Stolen Child
Chapter 12
Cold One Coming On
Professor Severus Snape awoke at the same time as always. He lay there a moment, staring at the wall, before he finally straitened up. Realizing that he had somehow turned himself completely up around during the night, his feet at the head of the bed, and his head at the foot, he sighed in exasperation. What on earth had him sleeping so restlessly, even after taking a dreamless sleep potion the evening before?
He did not linger for long before sliding out of bed and immediately heading for the welcome comfort of his shower. Lathering his hair and body he took stock of the previous day. He had reached out to Hermione the best that he could, but what now? She would probably expect that sort of behavior every time that he spoke to her, and he'd be damned if he was going to coddle anyone, especially her. That is, of course, if he hadn't been damned already. Mentally cursing himself for showing weakness, and perhaps even kindness in front of the silly little girl, Snape hastily magicked himself dry.
His first class went horribly. He assigned his third year class the task of creating the Draft of Peace, and by the time the bell rang, three of the students had to visit the infirmary and he had deducted more house points than he could remember, including some from Slytherin.
Finally, he had had enough and in the middle of his second class, he called on one of the more responsible students to monitor the others while he snuck into his quarters and retrieved his flask. When he returned, it was as he expected, not a single one of the little brats had put a toe out of line.
The consequences of his last foray with fire whiskey still fresh on his mind, he decided that it would be prudent to moderate his intake, and imbibe just enough to settle his nerves. By lunch time he was quite thankful for his trusty friend hidden the drawer of his desk.
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Hermione stood in front of the large window just next to her hospital bed, which was now covered in fresh sheets and looked as though it had never been slept in. She turned to the left, and to the right, surveying her reflection, studying her new clothes. They were just simple, black robes with the Hogwarts crest over the left breast, but they had moved something in her, made something click. She belonged in robes like these, and always had.
Absently Hermione reached into her pocket, and felt strangely disappointed upon finding that it was empty, though she had no idea what she had anticipated to find there.
"Well, Ms. Granger, you're free to go."
Spinning around, shocked by the sudden sounds of a voice behind her, Hermione smiled and her cheeks flushed slightly at her reaction when she saw that the source of the voice was Poppy Pomfrey who was standing a few feet away. "Thank you, Madame Pomfrey."
Poppy smiled and nodded. "You were a lovely patient, probably the most agreeable I've had in years, even though you didn't speak the first twenty four hours." The nurse laughed, and then made a motion to shoo Hermione on her way. "Go on, get to know the castle again. If you get lost, simply ask one of the portraits, they'll point you in the right direction. Lunch will be starting in the great hall, downstairs, in two hours, the Headmistress requested your presence, and afterwards she'll show you your new quarters, I sent your books down to your room with one of the house elves this morning so you wouldn't have to worry about them. The Headmistress also wished for me to tell you that she has informed the other Professor's of your presence, so they won't become alarmed if they find you in the hallways. And Hermione, you should probably know that a few of them were either friends with you, or acquainted with you in school, so they might be a bit..excited." She smiled warmly, and patted Hermione's shoulder comfortingly when she saw the younger woman's startled expression. "Anyone who knew you missed you terribly while you were gone, Hermione, they won't be upset if you don't remember them right off the bat. Speaking of which, an owl will need to be sent to Mr. and Ms. Weasley, and Mr. Potter relatively soon, else you won't have a choice as to when they'll find out, word travels so fast."
Hermione nodded, looking down at the front of her robes "I'll ask Minerva about sending one when I see her later."
"Alright, well, I have to finish clearing out my expired potions, dear, but I'll see you at dinner. If you need anything, and I mean ANYTHING, come strait to me."
Nodding, Hermione took a moment to gather her courage, and then she began to slowly make her way towards the large double doors, which seemed to be much further away than they had from her hospital bed "Thank you again, Madame Promfrey." She turned and smiled one more time at the nurse before pushing open the doors, and leaving the safety of the infirmary in one, large, very bold step.
The doors swinging shut behind her, she found herself in a dimly lit stone corridor. She sighed and chose to turn left, and began walking, her plain black shoes echoing softly with each step. It wasn't long before she came to a staircase leading down, and with lack of a better choice, she decided to follow it. Hermione continued with that strategy for around half of an hour, taking her chances and occasionally asking the portraits along the way for assistance. Most of her time was spent on the upper levels of the castle, and she visited what the portraits informed her where the entrances to the Griffindor and Ravenclaw houses. At one point she decided to simply climb up as far as she could to see what she could find, which proved to by quite a challenge, owing to the ever changing staircases.
At what she deemed to be the end of her journey she found herself first in the owlry, and then when she tried again, in front of a large gargoyle. Hermione stood in front of it for a few moments, watching it, half expecting it to move, but it did not, and so she came to the decision that she'd reverse her goal, and continue going down until she ran out of hallways.
