A/N: Been a while, hasn't it? Sorry. Busy...oh well...sorry to keep you guys
hanging! Here's chapter four! Hope you like it.
Chapter Four
Harry scribbled a letter to Lupin as fast as his quill would permit him to write. When he was finished, he surveyed his letter.
'Dear Professor...I mean, Remus, Ron is going to have a stroke. Hermione is still in the hospital wing, and I think he may blame himself for not running in and clobbering Malfoy when he had the chance. I trust you know what happened already? Anyway, Ron has been going to the infirmary every day and just sitting there with her. I think he was worried something like this might happen...can't even tell you if your suggestion about surprising her worked or not...she's been out for a week. I'll put a copy of the Daily Prophet in here for you to see. Mind you, it's nearly a week and a half old now, but it was all Ron's idea...Do you have any idea how to help her? I don't know what to tell Ron anymore, and Dumbledore seems to be stumped. I wish there was something more I could do to help. I'll write again soon when there's more to update you on. -Harry
He frowned. The letter seemed kind of jumpy, but at least he had managed to say all that he had wanted to say, right? He sighed and attached a copy of last Wednesday's Daily Prophet to the letter. He had used his wand to make a certain article in the paper glow....
Harry found Ron where he usually was when the two of them weren't in class together...the infirmary. The flowers at Hermione's bedside had begun to wilt. Harry waved his wand, and they stood up straighter. Ron smiled at him, sighed deeply, and stared at Hermione.
"Come on, Hermione. Come back to us. I don't know what happened, but I clocked Malfoy one, just for you..." Ron was talking more to himself than to anyone else. "Got a month's worth of detention for doing it, but oh well..." he laughed.
Harry jumped. He had seen Hermione's eyes flicker...or at least he thought he had. He concentrated on her, staring hard to watch for any signs of movement. There it was, again! He grabbed hold of Ron's shoulder, shaking him almost violently.
"Look!" he yelled. "She moved! She did! I saw it!" he exclaimed.
Hermione's eyes were open now. Ron wrapped her tightly in a hug. She didn't seem to know what was going on, but she seemed glad to be back. There seemed to be nothing wrong with her....
Remus Lupin smiled as he unclipped the Daily Prophet from Harry's letter. It wasn't hard to find the article Harry was talking about, as he had obviously put a popping charm on it. It seemed to jump off the page with large glowing letters.
TO HERMIONE, WITH LOVE
A Daily Prophet Special Request
Daily Prophet reporters were shocked yesterday to have a psychotic post owl fly in through the editing room window. What was more interesting was the letter the small owl had attached to his leg. Ron Weasley, currently in his seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, sent the owl to the Prophet hoping we would publish the letter, which happens to be addressed to a love interest of his, also in her seventh year at Hogwarts. Prophet reporters could not resist. We can only hope the young girl gets the message...
Dear Hermione,
Figured this was the only way to catch your attention, and there has been something on my mind for a long time now that I just have to tell you. It's you, Hermione. I've liked you for a long time, and I just had to tell you, or I thought I would burst. I think I love you Hermione. I guess if I think about it, I always have. You make me feel different...like I can take on anything, just because you're there. I've never felt like that before, and it feels great. I wasn't sure if you knew how much I cared about you...I've had nothing else on my mind for a while now. I wanted to find the perfect way to tell you how I felt, and I figured this would work. Besides, I'm not very good at the whole romance thing...I tried to think of something that would really sweep you off your feet, but I came up empty handed...
I don't know what else to say, 'Mione. I think I've said all I wanted to say. I love you, I always have, and I just hope that you get this message. I don't know how you feel, but now, at least you know how I feel.
With Love, Ron
Remus couldn't help but get a warm fuzzy after reading about how Ron poured his soul out in a letter to Hermione. Had she even had the chance to read it? He hoped so. Ron had outdone himself with this. He frowned as he thought back to the letter that Harry had wrote to him. His brow furrowed even further as he thought about Hermione's assignment. This new revelation was going to put a rift in her plans, but then, there was also the thought about how the Death Eaters could use the information. Ron had just voluntarily painted a big red target onto his head. And what was Hermione to do if Ron was suddenly a piece of Death Eater leverage? He shuddered to think about it. Making a quick decision, he headed for King's Cross station, and took the earliest train he could find to Hogwarts.
"Hermione, are you all right? You've been out for over a week! Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey have been completely stumped!" Harry gasped.
