Disclaimer: The characters and setting most definitely do not belong to me – they came from that wonderful story-teller J.K. Rowling.
"Hermione!"
"Hermione!"
"Where is she?"
Voices cut through the dark fog of Hermione's mind. Slowly she opened her eyes and found herself staring at a cobblestone alleyway. Footsteps ran past the alley's entrance and the voices retreated into the distance. She moaned and tried to sit up. Suddenly, a wave of nausea overcame her, forcing Hermione to regurgitate what she had eaten for breakfast.
'It looked better going down', she thought, as she pulled her hair back from her face. She pushed herself to a sitting position. Pain shot through her abdomen. Grabbing hold of her leg, her hand encountered a sticky wetness coating her thigh. As Hermione looked down at the blood, the memory of the past ten minutes rushed into her head.
'Oh my goodness', she thought, as tears began to spill down her cheeks. 'Look what I've done! If only I had kept my mouth shut, he would've just taken my money.'
Slowly Hermione stood. Her legs wobbled and, thinking she might fall, Hermione grabbed the wall of Honeydukes. She glanced down at her forgotten candy.
'Look at the mess I made!' Quickly and quietly, Hermione gathered her candy into her Honeydukes bag. She cast a glance at her torn robes. 'I can't walk back like this . . I need my wand . . .' Her eyes searched the ground, spotting it a few feet away. Slowly, she walked over and picked it up, aiming at the blood on her legs.
"Scourgify", Hermione muttered before turning it to her torn robe and adding, "Robe reparo."
"I can't stay here. I need . . . a bath." And feeling as though she were floating out of her body, Hermione slowly worked her way back to the castle. As she sunk into the fluffy bliss of the bubbles, she realized she could not recall exactly how she made it back to Hogwarts without being caught.
Harry and Ron, meanwhile, had been frantically running up and down the main street of Hogsmeade, trying to find their friend. They checked the Shrieking Shack, Zonko's, Honeydukes, and even the Hog's Head (though Harry had to practically drag Ron into the pub), but caught no sight of their frazzle-headed friend. After over an hour, the duo headed back to the school.
"I bet she's studying that new charm Flitwick gave us yesterday," Ron muttered. "Trying to get a head's up on the rest of us."
"But she promised she'd meet us for a butterbeer. Hermione wouldn't ditch us . . . would she?" Harry looked worried.
"I dunno, mate. Maybe we weren't there when she got to the pub and thought we were up at Hagrid's."
"Yeah – he got that new batch of Red Caps a few days ago. I bet she stopped in to make sure they hadn't taken a bite out of us."
Ron laughed. "Or she was wandering the halls and ran into Snape. If I were her, I'd hide behind that statue of the one-eyed witch and cast a hex on him."
"Nah – I'd rather hex Malfoy!"
"Malfoy's never alone." Ron's eyes glittered madly. "I bet she got Crabbe and Goyle, too!"
"And with no professors around, she could do whatever she wanted to them!" Harry doubled over in laughter. After a second, Harry realized that Ron wasn't laughing.
"What?" he asked, straightening up.
"Hermione's alone . . . there are no professors around . . . and she's taking on Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle . . . who are passionate about their hatred of non-purebloods . . ." Ron's voice trailed off.
Harry and Ron exchanged a worried look before bolting for the castle.
"Hermione!"
"Hermione!"
"Where is she?"
Voices cut through the dark fog of Hermione's mind. Slowly she opened her eyes and found herself staring at a cobblestone alleyway. Footsteps ran past the alley's entrance and the voices retreated into the distance. She moaned and tried to sit up. Suddenly, a wave of nausea overcame her, forcing Hermione to regurgitate what she had eaten for breakfast.
'It looked better going down', she thought, as she pulled her hair back from her face. She pushed herself to a sitting position. Pain shot through her abdomen. Grabbing hold of her leg, her hand encountered a sticky wetness coating her thigh. As Hermione looked down at the blood, the memory of the past ten minutes rushed into her head.
'Oh my goodness', she thought, as tears began to spill down her cheeks. 'Look what I've done! If only I had kept my mouth shut, he would've just taken my money.'
Slowly Hermione stood. Her legs wobbled and, thinking she might fall, Hermione grabbed the wall of Honeydukes. She glanced down at her forgotten candy.
'Look at the mess I made!' Quickly and quietly, Hermione gathered her candy into her Honeydukes bag. She cast a glance at her torn robes. 'I can't walk back like this . . I need my wand . . .' Her eyes searched the ground, spotting it a few feet away. Slowly, she walked over and picked it up, aiming at the blood on her legs.
"Scourgify", Hermione muttered before turning it to her torn robe and adding, "Robe reparo."
"I can't stay here. I need . . . a bath." And feeling as though she were floating out of her body, Hermione slowly worked her way back to the castle. As she sunk into the fluffy bliss of the bubbles, she realized she could not recall exactly how she made it back to Hogwarts without being caught.
Harry and Ron, meanwhile, had been frantically running up and down the main street of Hogsmeade, trying to find their friend. They checked the Shrieking Shack, Zonko's, Honeydukes, and even the Hog's Head (though Harry had to practically drag Ron into the pub), but caught no sight of their frazzle-headed friend. After over an hour, the duo headed back to the school.
"I bet she's studying that new charm Flitwick gave us yesterday," Ron muttered. "Trying to get a head's up on the rest of us."
"But she promised she'd meet us for a butterbeer. Hermione wouldn't ditch us . . . would she?" Harry looked worried.
"I dunno, mate. Maybe we weren't there when she got to the pub and thought we were up at Hagrid's."
"Yeah – he got that new batch of Red Caps a few days ago. I bet she stopped in to make sure they hadn't taken a bite out of us."
Ron laughed. "Or she was wandering the halls and ran into Snape. If I were her, I'd hide behind that statue of the one-eyed witch and cast a hex on him."
"Nah – I'd rather hex Malfoy!"
"Malfoy's never alone." Ron's eyes glittered madly. "I bet she got Crabbe and Goyle, too!"
"And with no professors around, she could do whatever she wanted to them!" Harry doubled over in laughter. After a second, Harry realized that Ron wasn't laughing.
"What?" he asked, straightening up.
"Hermione's alone . . . there are no professors around . . . and she's taking on Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle . . . who are passionate about their hatred of non-purebloods . . ." Ron's voice trailed off.
Harry and Ron exchanged a worried look before bolting for the castle.