After passing by the hallway leading to the entrance of the Gryffindor house, she came to another flight of stairs, followed them for what seemed like forever before a large room opened up in front of her at the bottom of the last flight, and across the way she could see what must be the front doors. Crossing the floor and exploring everything with her eyes Hermione found what must be the great hall through large oak doors, which were propped open, and situated to her left.
Curiosity getting the best of her, she slowly made her way over to the open doors, peering in, fascinated. The hall was enormous, lined with long tables, hundreds of unlit candles floating several feet above them. The hall was lightly decorated for Christmas, and Hermione felt a pang of disappointment. It was nice, but something just simply wasn't right about it. The Christmas tree sitting behind the head table was small, forlorn looking, and sparsely decorated, and the only other decorations were long garlands of holly draped here and there, and she couldn't help but find it depressing.
Slowly, and quietly she began walking around the hall, making a circle around the tables, looking up at the enchanted ceiling, which was a lovely, bright shade of blue and had a few wispy white clouds floating across it.
"Childrens should be in classes now, Miss."
Hermione jumped, and turned towards the head table, which was where the high pitched squeak of a voice had come from. "I-I'm not a student." She strained to see who had spoken, but there was no one, but then she noticed a mop handle bobbing up and down, to and fro behind the table. After a moment the bobbing stopped, the stick moved towards the end of the table, and a very small creature with enormous eyes, wearing a tea cozy on it's head and and oversized sweater with the letter R on the front came out from behind it, a large mop in it's hand, the handle towering above it's head.
The creature studied her for a moment, and then in beamed brightly, dropping the mop, then quickly, and apparently very excitedly scampered over to where she was standing. "Hermione Granger, Miss, is that you?" His voice became even squeakier.
"Y-yes." She looked down at the creature that was beaming up at her excitedly.
"Oh! It IS true! Professory McGonagall told Dobby you came home, but Dobby didn't know it is really true until now, Miss! Harry Potter will be very excited when he finds out!" Dobby was grinning broadly, looking as though he might burst from enthusiasm at any moment.
Hermione smiled, feeling uneasy. How should she greet him, what should she say? "I..I.errr."
Dobby watched her for a moment, and then he seemed to realize something. He stood up a little bit taller and then stuck out his hand "I is Dobby, Caretaker of Hogwarts, Miss."
She was stunned into silence for a moment, but then relaxed and smiled. "I'm Hermione. It's nice to meet you again, Dobby." She took his hand into hers and shook it firmly, her smile broadening. Perhaps this wouldn't be so hard after all.
Dobby smiled back, but then looked through the large propped open doors, and then back at his mop anxiously.
After a moment of wondering what he was looking at, comprehension dawned on Hermione. "I going to go explore some more, Dobby, I'll see you later."
Dobby nodded, seemingly thankful that he could go back to his work. He scurried off and quickly retrieved his mop and bucket, then heading through a door at the back of the hall.
Hermione watched him for a moment longer before turning to leave the great hall, only to find that the entranceway was completely swarming with children and teenagers, the majority of them coming towards the doorway she was standing it. She froze for just a moment before jumping to the side, plastering herself against the wall, completely petrified for reasons completely unknown to her. No one seemed to notice her, though, as they hurried into the large room, fanning out to their tables, they were too busy laughing, talking amongst themselves, and being children.
It was then she caught a glimpse of something that made her heart skip a beat, before calming back down to a normal pace, a tall man with glossy black hair and pitch black robes, walking through the crowded hall, shouting occasionally at the students.
Suddenly she was no longer terrified, or frozen, and the corners of her mouth lifted into a warm smile. "Professor Snape!" She reached up her hand and waved in his direction. "Professor Snape, over here!" :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Snape prowled through the swarm of students, randomly taking off house points for anything he could think of. "You there, your robes are filthy, five points from Hufflepuff! And you two, quit blocking the way, ten points from Gryffindor!" He quite simply detested monitoring the halls, especially when he had better things to do, like scrub cauldrons, or count the cracks in the ceiling, or relax at his desk with his flask in hand. The only thing that made it worth while was taking off points, and so he did exactly that, quite liberally in at that. Just as he was about to take twenty points from Ravenclaw after seeing two of the little heathens kissing, he stopped in his tracks, hearing his name being called by newly familiarized voice, one which was steadily gaining in strength. He turned to look towards the doors to the great hall and spotted Hermione waving at him enthusiastically, though she was squashed up against the wall.
"Oh gods." Snape muttered under his breath, trying to decide what to do, go over and speak to her, or simply ignore her? If he ignored her, maybe she'd go away. He made it a point to look away from her, pretending not to hear.
"Professor Snape, over here!" Hermione was jumping up and down now, smiling and waving.