"I feel fine," Hermione shrugged.
Ron frowned. "Hermione, you were hit with some kind of curse. Dumbledore can't even identify it. He's been standing at the foot of your bed for a week, scratching his head and going 'Hmm...', like this..." Ron did an imitation.
Hermione laughed. "But I feel fine!" she insisted again.
"I'm not so sure, Ms. Granger..." Dumbledore had a way of scaring the daylights out of people with his sudden appearances. Both Harry and Ron nearly jumped from their seats when he spoke. "Maybe it would be best of you continued to take it easy for a while?" he suggested.
Hermione wrinkled her nose. "But sir, I've already missed over a week of school. Look, even this Daily Prophet issue is a week old," she pointed.
"That's a special issue of the Prophet." Harry explained. "We decided to save it for you. I think you'll find it's full of interesting things...even I've read it from cover to cover." Harry winked at Ron. Hermione was becoming more interested by the moment.
She looked up at Dumbledore, blinked several times, and yawned. "Trust me, sir. I'm fine. A little tired maybe, but all right. Can't I just have Harry and Ron walk with me back to the dormitories?" she asked.
"Yes," he nodded, "but..."
"I know. I'll come straight back if I find I'm missing a toe or something." She promised.
He laughed to himself. "That wasn't exactly what I was going to say, but it's a good idea, nonetheless. I'd like to talk to you alone before you head back to your dormitory," he whispered to her.
After Hermione's short meeting with Professor Dumbledore (a meeting, mind you, in which Harry and Ron were not allowed to participate) the two led Hermione up to the Gryffindor common room, and up the stairs to her Head Girl dormitory. Harry made sure Hermione brought the week-old Daily Prophet with her. When she finally closed her door, Harry made his way to his Head Boy dormitory, and Ron made his way to his dormitory. The night was uneventful, but for Hermione's yelp when she read Ron's article. After that, she went to sleep.
Ron and Harry waited outside Hermione's dormitory the next morning for nearly half an hour before they deduced that she couldn't possibly still be there. They made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. She wasn't to be found there either, but someone else was. Remus Lupin was again sitting among the teachers, and, Harry noticed, Snape was absent once again.
"Hello, Harry." Remus smiled. "The title of Professor has been temporarily reinstated to me. I'm taking Professor Snape's place for a while."
"Have you seen Hermione?" Ron asked him.
Remus rubbed his temples. "No, come to think of it, I haven't. Albus..." there was a note of worry in Lupin's voice.
He didn't have to worry for long. Nearly the entire Great Hall was silent as a loud scream erupted through the room. There was pounding on the door behind the teacher's table. Hagrid and Lupin ran to open it, and Hermione spilled out. Her face was blanketed in tears.
This time, Ron and Harry were permitted to sit in on the discussion when Hermione was taken to Dumbledore's office. Several other Order members followed the group.
Hermione took a seat in-between Ron and Harry. She grabbed Ron's hand and squeezed it tightly. Choking back several sobs, she was finally able to look up and stare Dumbledore straight in his eyes.
"What happened, Hermione?" it was actually Lupin who had asked the question, but it was clear that everyone wanted the answer.
"I don't know," she whispered. "I remember last night, Harry and Ron led me back to my dormitory. I remember I went to sleep there. I had awful nightmares...about my parents, Harry...Ron..." she paused a moment, squeezing Ron's hand once more.
"Yes, Hermione, but how did you end up in the dungeons?" Dumbledore asked calmly.
Hermione nearly cried. "I don't know!" She paused again. "I remember having those horrible nightmares, and when I woke up, I was locked in the dungeon...I had an athame in my hands...look at my arm..." she pulled up the sleeves on her robes.
There was a collective gasp from the entire group. The mark on Hermione's arm was similar to the Dark Mark found on Voldemort's Death Eaters...but there was a difference. Hermione's mark looked as if it had been carved into her skin with a sharp knife. It was still bleeding, even as they all stared at it....
"Did I do this to myself?" she cried. "What the heck is going on?"
Ron gulped. He was three shades paler than his normal shade of ghost- white. "Hermione, does it...hurt? It looks so deep..."
"Dumbledore, what do I do? I can't just quit on this assignment. I need some help..." she admitted under her breath.
Professor Dumbledore glanced around the room at the various teachers assembled there. He frowned deeply, and called all of them into a huddle. Ron, Harry, and Hermione could not hear what they were discussing. They returned several minutes later.
