Chapter 35: The Beginning of the End
As February gave way to March, the weather began to warm and the grass slowly turned back into its lush green instead of the
brittle brown that it had been only months earlier. The sixth year students, however, were swamped with homework and trapped
inside studying for their practice N.E.W.T. tests which would take place in April. Though it had been nearly two weeks, Ron
and Hermione still weren't talking.

"Mate, she hates me," Ron sighed one afternoon, collapsing into a chair next to Harry in the common room. Harry looked up. He
had made up his mind about Hermione and he knew what they had to do.

"We've got to go to Dumbledore, Ron," Harry said heavily. Ron looked up, confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Ron, you know what I mean. She's been acting too weird. And it all started after Christmas, when she came back from... well,
you know..." Harry faltered. Ron shook his head.

"I don't think that's it, Harry, I really don't. If she was under the Imperius Curse or something, we would know, she would be
emotionless, not biting my head off all the time!" Ron retorted.

"Then maybe it's not Imperius, but it's something," Harry answered darkly. Ron sighed.

"I guess. If you really want to tell Dumbledore about it, then we will. Not tonight though, I'm too tired."

"So am I," Harry answered, rubbing his eyes. "And we still have Herbology..." Ron groaned.

"Come on guys," Neville Longbottom interrupted as he entered the room as well. "Herbology isn't so bad. Especially compared to
Potions-"

"Which we have tomorrow," Harry finished, groaning as well. Ron laughed. 

"You're all a bunch of nutters for taking that class, seriously," he said, shaking his head. "Well let's go, we don't want to 
be late to Neville's favorite class..." They all laughed, picking up their books and walking down the stairs.

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Harry had been extremely busy with studying during the next few days, but two days after his conversation with Ron he still
recognized that Hermione had not improved at all. He sat next to Ron at dinner; Ron hardly noticed Harry as he stared glumly 
across the table at his formerly outgoing and friendly girlfriend.

"Tonight," Harry said under his breath, and Ron nodded sadly. 

"Oi, she's going to kill us when she finds out," Ron said warningly. 

"We have to," Harry said firmly. Ron just nodded; the tone of Harry's voice told him that there could be no argument.

***********************

The two boys approached the Headmaster's office solemly after dinner. Ron gulped as they stood outside, staring at the gargoyles.

"Twizzlers," Harry said quietly, and the entrance appeared. 

"Hey, you never told me what a twizzler is," Ron joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Muggle candy... it's a kind of licorice... red..." Harry mumbled, his mind focused on Hermione's problem.

"I'll have to try it sometime," Ron said thoughtfully. Of course, always thinking about food, Harry thought to himself,
rolling his eyes. They reached the top of the spiral staircase and knocked on the office door.

"Enter," they heard, and did so. 

"Hello, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter," Professor Dumbledore said, smiling warmly. "What can I do for you two?" Ron looked at Harry
and nodded. Harry cleared his throat.

"Well Professor, we were, er, worried about Hermione. She's been acting weird lately, like since she got back after Christmas."
Harry rushed through the shortened version of the story quickly. Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, raising his eyebrows.

"And you say she's been like this since Christmas? Are you boys aware that it is now March?" he asked insistently.
Harry and Ron stared at the ground shamefully.

"Well, sir, we didn't really know what was wrong with her... I just thought she was mad at me..." Ron mumbled. Dumbledore simply
nodded.

"Well thank you for informing me. I will meet with Miss Granger very soon and we will discuss the situation," he said. Harry and
Ron left the room feeling somewhat relieved that they had unshouldered their heavy burden upon someone who could possibly change
the situation.

*********************

Classes dragged by the next day. Transfiguration seemed twice as long as usual; Harry was staring at the clock longingly. He had
put away all of his things and was holding his backpack, zipped and ready to go. Only two more minutes, he thought, still
looking at the clock on the wall. One more minute...
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, please stay after class," Professor McGonagall spoke up as the rest of the class rose to leave the
room. Harry felt his stomach drop uncomfortably. Now what have I done? he asked himself, searching his mind for a reason.
Professor McGonagall leaned forward on her desk, folding her hands. The room was empty except for the three of them.

"You two are aware of the problems with Miss Granger. The Headmaster has asked to meet with you tonight in his office at 6 PM."
she said. Harry and Ron exchanged a worried glance.