Deciding that she's probably hunt him down if he didn't humor her, Snape picked his way through the crowded students, shouting at them to move out of his way. When he reached Hermione, he glowered down at her for a moment before being distracted by several students jostling into him. Gritting his teeth, trying to retain his self control he took the young woman by the arm and pulled her through the crowd closer to the front doors, near one of the suits of armor. "Ms. Granger, might I advice you that it's not an extremely good idea to get between children and food, you're liable to be trampled." His voice was harsh and cold as ever, but it didn't seem to faze Hermione, who laughed instead of cringing.
"I noticed, but thank you for the warning, Professor Snape. So, is this what you do for fun?"
Snape's scowl deepened even more. "No, actually, I would prefer being in my potion's classroom at the moment, but duty calls. YOU THERE! TEN POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR!" He pointed at two older looking students who had just pulled back from a kiss.
Hermione laughed, "Seems like you have plenty of fun to me."
Glaring down at her once more, Snape scoffed at her. "Ms. Granger, it seems that you have been sadly mistaken on what is and is not enjoyable for me." He turned and stalked away from her, heading down a set of stone stairs towards the dungeon.
Having caught the double meaning to his statement, her smile now completely absent from her expression, Hermione watched him go, her heart sinking. Why was he being so cruel? Her newfound confidance faltered. Had she done something to upset him? A crimson blush traveled up to her cheeks, and she swallowed hard, absently reaching up to where he had grabbed her arm. I
The entrance way was now empty, and she was alone. Looking across at the still open doors of the great hall watching the hundreds of students sitting at their tables enjoying lunch, she suddenly felt her palms become clammy. Professor McGonagall had more than likely slipped in while she was standing with Professor Snape and was probably in there now, sitting at the head table, waiting for her. The only problem was, in order to see Minerva; she'd have to cross the entire hall, with all those eyes upon her, completely alone. Perhaps she could simply explore a bit more, and then return when lunch let out and catch the Headmistress then.
Taking only a minute to decide, her eyes darting around, she surveyed her options. There was the door to her left, which a large amount of the students had emerged from, probably where most of the classrooms were, and then there were the two staircases across from her, one of them being the one that Snape had taken. Hermione worried her lip for a moment before sighing and turning left, heading towards the large oak doors.
She emerged into a very long hallway with several doors on either side, and what appeared to be another hallway turning to the right at the end. Taking her time, she strolled down the hallway, admiring the tapestries and paintings on the walls, some of the subjects smiled and nodded to her, and she couldn't help but wonder if any of them remembered her.
Reaching the end of the hallway, she turned right to find large oak double doors at the end of the rather short corridor. Deciding that there would be no harm in giving it a try, she tested them and they pushed right open.
Bright sunlight and a chilly breeze came streaming in and she smiled, filling her lungs with the crisp winter air. Before her lay a large, square courtyard, surrounded by high walls. Thick snow blanketed the ground, glistening in the brilliant afternoon light. In the center of the yard, there was a large bronze statue depicting several people and a centaur.
Curious, Hermione shut the door behind her and made her way across the snowy ground, lifting up her robes to keep them from dragging. There were a total of nine figures standing together in a circle, facing outward. The first one she noticed was the centaur, a powerful hoof pawing at the air, enormous angelic wings sprouting from his horse-half's withers. Circling around it she saw two children, probably thirteen or fourteen standing together, their wands raised, angelic wings spread from their shoulders. Continuing around the statue she stopped in front of two adults, a man and a woman, neither of them with wands, their fist's raised instead, they were both wearing muggle clothing, and also had wings. Next to them stood an adult wizard and witch, wands raised in defiance, wings gracing their shoulders as well, in front of them there was a very tiny person with his wand raised, his wings nearly as big as he was. And then she came to the final figure, a tall wizard with a long beard and hair, his wand in hand, and the only one lacking wings. "Professor Dumbledore."
Swallowing hard, Hermione looked up at him. His face so much like the one in the picture in the yearbook that she half expected him to smile and nod at her. Hesitantly she reached out and touched the statues hand, and she could have sworn that it was warmer than bronze should be in the middle of winter. After a moment she stepped away, still studying the statue, and that was when she noticed the plaque near the bottom. She stood in front of it and knelt down to get a better look at it, her knee becoming instantly soaked.
"In memory of those who fell at the hands of Voldemort, and his death eaters. Fellow Professors, Students, Friends, and Family, Muggle, Wizard, Witch, Centaur, and Child.
Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Dylan Thomas..(Muggle Poet)"
And then, below that, there was a list of many names which she immediately began to scan down.
Hannah Abbot, Sirius Black, Frank Bryce, Aidan Ballard, Dennis Creevy, Cedric Diggory, Albus Dumbledore, Finnigan, Firenze, Flitwick..