"Hermione, you're going to get your help." Dumbledore promised her. He turned to Harry and Ron. "Harry, Ron, there is something I want you two to do. No one else must know, do you understand? It would compromise your safety, and it would compromise Hermione's safety..."
Harry nodded. "Yes, sir...but what do you want us to do?" he asked rather impatiently
"After Hermione has gone to her dorm every night, I want the two of you to follow her. You can use your father's invisibility cloak to get from your own dorms to hers without being noticed..." he paused a moment, "The two of you are to stay in Hermione's dorm if you have to. Put an impenetrable charm on the door. This will keep her from getting out of her room. And if anything funny happens, you do what you have to do. It is clear that whatever happened to Hermione has somehow had an odd effect on her subconscious. I doubt she would carve things into her arm with a sharp knife on any regular day..." he added.
"What do you mean, do what you have to do?" Ron nearly choked.
Hermione frowned. "You and I both know what that means, Ron." She whispered.
"I know I know what it means!" he growled. "I don't like it is what I'm saying!"
"Ron, what kind of a choice would we have?" Harry asked rationally. "We need to protect ourselves, and we need to protect Hermione...even if that means protecting her from herself."
Hermione sighed. "I didn't go into this thinking it would be easy, Ron. I'm prepared for what might happen now. You just do what you need to do, all right?" she wrapped him in a hug.
Lupin frowned deeply. "We've been in here quite a while. We don't need to be attracting any more attention than necessary. I suggest we disperse our little group and get on with the day. Good luck to the three of you," he smiled, and promptly exited Dumbledore's office.
Ron, Hermione, and Harry had missed their Transfiguration lesson for the morning. McGonnagal, of course, knew of the reason for their absence. She had been in the room with them and the various other Order members. They headed to their next class, Double Potions. Lupin had reached the classroom before they had, of course. They took their seats near the back of the room, far away from Malfoy and the rest of his Slytherin buddies.
Hermione pretended to be paying attention to the lesson. Ron, however, could tell how worried she was. She had nearly squeezed the life out of his hand by the time Professor Lupin dismissed the class for the day.
A/N: Do ya like it? I know I haven't revealed everything you guys are probably wondering about yet, but I promise, I'm getting there. Read and Review please!
Chapter Four
Harry scribbled a letter to Lupin as fast as his quill would permit him to write. When he was finished, he surveyed his letter.
'Dear Professor...I mean, Remus, Ron is going to have a stroke. Hermione is still in the hospital wing, and I think he may blame himself for not running in and clobbering Malfoy when he had the chance. I trust you know what happened already? Anyway, Ron has been going to the infirmary every day and just sitting there with her. I think he was worried something like this might happen...can't even tell you if your suggestion about surprising her worked or not...she's been out for a week. I'll put a copy of the Daily Prophet in here for you to see. Mind you, it's nearly a week and a half old now, but it was all Ron's idea...Do you have any idea how to help her? I don't know what to tell Ron anymore, and Dumbledore seems to be stumped. I wish there was something more I could do to help. I'll write again soon when there's more to update you on. -Harry
He frowned. The letter seemed kind of jumpy, but at least he had managed to say all that he had wanted to say, right? He sighed and attached a copy of last Wednesday's Daily Prophet to the letter. He had used his wand to make a certain article in the paper glow....
Harry found Ron where he usually was when the two of them weren't in class together...the infirmary. The flowers at Hermione's bedside had begun to wilt. Harry waved his wand, and they stood up straighter. Ron smiled at him, sighed deeply, and stared at Hermione.
"Come on, Hermione. Come back to us. I don't know what happened, but I clocked Malfoy one, just for you..." Ron was talking more to himself than to anyone else. "Got a month's worth of detention for doing it, but oh well..." he laughed.
Harry jumped. He had seen Hermione's eyes flicker...or at least he thought he had. He concentrated on her, staring hard to watch for any signs of movement. There it was, again! He grabbed hold of Ron's shoulder, shaking him almost violently.
"Look!" he yelled. "She moved! She did! I saw it!" he exclaimed.
Hermione's eyes were open now. Ron wrapped her tightly in a hug. She didn't seem to know what was going on, but she seemed glad to be back. There seemed to be nothing wrong with her....
Remus Lupin smiled as he unclipped the Daily Prophet from Harry's letter. It wasn't hard to find the article Harry was talking about, as he had obviously put a popping charm on it. It seemed to jump off the page with large glowing letters.
