Chapter 8

Her mood had not lightened by that evening. Grumbling or remaining silent through out most of dinner, Hermione ignored the conversations floating about her until Natalie's name was mentioned. "Are we still meeting with you and Natalie?" Neville inquired, his green beans sliding off his fork. Frowning, he scooped them up and hurriedly shoved them in his mouth.

"That's right," Ron replied. "We'll be in the library over by the History section." He paused and turned to Harry. "You're coming too, right?"

Hermione saw Harry nod out of the corner of her eye. Her stomach knotted and she put down her fork.

"Great." Neville said happily. "Maybe we can all pass Potions with as high marks as Hermione."

"I wouldn't go that far," Harry began.

"Yeah, Natalie's not a miracle worker, she's just..." Ron stopped hearing Hermione's chair scrape against the stone flooring.

Standing rapidly, Hermione didn't care if she'd left half her plate uneaten. She had to get away from them and their Natalie-worship. Walking stiffly to the doorway, she told herself she wouldn't cry, not in front of them. Once she was outside, she ran for the girl's restroom, but suddenly thought better. They could find her there. Ron would probably send Natalie after her and she didn't want to deal with her.

Hurrying up three sets of stairs, she took a left then a right her feet taking her to the one place she knew they wouldn't find her. She took out her wand just as the tears began trickling down her cheeks.

"Il perdit les moufles" She said softly, choking on the words. The statue stepped away and she dashed into Wulver's Burrow.

Collapsing onto the sofa, she sobbed. The boys were meeting with Natalie and she was going to help them with their Potions homework.

"Little know-it-all." Hermione mumbled unhappily, tears streaking her face. "How could they do this to me? I'm the one who always helps them!"

Tucking her legs up under her, she buried her head in her arms wishing she'd not heard them. Even Harry had turned to Natalie. That hurt the worst. She was his tutor, not that little Hufflepuff interloper! She was the one that was supposed to save his grades. How could he betray her like that?

She needed to escape, to not think about them. Sitting up, she reached forward to the table and opened the drawer. Snatching the journal, she flipped to the middle. There was a rather long entry and she began to read. The Lady of the Greenlands and the Queen of the North's entries made her feel better. They spoke so easily to each other making Hermione smile.

"The Lord of the Minatour's House nearly spied me the other day creeping to the Road to the Fen. I pretended to walk past and waited until he was gone before turning around and going back. He may suspect our quest, be careful my friend Queen." One entry said. Another warned of the silent specter of Bast that has taken to haunting the halls of late. Hermione wondered if they meant by that. She'd have to look up Bast in the library later. She wouldn't do it tonight, not when the boys and Natalie would all be there.

Instead she stayed curled up with the journal reading the adventures and misadventures of two girls from long ago. They'd built a fantasy world around their real life. It was pleasant to read, but Hermione knew the outcome. The Queen of the North never continued the quest after the Lady of the Greenlands' departure. It was sad in a way, but at least it'd given Hermione a chance to learn about them.

She wasn't sure how long she sat reading the journal and she really didn't care. It helped her forget. Realizing that everyone would eventually start looking for her, she wished for a moment she didn't have to go back before reluctantly closing the journal. Returning it to its home, she left Wulver's Burrow and returned to Gryffindor House.

No one appeared to notice she'd been gone. Harry, Ron and Neville weren't there, so she reasoned they were still with Natalie. Passing by Ginny and her fourth year friends without a word, she went to the fifth year girl's dorm and pulled out her homework. Bundling it up, she returned to the Common Room and began looking it over. She was still working on it when the boys returned. She didn't bother to say hello or good night. If she didn't acknowledge them then they couldn't disrupt her.