Hermione paused, a lump swiftly forming in her throat. Michelle Granger, James Granger. Her parents. She looked up at the statue again, the man and the woman without wands, their fist's raised, suddenly taking on new meaning. She swallowed hard and continued down the list.
Johnson, Jorkins, Mcdonald, Pince, Morgan Peasegood, Adrian Peasegood, Arnold Peasegood, probably and entire family...Lily and James Potter. She stopped again, blinking. Those must have been her friend Harry's parents.
Sinistra, Sprout.Angela Thomas, Christopher Thomas.Someone else's parents.
Willow, Arthur Weasley, Bill Weasley.Again she was stopped. Weasley was her other friend's last name. Were Arthur and Bill their brothers? Or maybe one of them had been their father.
Hermione stood slowly, walked over to a snow covered bench and sat down heavily, not caring about getting her robes snowy any longer. So many people had died, and so many families destroyed. She was willing to wager that she knew at least half the people on the list, that that terrified her. What would this same statue mean to her if she regained her memories, and what would it feel like if or when she could place those names with faces from her past? It was there, sitting in the same position, on the same bench, going over the list of names again and again, that Professor McGonagall found her nearly three quarters of an hour later. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Montgomery Gentry
Cold One Coming On
Weather man says it might hit ninety five.
September's gonna feel more like July.
He's calling for a night that's warm and mild.
I think he missed it by a mile.
He just don't know that you're gone.
I feel a cold one coming on.
Driving home gets longer every day.
I found new things to do along the way.
A bar room ain't no place to run and hide.
From the memories of a love that said goodbye.
I'm sick and tired of right or wrong.
I feel a cold one coming on.
*It makes you wanna start thinking about drinking.
If I don't find a way to ease my mind and leave all this behind...
I'm gonna go crazy without you baby.
A bar room or a bedroom back at home...I feel a cold one coming on.*
Chorus repeats
A bar room or that bedroom back at home...
I feel a cold one coming on.
Notes:
Hey everyone! First of all, let me apologize for not updating last night, I could not, for the life of me write *L*, but I'm back in the swing of things again ^_^. First of all, not sure about the scene with the list of names, or am I sure about the poem I chose, though it's the most appropriate one I could think of, but I AM quite proud of the rest of the chapter *L*. Also, I took the chapter in a different direction that I had intended. I wasn't going to take Hermione to the memorial yet, but I figured hell, she was right there *L*. Next chapter I will DEFINITELY introduce the new professors. Not sure if you guys got that whole thing, so I'll clarify, since I have the advantage of a list of names of all the characters in front of me *L*. Professors Flitwick, Sinistra, Sprout, and Firenze (the Centaur), Madame Pince, and surprise surprise, Argus Filch are all dead. Dumbledore is of course.*blink blink* away *LOL* *whistles like a coo-coo bird and twirls her finger around her ear* as is Hagrid, but not in that way. Soooooo.that leaves Professor's Vector, Hooch, Snape, McGonagall, and Binns, then Madame Pomfrey. Speaking of lists of characters, I should give credit where credit is due. List of characters came from :
Hogwarts Groudplan came from : - ground.html Definitely not my websites, and I don't know the people who own them, but they've both been extremely helpful ^_^.
Ok, on to review replies.
Ack, you guys! Had to send me some longs ones, huh? ^_- ok..lessee.
Sweetygirl420: Thank you to the 100th power! ^_^
Evanescence: *LOL* I was so tired when I wrote that insult that at first it made perfect sense, then I went back and reread it and I was like..uhhhh.wait a minute *LMAO* whoops! So I adjusted the reactions accordingly :P I'm really glad you like it, thanks for reading ^_^
AZ: Thank you! No problem, like I said before, I will while I still have fingers to type with!
The Great and Masterful Yoda: *LOL* I'm glad you're still reading! ^_^ The mystery of the appearing Hermione stuff will be solved soon *L*
Someone28: NP! Hereya go! ;)
HunnySnowBunny: *L* lucky you! I'm a boar! *cries* *LOL* .That's great about you and your boyfriend! Nothing quite like being in love! I totally know what you mean about closing yourself off, usually my emotions are pretty exposed, but not my intelligence.not that I'm saying that I'm really smart or anything..I just usually play the village idiot and lay low so no one will bother me *L*.And who can blame poor Severus. I nearly cried when I read the pensieve scene in order of the phoenix.wait..not, I take that back *L* I DID cry. Poor Snape! No wonder he's so bitter! Imagine being treated like that in school and then becoming a teacher and having the power to treat your enemy's children the way that they treated you..not that it's right to do.but it kind of makes him a bit easier to sympathize with, at least for me *L*...Ewan McGregor...*SWOOOOOOOOOOOOOON* *L*..OO! I like that potion's class idea! I'll mull over that one! ^_^ ^_^
Ok everyone..it's 7:30 am, and I haven't been to bed yet *L*.hope ya'll enjoyed it! Till next time!
