Weathered Creed~

Chapter 2: Confusion

The wizarding world was in an uproar. Harry Potter was gone from his bed, gone without a trace. Rumors ran rampant through the newsstands that the Dark Lord was involved, the boy-who-lived had finally cracked, or even a large part of the universe had been obliviated and there was no Harry Potter.

Rita Skeeters' articles were on high demand, claiming all sorts of ideas from the ridiculous to the plausible. One day she penned that poor young, naïve Harry had been knocked off his rocker, and was currently to be found in St. Mungo's, another day she claimed he had joined He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and was currently raising Hippogriffs in Sweden.

Hogwarts wasn't any better. The professors tried there best to calm the students whilst trying to figure out how he had gotten through the wards. Draco Malfoy was sure Potter had gone man, while Ron was equally convinced Snape had something to do with it.

"I'll kill him I will!" he cried in outrage, shaking his fist angrily in the Griffindor common room. Hermione was sitting next to him, pale and confused.

She had spent several days and nights pouring over every text on Appartition, and Hogwarts. But the books gave her no answers, only questions. Yawing, she leaned back, brushing away a loose strand of hair she told Ron to be quiet, "he's loyal to Headmaster Dumbledore, remember?" she said as she pulled him into a secluded corner.

"It doesn't hide the fact that he's a death eater!" Ron hissed back, angry that Hermione wasn't seeing the logic in all of this. Snape hated Harry with a vengeance, why wouldn't he want him removed from his life?

"But he's loyal! Professor Dumbledore trusts him!"

"He's made mistakes before! Remember what Harry told us? He said that Dumbledore had told him that he had made a mistake! So what if he's made more, what if he is making one!"

Hermione shook her head, "that was different!"

"So what do you think? He just went nutter on us?! That he just got up and left?" Rons asked angrily.

"No! But we aren't looking at everything here, we have to approach this logically"

"All right, Sherlock, what are you saying?"

"I mean if it was professor Snape, don't you think he would have high tailed it out of here? Sticking around with your nemesis, I mean to say professor Dumbledore, would not be very wise"

"So, Snape was desperate?"

Hermione shook her head, "No, professor Snape is Slytherin" Ron stared at her dubiously and shaking her head impatiently continued, "He hasn't got the password, and he doesn't even know where the Griffindor rooms are!"

"Oh" Ron said slowly, letting the information sink in.

"Exactly"

"Then…what happened to Harry?"

"I don't know Ron, I just don't know" she leaned back against the back of the chair heavily.

Ron observed her critically, noting how she let her posture slip, the dark circles under her eyes, and the way her hair fell limply on her shoulders. "You're tired, go to sleep"

She gave him a faltering smile, "taking care of me now, Ronald?"

"Oi now, don't think I'm going to let that kind of thing go unanswered for!" but before he could continue she brushed by him on the way to the girls dormitories.

"Night Ron"

He watched her go, feet shuffling, up the stairs before whispering after her, "night, 'Mione"

*~*~*~*~*

It's short I know, but I've been busy honest!