hera Ranger.
Remus Lupin was lying on his stomach on Sirius's bed, playing with the edge of his blanket as thoughts raced through his mind. Hera was truly upset, but he suspected there was a lot more behind it than a silly necklace. For a while now he sensed something hanging over her head. The way she held herself was as if she had a heavy burden on her shoulders. The others were oblivious to it, all caught up in their own matters. But Remus sensed things in people that no one else could see. And Hera was definitely hiding something.
Peter Pettigrew's thoughts dwelled on Hera only briefly. He was sad that she was so miserable, for she was always kind to him. But Peter's thoughts automatically drifted to Hera's redheaded best friend. He had been infatuated with Lily Evans ever since he set eyes on her five years ago. Of course he could never bring himself to reveal his feelings, he was way too shy. But welling inside of him, he sensed the notions that if another man were to ever have Lily, he may just snap.
It was Remus who finally broke the silence. "You all know what tonight is, right?" He needn't say more, all the boys knew he was referring to the full moon.
"But what about Hera?" asked Peter. "Lily has detention tonight, are we just going to leave her alone in her room staring at the wall?"
Lily's detention had slipped the minds of the other three boys. It happened the other day in Potions, when Snape and Bellatrix switched the ingredients of Hera's cauldron so that when she added the last ingredient, it blew up in her face. The Potions Master took twenty points from Gryffindor; and Lily, furious at the inequity of the professor who just happened to be the current head of Slytherin, had stood up and objected, effectively earning herself a detention. "Well," started Remus, "one of you will have to stay back.
Sirius immediately stepped forward. "I will," he volunteered.
James stood up to confront him. "And, what, end up frozen on the floor again?"
Sirius's eyes narrowed. "Well, why should you get to be the one to stay with her?"
The boys' bodies tensed and their hands clenched into fists as they prepared to fight. Remus stood up in between of them, preventing the inevitable first blow.
"Ok, so you both want to stay behind," the other two boys glared at each other. "What about you, Peter?"
Peter abruptly shook his head, "It's, okay, I'll go with you, Remus."
"There's only one way to settle this," said Remus, "Rock-Scissors-Paper."
Sirius and James quickly drew their wands, still glaring at each other defiantly. They pointed the wands towards the floor, and yelled at the same time.
"Papyrus!" cried James, as Sirius said, "Petra!"
A piece of parchment and a rock appeared, the parchment quickly covering and consuming the rock. James grinned. "I win," he said right to Sirius's face. Sirius gritted his teeth, using every ounce of his willpower to not break his best friend's nose.
"I never understood how a piece of paper could beat a rock. In reality, the rock should blast its way through. No matter," he shrugged, "we all know she likes me better anyway. I mean, how could any woman resist this?" His hands pointed to his own body, and the other boys burst in laugher.
"Shut up Potter!" Sirius said, tackling him. They wrestled playfully on the ground while Remus and Peter cheered and placed bets.
Less than an hour later, James watched the other three boys drape the invisibility cloak over themselves and head out the room. He took a deep breath before heading out to try and coax Hera to come out of her room.