Chapter 12
Cold One Coming On
Professor Severus Snape awoke at the same time as always. He lay there a moment, staring at the wall, before he finally straitened up. Realizing that he had somehow turned himself completely up around during the night, his feet at the head of the bed, and his head at the foot, he sighed in exasperation. What on earth had him sleeping so restlessly, even after taking a dreamless sleep potion the evening before?
He did not linger for long before sliding out of bed and immediately heading for the welcome comfort of his shower. Lathering his hair and body he took stock of the previous day. He had reached out to Hermione the best that he could, but what now? She would probably expect that sort of behavior every time that he spoke to her, and he'd be damned if he was going to coddle anyone, especially her. That is, of course, if he hadn't been damned already. Mentally cursing himself for showing weakness, and perhaps even kindness in front of the silly little girl, Snape hastily magicked himself dry.
His first class went horribly. He assigned his third year class the task of creating the Draft of Peace, and by the time the bell rang, three of the students had to visit the infirmary and he had deducted more house points than he could remember, including some from Slytherin.
Finally, he had had enough and in the middle of his second class, he called on one of the more responsible students to monitor the others while he snuck into his quarters and retrieved his flask. When he returned, it was as he expected, not a single one of the little brats had put a toe out of line.
The consequences of his last foray with fire whiskey still fresh on his mind, he decided that it would be prudent to moderate his intake, and imbibe just enough to settle his nerves. By lunch time he was quite thankful for his trusty friend hidden the drawer of his desk.
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Hermione stood in front of the large window just next to her hospital bed, which was now covered in fresh sheets and looked as though it had never been slept in. She turned to the left, and to the right, surveying her reflection, studying her new clothes. They were just simple, black robes with the Hogwarts crest over the left breast, but they had moved something in her, made something click. She belonged in robes like these, and always had.
Absently Hermione reached into her pocket, and felt strangely disappointed upon finding that it was empty, though she had no idea what she had anticipated to find there.
"Well, Ms. Granger, you're free to go."
Spinning around, shocked by the sudden sounds of a voice behind her, Hermione smiled and her cheeks flushed slightly at her reaction when she saw that the source of the voice was Poppy Pomfrey who was standing a few feet away. "Thank you, Madame Pomfrey."
Poppy smiled and nodded. "You were a lovely patient, probably the most agreeable I've had in years, even though you didn't speak the first twenty four hours." The nurse laughed, and then made a motion to shoo Hermione on her way. "Go on, get to know the castle again. If you get lost, simply ask one of the portraits, they'll point you in the right direction. Lunch will be starting in the great hall, downstairs, in two hours, the Headmistress requested your presence, and afterwards she'll show you your new quarters, I sent your books down to your room with one of the house elves this morning so you wouldn't have to worry about them. The Headmistress also wished for me to tell you that she has informed the other Professor's of your presence, so they won't become alarmed if they find you in the hallways. And Hermione, you should probably know that a few of them were either friends with you, or acquainted with you in school, so they might be a bit..excited." She smiled warmly, and patted Hermione's shoulder comfortingly when she saw the younger woman's startled expression. "Anyone who knew you missed you terribly while you were gone, Hermione, they won't be upset if you don't remember them right off the bat. Speaking of which, an owl will need to be sent to Mr. and Ms. Weasley, and Mr. Potter relatively soon, else you won't have a choice as to when they'll find out, word travels so fast."
Hermione nodded, looking down at the front of her robes "I'll ask Minerva about sending one when I see her later."
"Alright, well, I have to finish clearing out my expired potions, dear, but I'll see you at dinner. If you need anything, and I mean ANYTHING, come strait to me."
Nodding, Hermione took a moment to gather her courage, and then she began to slowly make her way towards the large double doors, which seemed to be much further away than they had from her hospital bed "Thank you again, Madame Promfrey." She turned and smiled one more time at the nurse before pushing open the doors, and leaving the safety of the infirmary in one, large, very bold step.
The doors swinging shut behind her, she found herself in a dimly lit stone corridor. She sighed and chose to turn left, and began walking, her plain black shoes echoing softly with each step. It wasn't long before she came to a staircase leading down, and with lack of a better choice, she decided to follow it. Hermione continued with that strategy for around half of an hour, taking her chances and occasionally asking the portraits along the way for assistance. Most of her time was spent on the upper levels of the castle, and she visited what the portraits informed her where the entrances to the Griffindor and Ravenclaw houses. At one point she decided to simply climb up as far as she could to see what she could find, which proved to by quite a challenge, owing to the ever changing staircases.
At what she deemed to be the end of her journey she found herself first in the owlry, and then when she tried again, in front of a large gargoyle. Hermione stood in front of it for a few moments, watching it, half expecting it to move, but it did not, and so she came to the decision that she'd reverse her goal, and continue going down until she ran out of hallways.