TO HERMIONE, WITH LOVE
A Daily Prophet Special Request
Daily Prophet reporters were shocked yesterday to have a psychotic post owl fly in through the editing room window. What was more interesting was the letter the small owl had attached to his leg. Ron Weasley, currently in his seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, sent the owl to the Prophet hoping we would publish the letter, which happens to be addressed to a love interest of his, also in her seventh year at Hogwarts. Prophet reporters could not resist. We can only hope the young girl gets the message...
Dear Hermione,
Figured this was the only way to catch your attention, and there has been something on my mind for a long time now that I just have to tell you. It's you, Hermione. I've liked you for a long time, and I just had to tell you, or I thought I would burst. I think I love you Hermione. I guess if I think about it, I always have. You make me feel different...like I can take on anything, just because you're there. I've never felt like that before, and it feels great. I wasn't sure if you knew how much I cared about you...I've had nothing else on my mind for a while now. I wanted to find the perfect way to tell you how I felt, and I figured this would work. Besides, I'm not very good at the whole romance thing...I tried to think of something that would really sweep you off your feet, but I came up empty handed...
I don't know what else to say, 'Mione. I think I've said all I wanted to say. I love you, I always have, and I just hope that you get this message. I don't know how you feel, but now, at least you know how I feel.
With Love, Ron
Remus couldn't help but get a warm fuzzy after reading about how Ron poured his soul out in a letter to Hermione. Had she even had the chance to read it? He hoped so. Ron had outdone himself with this. He frowned as he thought back to the letter that Harry had wrote to him. His brow furrowed even further as he thought about Hermione's assignment. This new revelation was going to put a rift in her plans, but then, there was also the thought about how the Death Eaters could use the information. Ron had just voluntarily painted a big red target onto his head. And what was Hermione to do if Ron was suddenly a piece of Death Eater leverage? He shuddered to think about it. Making a quick decision, he headed for King's Cross station, and took the earliest train he could find to Hogwarts.
"Hermione, are you all right? You've been out for over a week! Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey have been completely stumped!" Harry gasped.
"I feel fine," Hermione shrugged.
Ron frowned. "Hermione, you were hit with some kind of curse. Dumbledore can't even identify it. He's been standing at the foot of your bed for a week, scratching his head and going 'Hmm...', like this..." Ron did an imitation.
Hermione laughed. "But I feel fine!" she insisted again.
"I'm not so sure, Ms. Granger..." Dumbledore had a way of scaring the daylights out of people with his sudden appearances. Both Harry and Ron nearly jumped from their seats when he spoke. "Maybe it would be best of you continued to take it easy for a while?" he suggested.
Hermione wrinkled her nose. "But sir, I've already missed over a week of school. Look, even this Daily Prophet issue is a week old," she pointed.
"That's a special issue of the Prophet." Harry explained. "We decided to save it for you. I think you'll find it's full of interesting things...even I've read it from cover to cover." Harry winked at Ron. Hermione was becoming more interested by the moment.
She looked up at Dumbledore, blinked several times, and yawned. "Trust me, sir. I'm fine. A little tired maybe, but all right. Can't I just have Harry and Ron walk with me back to the dormitories?" she asked.
"Yes," he nodded, "but..."
"I know. I'll come straight back if I find I'm missing a toe or something." She promised.
He laughed to himself. "That wasn't exactly what I was going to say, but it's a good idea, nonetheless. I'd like to talk to you alone before you head back to your dormitory," he whispered to her.
After Hermione's short meeting with Professor Dumbledore (a meeting, mind you, in which Harry and Ron were not allowed to participate) the two led Hermione up to the Gryffindor common room, and up the stairs to her Head Girl dormitory. Harry made sure Hermione brought the week-old Daily Prophet with her. When she finally closed her door, Harry made his way to his Head Boy dormitory, and Ron made his way to his dormitory. The night was uneventful, but for Hermione's yelp when she read Ron's article. After that, she went to sleep.
Ron and Harry waited outside Hermione's dormitory the next morning for nearly half an hour before they deduced that she couldn't possibly still be there. They made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. She wasn't to be found there either, but someone else was. Remus Lupin was again sitting among the teachers, and, Harry noticed, Snape was absent once again.
"Hello, Harry." Remus smiled. "The title of Professor has been temporarily reinstated to me. I'm taking Professor Snape's place for a while."