"Do they know what's wrong yet, Professor?" Ron asked hopefully. Professor McGonagall shook her head, looking sad. 

"When you come tonight, there will be a group assembled there to attempt to uncover what exactly the problem is, Mr. Weasley,"
she answered. "Please be prompt." The boys nodded and left.

"Hope they can figure it out tonight," Ron said glumly as they walked down the hall. Harry was deep in thought.

"Who exactly will be in this group?" he wondered aloud. Ron shook his head.

"No clue, mate," he replied.

********************

Harry and Ron arrived at Professor Dumbledore's office at precisely 6:00 that evening. The halls were deserted, as all of the
other students were in the Great Hall for dinner. After knocking on the office door, they entered and were surprised to see that
the room was nearly full. Witches and wizards were packed in along every wall, each with his or her own squashy red armchair.
Hermione sat uncomfortably in the front of the room; it was evident that the others had already been here for quite some time.

"Harry, Ron, come in," Dumbledore greeted them cheerily, although he looked quite tired. He conjured another two armchairs and
they sat down. "I would like you to meet Fern Fawcett; she will be asking you some questions. Fern, please feel free to question
them however you wish," Dumbledore said, looking at a middle-aged woman in the corner. Harry and Ron gulped. Question us?
Harry thought, frightened. The woman smiled kindly.

"Hello Harry, Ron," she said, her voice even and calm. "In order to more accurately diagnose Hermione, we wanted to understand
what she is like on a day-to-day basis, and what better way to do that than to ask her friends?" Harry nodded nervously. She
continued. "There is no need to be worried, this will be very simple. First off, when did you begin to notice Hermione acting
strangely?"

"Er... After Christmas. She was pretty normal when she first came back, but about a week later she started getting really 
withdrawn..." Ron looked nervous and was blushing at having to talk in front of so many people. Fern nodded and smiled 
encouragingly. 

"So she wasn't like this immediately?" she questioned.

"No," Harry said. "It took a while, only a few days though..." The adults in the room were either furiously scribbling on 
notepads or murmuring in whispers to one another. 

"Ron, I think you might be a good person for this question. Do you know of anything that Hermione carries with her at all times?"
Fern asked him. Ron sat silent for a moment in thought.

"I... I can't think of anything," he said eventually, shrugging.

"That's okay," Fern said. Now she along with everyone else was once again writing. Harry pulled at the neck of his robes 
uncomfortably. He knew the next question would be for him, and he was right.

"Harry, you have been under the Imperius Curse before. Have you ever been suspicious that Hermione might be?" 

"No, she seems like she's acting of her own will. She's not emotionless, she just gets mad easier," he said gulping, as he took
a quick glance toward Hermione. She was staring at the floor, looking lost.

"Have either of you noticed her doing anything else unusual? Perhaps, suddenly knowing very advanced spells? Seemingly talking
to herself? Carrying suspicious items around with her?" The questions were getting more and more demanding.

"Er..." Ron stuttered, glancing at Harry for help.

"I don't think we've noticed any of those things... just that she's been by herself a lot more..." At this, a general mumbling
filled the room, and witches and wizards sitting around the edges began whispering again, some leaning over to see what others
had written on their notepads. The woman named Fern leaned back in her chair and sighed. 

"Albus, this really seems to just be some sort of mental imbalance, I'm not sure why you would think it was magical in nature
at all..." she said, seemingly frustrated.

"Do you not find it somewhat unusual that it happened just after her kidnapping?" Dumbledore asked calmly. Fern rolled her
eyes.

"Perfect timing, if you ask me! Maybe she just wanted some attention, since they didn't even do any harm to her when they had
her!" she cried, throwing her hands up in the air. Dumbledore stared at her, still calm, a tiny smile on his face.

"Exactly, Mrs. Fawcett. Exactly. Why kidnap her without doing anything to her?" he asked, as if it were what Fern had intended
to mean. She looked up at him, confused.

"I'm sorry to say I can't read You-Know-Who's mind, Professor. If I could, I would be the best psychologist on earth," Fern
retorted sarcastically. Dumbledore leaned forward, holding up his hands in a sign of silence; the wizards and witches around the
room had begun gasping and chattering as they watched the argument.