After passing by the hallway leading to the entrance of the Gryffindor house, she came to another flight of stairs, followed them for what seemed like forever before a large room opened up in front of her at the bottom of the last flight, and across the way she could see what must be the front doors. Crossing the floor and exploring everything with her eyes Hermione found what must be the great hall through large oak doors, which were propped open, and situated to her left.
Curiosity getting the best of her, she slowly made her way over to the open doors, peering in, fascinated. The hall was enormous, lined with long tables, hundreds of unlit candles floating several feet above them. The hall was lightly decorated for Christmas, and Hermione felt a pang of disappointment. It was nice, but something just simply wasn't right about it. The Christmas tree sitting behind the head table was small, forlorn looking, and sparsely decorated, and the only other decorations were long garlands of holly draped here and there, and she couldn't help but find it depressing.
Slowly, and quietly she began walking around the hall, making a circle around the tables, looking up at the enchanted ceiling, which was a lovely, bright shade of blue and had a few wispy white clouds floating across it.
"Childrens should be in classes now, Miss."
Hermione jumped, and turned towards the head table, which was where the high pitched squeak of a voice had come from. "I-I'm not a student." She strained to see who had spoken, but there was no one, but then she noticed a mop handle bobbing up and down, to and fro behind the table. After a moment the bobbing stopped, the stick moved towards the end of the table, and a very small creature with enormous eyes, wearing a tea cozy on it's head and and oversized sweater with the letter R on the front came out from behind it, a large mop in it's hand, the handle towering above it's head.
The creature studied her for a moment, and then in beamed brightly, dropping the mop, then quickly, and apparently very excitedly scampered over to where she was standing. "Hermione Granger, Miss, is that you?" His voice became even squeakier.
"Y-yes." She looked down at the creature that was beaming up at her excitedly.
"Oh! It IS true! Professory McGonagall told Dobby you came home, but Dobby didn't know it is really true until now, Miss! Harry Potter will be very excited when he finds out!" Dobby was grinning broadly, looking as though he might burst from enthusiasm at any moment.
Hermione smiled, feeling uneasy. How should she greet him, what should she say? "I..I.errr."
Dobby watched her for a moment, and then he seemed to realize something. He stood up a little bit taller and then stuck out his hand "I is Dobby, Caretaker of Hogwarts, Miss."
She was stunned into silence for a moment, but then relaxed and smiled. "I'm Hermione. It's nice to meet you again, Dobby." She took his hand into hers and shook it firmly, her smile broadening. Perhaps this wouldn't be so hard after all.
Dobby smiled back, but then looked through the large propped open doors, and then back at his mop anxiously.
After a moment of wondering what he was looking at, comprehension dawned on Hermione. "I going to go explore some more, Dobby, I'll see you later."
Dobby nodded, seemingly thankful that he could go back to his work. He scurried off and quickly retrieved his mop and bucket, then heading through a door at the back of the hall.
Hermione watched him for a moment longer before turning to leave the great hall, only to find that the entranceway was completely swarming with children and teenagers, the majority of them coming towards the doorway she was standing it. She froze for just a moment before jumping to the side, plastering herself against the wall, completely petrified for reasons completely unknown to her. No one seemed to notice her, though, as they hurried into the large room, fanning out to their tables, they were too busy laughing, talking amongst themselves, and being children.
It was then she caught a glimpse of something that made her heart skip a beat, before calming back down to a normal pace, a tall man with glossy black hair and pitch black robes, walking through the crowded hall, shouting occasionally at the students.
Suddenly she was no longer terrified, or frozen, and the corners of her mouth lifted into a warm smile. "Professor Snape!" She reached up her hand and waved in his direction. "Professor Snape, over here!" :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Snape prowled through the swarm of students, randomly taking off house points for anything he could think of. "You there, your robes are filthy, five points from Hufflepuff! And you two, quit blocking the way, ten points from Gryffindor!" He quite simply detested monitoring the halls, especially when he had better things to do, like scrub cauldrons, or count the cracks in the ceiling, or relax at his desk with his flask in hand. The only thing that made it worth while was taking off points, and so he did exactly that, quite liberally in at that. Just as he was about to take twenty points from Ravenclaw after seeing two of the little heathens kissing, he stopped in his tracks, hearing his name being called by newly familiarized voice, one which was steadily gaining in strength. He turned to look towards the doors to the great hall and spotted Hermione waving at him enthusiastically, though she was squashed up against the wall.
"Oh gods." Snape muttered under his breath, trying to decide what to do, go over and speak to her, or simply ignore her? If he ignored her, maybe she'd go away. He made it a point to look away from her, pretending not to hear.
"Professor Snape, over here!" Hermione was jumping up and down now, smiling and waving.
