A/N: Thanks for the few reviews, and I got the owls. I repeat, this is NOT the sequel to A Maze in the Mist, obviously. I do not have time that I want to work on the sequel with. Flinches
Chapter 2: A Bitter Treatment
The morning had come with birds chirping loudly, the sun rays reflecting brilliantly off of the window in many shades, and the sky as clear as the bowls of ice cream left for dessert after dinner. It was these kinds of atypical days that were cherished in these times of war that gave everyone hope for a fairytale ending. A subtle breeze grazed the grass and the trees of the grounds as a perfect touch to the warm autumn day.
Hermione yawned soundlessly while stretching her stiff limbs. She threw off the covers from her bed and got up. She stretched once more before taking a hand and touching her uncovered arm. She took a good look out the window before opening it up and walking out onto the balcony.
"Harry?" She asked in surprise. Her raven haired friend was leaning with his hands resting on the railing just the way Hermione had imagined herself doing when she came out.
He turned his head slowly and nodded to her in acknowledgment before returning to his previous stance. She had so much to say to him after he threw Ron out of their dormitory and shut his door in her face. She wanted to yell at him for being so rude, yet, she wanted to comfort him and tell him how he could always rely on her. She decided to keep silent and just keep him company while she stood against the window she had climbed out of and cross her arms. The cool morning air sent a shiver through her body.
Harry's tossed hair fluttered in the breeze as he looked out, watching the sunrise to the top of the sky slowly causing everything else to light up even more than it had before. She could hear his slow, rhythmic breathing in the quiet morning, and it relaxed her. The wind, however, blew even more and caused her to get quite cold in her shorts and tank top.
Harry noticed her discomfort before he even looked to her. She could have easily gotten a shirt from inside to pull over, but she was far too content in this peaceful morning that would be one of the last before the Final Battle. Harry slipped off his shirt and handed it to her. She noticed he had an undershirt type tank top underneath so she opted to take his shirt instead of getting her own. She slipped it over her head and instantly felt warmed.
"Thanks." She whispered in the silent morning. He nodded to her like he had before, not willing himself to speak.
Hermione once again took her position leaning against the window with her arms crossed while Harry took his position leaning on the railing. She examined him like she would an Ancient Rune's chart. Over the years he had grown up quite nicely. He still had the frame of the classic Seeker but had gained a few muscles from dueling, self defensives, and Quidditch. She wasn't too surprised when she saw that this summer he had opted to get rid of his glasses to magically better his vision.
He had slowly begun to shred everything he had from the past. He dismembered all of his possessions: his books, his notes, his old clothes, his Firebolt. Ron had managed to get the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauders Map from his clutches before he could chuck those. They would come in use. Harry had given Fred and George the money he had gotten from Sirius's will so they could use it for the joke shop. The twins had seemed unsure at first, but they had taken the money in the end.
She knew that he was so far gone, more than he ever had, after his only link to his parents besides Lupin had died. All signs of Sirius were now gone except for the mirror. How many times Harry would sit alone in a room, thinking no one noticed or cared, just sitting with the mirror. He would talk into it hoping that somehow his Godfather could hear him, thinking that some way he could get him to come back. Oh how much this boy in front of her had changed to become a man.
She let a silent tear slip from her eyes as a symbol of everything he had given up in his life whether it was his choice or not. He hadn't even known his parents, any of his family at all! She saw now why he loved this place so much. It wasn't his home just because it was away from the Dursleys. He loved this place because it was the last remaining link to everything he had sacrificed un-willfully.
"Oh, Harry." She sighed loudly as she stood without the support of the wall and walked next to where he was, "I'm so sorry."
"You're sorry for what exactly?" He bit back with hard venom in his voice, "There is nothing to be sorry for as you have done nothing." He quickly looked around and looked her bitterly. His eyes were burning with rage like they had so many times before in the past years. She would have loved for him to yell at her, to break things, even to hit her if it would get him somewhere. Instead he stepped into his own window and shut it tightly.
Somehow, she had ended up seemingly understanding him, yet, she managed to mess up the perfect opportunity to talk to him. She hit her head on the railing and groaned at the pain that came with it. How could she be so smart yet so stupid? She shook off the negative thoughts that followed and climbed back into her own window.
She strode into her closet. A sense of appreciation came over her for having so much extra space that she had not previously had. It was a Saturday which meant that she didn't have to wear those heavy black robes. She pulled off her clothes and Harry's shirt half-hazardly, glad that she had taken a shower last night. Pulling on a pair of khakis and a light blue top, Hermione picked up her discarded clothes and put them in a hamper by her bathroom door. She looked to her vanity and saw her brush sitting there. She picked it up and tried to desperately brush through her thick hair. She groaned and picked up her wand. She cast a quick spell the make her hair tamer. She then brushed through her hair again and tied it up in the back.
Picking up her wand from where she had set it down, she walked out through the door and into the common room. She saw Harry's door open. He must have left already. She slipped her wand in her back pocket and walked through the portrait hole. She was on the first part of the sixth floor corridor which meant that she only had to go a short distance to the staircase and upward to make it to Gryffindor tower. She arrived at the portrait in about five minutes.
"It's nice to see youngins awake so early in the morning. Password, dear?" The Fat Lady asked her with a sense of pride at having produced a Head Girl so responsible out of her own house.
"Grindylows." Hermione recited as the portrait swung open to reveal the passage so familiar to her.