"Please, everyone, settle down. I'm not asking you to read his mind, but simply to look at the position he is in. He has been
trying to lure Harry to him for years, that in itself is obvious-"

"If we're quite sure that this isn't a problem involving magic, then I shall feel free to leave," Fern Fawcett said, standing
up abruptly. The crowd gasped. Dumbledore simply held up his hand and gestured towards the door.

"By all means," he said quietly. "No one is keeping you here, Fern." She stormed out angrily.

"I have a question," an elderly wizard across the room said, leaning forward in his chair. "Before Miss Granger was-"

CRASH!!

Gasps echoed throughout the room as witches and wizards stood up, craning their necks to see what had caused the noise.

"Harry, Ron, and Hermione, stay here," Dumbledore ordered. His gaze met a small group in the corner; Harry had not noticed
that about 6 members of the Order were present as well. "Alastor, Kinglsey, stay here; the rest of you, feel free to come."
The crowd filtered out the door, the questioning voices filling the air. Mad-Eye stood up and locked the door behind them.

"You three, over here," he croaked, pointing to a corner.

"What's going on?" Harry demanded.

"Sorry Harry, no idea. I'm sure Dumbledore just wants to make sure you're safe," Kingsley Shaklebolt's voice boomed across the
room. The echoing voices outside had died down; an eerie silence filled the room. Harry turned to face Ron; he looked just as
worried as Harry felt. Hermione was staring at the ground and seemed more distant than she had ever been.

"Mione, it's okay," Ron whispered, picking up her hand and stroking it gently. She didn't respond at all; instead she continued
to stare downwards. Harry heard a quiet sob and realized she was crying.

"Hermione, what's wrong? What is it?" Harry asked gently, lifting her face to look into her eyes. To Harry, they seemed oddly
blank. An alarm went off in his head. Something's wrong here... he thought to himself frantically, backing away. 
"Guys, what's wrong with Hermione-" Harry began, but quickly fell to the floor as pain wracked his body. His scar ached like
it never had before; the intensity of the pain was shooting lightning bolts through his head, down his arms, into his legs...
He cringed as he lay on the floor, struggling to breathe. 

"Harry!" Kingsley cried, kneeling on ground next to him. "What happened?"

"He's here..." Harry muttered, unconsciously grabbing his forehead.

"No he's not, Harry," Mad-Eye Moody said, checking the hallway and pulling a small device that looked like some type of dark
detector out of his pocket. His weathered face contorted into a look of confusion. "Don't know what you're going on about, boy..."

Hermione suddenly pulled away from Ron and into the center of the room as if someone was there - but the area was blank.

"Hermione?" Ron asked weakly, looking fearful. Harry dragged himself off the floor to look at her. Gasping, he realized her
eyes were still blank and emotionless.

"She's under the Imperius Curse," he cried, too weak to stand up. Hermione's head turned towards him, but her eyes still seemed
blank and unfocused.

"Crucio," she said flatly, her wand pointed at Harry. The pain he felt was almost equal to what he had experienced when
his scar had hurt only moments before. It stopped suddenly, as both Kingsley and Mad-Eye tackled her from behind.

"What the hell has gotten into you?" Mad-Eye roared, putting Hermione in a full body bind.

"Take her to the hospital wing," Kinglsey said urgently. "There's something seriously wrong with her..." Mad-Eye conjured up
a stretcher and floated Hermione's body down the stairs. Kingsley turned to Ron and Harry.

"You two need to-" he stopped suddenly and fell to the ground. Harry and Ron faced one another, horrified.

"What's going on?" Ron cried, fear present in his eyes. Now they were alone. The deafening silence didn't last long, however; it
was soon punctured by loud several loud "crack!" noises as dark-cloaked figures appeared around the room. Ron looked stunned,
but Harry just held his wand ready.

"Y-you can't apparate inside Hogwart's," Ron mumbled, citing Hermione's favorite phrase from Hogwart's, A History.
"Ah, yes, Mr. Weasley. We've fixed that problem," said an icy voice from across the room. Harry spun around.

"Voldemort," he breathed quietly, staring at the evil being in front of him.

"Harry Potter," he responded, his voice dangerously quiet. "I believe your luck has just run out."

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Yes, that has to be one of the worst cliffies ever. I apologize!! But it's getting late and I can't fit this whole scene into
one chapter! I will try to update again tomorrow if possible. Thanks for reading, everyone!