Deciding that she's probably hunt him down if he didn't humor her, Snape picked his way through the crowded students, shouting at them to move out of his way. When he reached Hermione, he glowered down at her for a moment before being distracted by several students jostling into him. Gritting his teeth, trying to retain his self control he took the young woman by the arm and pulled her through the crowd closer to the front doors, near one of the suits of armor. "Ms. Granger, might I advice you that it's not an extremely good idea to get between children and food, you're liable to be trampled." His voice was harsh and cold as ever, but it didn't seem to faze Hermione, who laughed instead of cringing.
"I noticed, but thank you for the warning, Professor Snape. So, is this what you do for fun?"
Snape's scowl deepened even more. "No, actually, I would prefer being in my potion's classroom at the moment, but duty calls. YOU THERE! TEN POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR!" He pointed at two older looking students who had just pulled back from a kiss.
Hermione laughed, "Seems like you have plenty of fun to me."
Glaring down at her once more, Snape scoffed at her. "Ms. Granger, it seems that you have been sadly mistaken on what is and is not enjoyable for me." He turned and stalked away from her, heading down a set of stone stairs towards the dungeon.
Having caught the double meaning to his statement, her smile now completely absent from her expression, Hermione watched him go, her heart sinking. Why was he being so cruel? Her newfound confidance faltered. Had she done something to upset him? A crimson blush traveled up to her cheeks, and she swallowed hard, absently reaching up to where he had grabbed her arm. I
The entrance way was now empty, and she was alone. Looking across at the still open doors of the great hall watching the hundreds of students sitting at their tables enjoying lunch, she suddenly felt her palms become clammy. Professor McGonagall had more than likely slipped in while she was standing with Professor Snape and was probably in there now, sitting at the head table, waiting for her. The only problem was, in order to see Minerva; she'd have to cross the entire hall, with all those eyes upon her, completely alone. Perhaps she could simply explore a bit more, and then return when lunch let out and catch the Headmistress then.
Taking only a minute to decide, her eyes darting around, she surveyed her options. There was the door to her left, which a large amount of the students had emerged from, probably where most of the classrooms were, and then there were the two staircases across from her, one of them being the one that Snape had taken. Hermione worried her lip for a moment before sighing and turning left, heading towards the large oak doors.
She emerged into a very long hallway with several doors on either side, and what appeared to be another hallway turning to the right at the end. Taking her time, she strolled down the hallway, admiring the tapestries and paintings on the walls, some of the subjects smiled and nodded to her, and she couldn't help but wonder if any of them remembered her.
Reaching the end of the hallway, she turned right to find large oak double doors at the end of the rather short corridor. Deciding that there would be no harm in giving it a try, she tested them and they pushed right open.
Bright sunlight and a chilly breeze came streaming in and she smiled, filling her lungs with the crisp winter air. Before her lay a large, square courtyard, surrounded by high walls. Thick snow blanketed the ground, glistening in the brilliant afternoon light. In the center of the yard, there was a large bronze statue depicting several people and a centaur.
Curious, Hermione shut the door behind her and made her way across the snowy ground, lifting up her robes to keep them from dragging. There were a total of nine figures standing together in a circle, facing outward. The first one she noticed was the centaur, a powerful hoof pawing at the air, enormous angelic wings sprouting from his horse-half's withers. Circling around it she saw two children, probably thirteen or fourteen standing together, their wands raised, angelic wings spread from their shoulders. Continuing around the statue she stopped in front of two adults, a man and a woman, neither of them with wands, their fist's raised instead, they were both wearing muggle clothing, and also had wings. Next to them stood an adult wizard and witch, wands raised in defiance, wings gracing their shoulders as well, in front of them there was a very tiny person with his wand raised, his wings nearly as big as he was. And then she came to the final figure, a tall wizard with a long beard and hair, his wand in hand, and the only one lacking wings. "Professor Dumbledore."
Swallowing hard, Hermione looked up at him. His face so much like the one in the picture in the yearbook that she half expected him to smile and nod at her. Hesitantly she reached out and touched the statues hand, and she could have sworn that it was warmer than bronze should be in the middle of winter. After a moment she stepped away, still studying the statue, and that was when she noticed the plaque near the bottom. She stood in front of it and knelt down to get a better look at it, her knee becoming instantly soaked.
"In memory of those who fell at the hands of Voldemort, and his death eaters. Fellow Professors, Students, Friends, and Family, Muggle, Wizard, Witch, Centaur, and Child.
Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Dylan Thomas..(Muggle Poet)"
And then, below that, there was a list of many names which she immediately began to scan down.
Hannah Abbot, Sirius Black, Frank Bryce, Aidan Ballard, Dennis Creevy, Cedric Diggory, Albus Dumbledore, Finnigan, Firenze, Flitwick..
Hermione paused, a lump swiftly forming in her throat. Michelle Granger, James Granger. Her parents. She looked up at the statue again, the man and the woman without wands, their fist's raised, suddenly taking on new meaning. She swallowed hard and continued down the list.