"Have you seen Hermione?" Ron asked him.
Remus rubbed his temples. "No, come to think of it, I haven't. Albus..." there was a note of worry in Lupin's voice.
He didn't have to worry for long. Nearly the entire Great Hall was silent as a loud scream erupted through the room. There was pounding on the door behind the teacher's table. Hagrid and Lupin ran to open it, and Hermione spilled out. Her face was blanketed in tears.
This time, Ron and Harry were permitted to sit in on the discussion when Hermione was taken to Dumbledore's office. Several other Order members followed the group.
Hermione took a seat in-between Ron and Harry. She grabbed Ron's hand and squeezed it tightly. Choking back several sobs, she was finally able to look up and stare Dumbledore straight in his eyes.
"What happened, Hermione?" it was actually Lupin who had asked the question, but it was clear that everyone wanted the answer.
"I don't know," she whispered. "I remember last night, Harry and Ron led me back to my dormitory. I remember I went to sleep there. I had awful nightmares...about my parents, Harry...Ron..." she paused a moment, squeezing Ron's hand once more.
"Yes, Hermione, but how did you end up in the dungeons?" Dumbledore asked calmly.
Hermione nearly cried. "I don't know!" She paused again. "I remember having those horrible nightmares, and when I woke up, I was locked in the dungeon...I had an athame in my hands...look at my arm..." she pulled up the sleeves on her robes.
There was a collective gasp from the entire group. The mark on Hermione's arm was similar to the Dark Mark found on Voldemort's Death Eaters...but there was a difference. Hermione's mark looked as if it had been carved into her skin with a sharp knife. It was still bleeding, even as they all stared at it....
"Did I do this to myself?" she cried. "What the heck is going on?"
Ron gulped. He was three shades paler than his normal shade of ghost- white. "Hermione, does it...hurt? It looks so deep..."
"Dumbledore, what do I do? I can't just quit on this assignment. I need some help..." she admitted under her breath.
Professor Dumbledore glanced around the room at the various teachers assembled there. He frowned deeply, and called all of them into a huddle. Ron, Harry, and Hermione could not hear what they were discussing. They returned several minutes later.
"Hermione, you're going to get your help." Dumbledore promised her. He turned to Harry and Ron. "Harry, Ron, there is something I want you two to do. No one else must know, do you understand? It would compromise your safety, and it would compromise Hermione's safety..."
Harry nodded. "Yes, sir...but what do you want us to do?" he asked rather impatiently
"After Hermione has gone to her dorm every night, I want the two of you to follow her. You can use your father's invisibility cloak to get from your own dorms to hers without being noticed..." he paused a moment, "The two of you are to stay in Hermione's dorm if you have to. Put an impenetrable charm on the door. This will keep her from getting out of her room. And if anything funny happens, you do what you have to do. It is clear that whatever happened to Hermione has somehow had an odd effect on her subconscious. I doubt she would carve things into her arm with a sharp knife on any regular day..." he added.
"What do you mean, do what you have to do?" Ron nearly choked.
Hermione frowned. "You and I both know what that means, Ron." She whispered.
"I know I know what it means!" he growled. "I don't like it is what I'm saying!"
"Ron, what kind of a choice would we have?" Harry asked rationally. "We need to protect ourselves, and we need to protect Hermione...even if that means protecting her from herself."
Hermione sighed. "I didn't go into this thinking it would be easy, Ron. I'm prepared for what might happen now. You just do what you need to do, all right?" she wrapped him in a hug.
Lupin frowned deeply. "We've been in here quite a while. We don't need to be attracting any more attention than necessary. I suggest we disperse our little group and get on with the day. Good luck to the three of you," he smiled, and promptly exited Dumbledore's office.
Ron, Hermione, and Harry had missed their Transfiguration lesson for the morning. McGonnagal, of course, knew of the reason for their absence. She had been in the room with them and the various other Order members. They headed to their next class, Double Potions. Lupin had reached the classroom before they had, of course. They took their seats near the back of the room, far away from Malfoy and the rest of his Slytherin buddies.
Hermione pretended to be paying attention to the lesson. Ron, however, could tell how worried she was. She had nearly squeezed the life out of his hand by the time Professor Lupin dismissed the class for the day.
A/N: Do ya like it? I know I haven't revealed everything you guys are probably wondering about yet, but I promise, I'm getting there. Read and Review please!