Johnson, Jorkins, Mcdonald, Pince, Morgan Peasegood, Adrian Peasegood, Arnold Peasegood, probably and entire family...Lily and James Potter. She stopped again, blinking. Those must have been her friend Harry's parents.
Sinistra, Sprout.Angela Thomas, Christopher Thomas.Someone else's parents.
Willow, Arthur Weasley, Bill Weasley.Again she was stopped. Weasley was her other friend's last name. Were Arthur and Bill their brothers? Or maybe one of them had been their father.
Hermione stood slowly, walked over to a snow covered bench and sat down heavily, not caring about getting her robes snowy any longer. So many people had died, and so many families destroyed. She was willing to wager that she knew at least half the people on the list, that that terrified her. What would this same statue mean to her if she regained her memories, and what would it feel like if or when she could place those names with faces from her past? It was there, sitting in the same position, on the same bench, going over the list of names again and again, that Professor McGonagall found her nearly three quarters of an hour later. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Montgomery Gentry
Cold One Coming On
Weather man says it might hit ninety five.
September's gonna feel more like July.
He's calling for a night that's warm and mild.
I think he missed it by a mile.
He just don't know that you're gone.
I feel a cold one coming on.
Driving home gets longer every day.
I found new things to do along the way.
A bar room ain't no place to run and hide.
From the memories of a love that said goodbye.
I'm sick and tired of right or wrong.
I feel a cold one coming on.
*It makes you wanna start thinking about drinking.
If I don't find a way to ease my mind and leave all this behind...
I'm gonna go crazy without you baby.
A bar room or a bedroom back at home...I feel a cold one coming on.*
Chorus repeats
A bar room or that bedroom back at home...
I feel a cold one coming on.
Notes:
Hey everyone! First of all, let me apologize for not updating last night, I could not, for the life of me write *L*, but I'm back in the swing of things again ^_^. First of all, not sure about the scene with the list of names, or am I sure about the poem I chose, though it's the most appropriate one I could think of, but I AM quite proud of the rest of the chapter *L*. Also, I took the chapter in a different direction that I had intended. I wasn't going to take Hermione to the memorial yet, but I figured hell, she was right there *L*. Next chapter I will DEFINITELY introduce the new professors. Not sure if you guys got that whole thing, so I'll clarify, since I have the advantage of a list of names of all the characters in front of me *L*. Professors Flitwick, Sinistra, Sprout, and Firenze (the Centaur), Madame Pince, and surprise surprise, Argus Filch are all dead. Dumbledore is of course.*blink blink* away *LOL* *whistles like a coo-coo bird and twirls her finger around her ear* as is Hagrid, but not in that way. Soooooo.that leaves Professor's Vector, Hooch, Snape, McGonagall, and Binns, then Madame Pomfrey. Speaking of lists of characters, I should give credit where credit is due. List of characters came from :
Hogwarts Groudplan came from : - ground.html Definitely not my websites, and I don't know the people who own them, but they've both been extremely helpful ^_^.
Ok, on to review replies.
Ack, you guys! Had to send me some longs ones, huh? ^_- ok..lessee.
Sweetygirl420: Thank you to the 100th power! ^_^
Evanescence: *LOL* I was so tired when I wrote that insult that at first it made perfect sense, then I went back and reread it and I was like..uhhhh.wait a minute *LMAO* whoops! So I adjusted the reactions accordingly :P I'm really glad you like it, thanks for reading ^_^
AZ: Thank you! No problem, like I said before, I will while I still have fingers to type with!
The Great and Masterful Yoda: *LOL* I'm glad you're still reading! ^_^ The mystery of the appearing Hermione stuff will be solved soon *L*
Someone28: NP! Hereya go! ;)
HunnySnowBunny: *L* lucky you! I'm a boar! *cries* *LOL* .That's great about you and your boyfriend! Nothing quite like being in love! I totally know what you mean about closing yourself off, usually my emotions are pretty exposed, but not my intelligence.not that I'm saying that I'm really smart or anything..I just usually play the village idiot and lay low so no one will bother me *L*.And who can blame poor Severus. I nearly cried when I read the pensieve scene in order of the phoenix.wait..not, I take that back *L* I DID cry. Poor Snape! No wonder he's so bitter! Imagine being treated like that in school and then becoming a teacher and having the power to treat your enemy's children the way that they treated you..not that it's right to do.but it kind of makes him a bit easier to sympathize with, at least for me *L*...Ewan McGregor...*SWOOOOOOOOOOOOOON* *L*..OO! I like that potion's class idea! I'll mull over that one! ^_^ ^_^
Ok everyone..it's 7:30 am, and I haven't been to bed yet *L*.hope ya'll enjoyed it! Till next time!