She walked through the portrait and saw only four or five students awake. She wasn't surprised since it was a Saturday. She shrugged and walked up the left staircase. She passed eight rooms including six years and two bathrooms before she arrived at the last door to the seventh year boys' dormitory. She entered it quietly and saw 4 four poster beds. This was the first time she had been in this dormitory this year so she had no idea which one Ron's bed was.
She walked to the first trunk and saw the initials S.F. and passed. She walked around to the next one that was covered by clothing. She passed it and saw the initials N.L on the trunk. She knew that Dean would have picked a bed next to his best friend so that was between Seamus and Neville. She saw Ron's familiar trunk and walked to his bed quietly.
She could have woken him up with a tap, but he was liable to seal his curtains shut, roll over, and fall asleep as he was not a morning person. He would be grumpy one way or another if she somehow managed to keep him awake. A rude awakening was just what he needed for two reasons. He needed it so he could completely wake up, and he needed it so she could have a good laugh. She smiled and ripped his curtains apart before springing on him.
"Bloody hell!" He yelped louder than she was expecting. She slapped him on the head and put her hand to her lips.
She was still sitting on his waist when she saw three pairs of curtains rip open with their wands out and ready to duel. She blushed at having caused so much commotion and got off of him.
"Oi! Is everything alright over there? I thought we were under attack by Deatheaters or something." Neville exclaimed as his breath slowed down from what it was before. The other blokes quickly put their wands down and calmed down too.
"Sorry. You guys can go back to sleep. I'm just here to get Ron out of bed." She heard Seamus mumble something to Dean before depositing his wand under his mattress and closing his curtains. Dean followed in his actions. Neville shot one last look to them before putting his wand under his pillow and closing his curtains, "Come on."
"What time is it?" Ron asked after a long pause. Hermione shrugged and turned around as Ron got out of bed and presumably changed into a pair of pants and a shirt, "You can turn around now."
"We'll wake the others again." She whispered to him as she took him by his sleeve and dragged him outside and down the stairs to the common room, "You didn't have to yell so loudly!"
"I wasn't expecting to be woken up at…" He paused to look at a grandfather clock that sat in the almost empty common room, "6:45?! You're crazy. I'm supposed to be sleeping."
"Some of us like to get an early start." She shot back as she took a seat in the corner of the room, "It really frightens me when I see things like that."
"Like what?" Ron asked curiously while sitting down. He shot a dirty look to the younger pupils who were staring at them in wonder.
"Did you see how fast they woke up with their wands out ready to battle? I mean what if the Deatheaters somehow find a way to get onto Hogwarts grounds and into the castle. What happens if they take Dumbledore and all the teachers and then get through the portrait? What happens if them keeping their wands under their bloody mattresses and pillows actually becomes a necessity?" She asked rhetorically.
"It's just a precaution. Everyone from fourth year up has their wands close to them." Ron comforted.
"I know, but they don't know. They don't know to what extent the war is raging. People are being killed daily. It doesn't even make the front of the Daily Prophet anymore. It's as if they are what they are, just casualties, unknown wizards and witches and Muggles. We both know, " Hermione leant across her chair to where Ron was sitting and lowered her voice, "that the prophecy is going to be fulfilled this year. The end is coming near. What scares me most is the fact that if the prophecy is as it says…." She trailed off.
"Don't think like that. We'll all make it out. We won't lose Harry when we kill Vold-Voldemort." Ron said still having trouble saying his name.
" 'And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…' " She recited as a worried expression passed over her face, "I hope that it doesn't mean that neither can die while the other lives. Harry has to come out alive."
"Don't think like that." Ron demanded, "It'll all be over soon, and when it does, we'll all go out to celebrate. All of us. Me, you, Dumbledore, Harry, everyone. It'll all turn out alright."
They sat in an uncomfortable silence. She glanced at the younger students giggling over something that probably didn't even matter. How carefree and optimistic they could be in such times she didn't understand. They would be protected under Dumbledore's watch.
"Let's go get something to eat at breakfast." Ron suggested after a good fifteen or twenty minutes of silence. She nodded in agreement.
When they arrived in the Great Hall, she was not surprised to see Harry not present. Hermione had told Ron of what happened in the morning.
"He's being a jerk right now. He kicked me out of the your common room for Merlin's sake! What he wants is for us to come to him, but we can't. Every time he has one of his 'fits' he wants us to come to him so he can blow off some steam. What we need to do is let him come to us." Ron said angrily. He sat down at the empty Gryffindor table.
"If we do that, he'll withdraw into depression." Hermione argued while sitting next to Ron. She swung one leg around so she was facing him on the bench. Hermione picked up a piece of toast and bit on it.
"What he needs to do is get off his HIGH HORSE AND REALIZE THAT WE CARE ABOUT HIM!" Ron bellowed the last part. The teachers and few students from other houses that were early looked at him. He didn't even bother to acknowledge McGonagall's softened expression or Dumbledore's twinkling eyes.
"We can't let him shut down." Hermione said calmly. She put a hand on his shoulder, and he turned around to face her. The hall was deadly quiet and she didn't want their conversation to be overheard.
"This is killing me." He said quietly, "I can't just think about what Harry wants or what Harry needs all the time. We're all caught up right in the middle of the war. You and I are in just as much danger as he is…" He trailed off and put his head in his hands.
"He's lost so much, Ron. We--" She was cut off by him taking her hand and stuff the rest of the toast in her mouth.
"I understand that. He's lost everything, but look at all he's gained. All I'm trying to say is that we," He stopped to motion back and forth between them, glad that conversation had started back up and the hall wasn't silent, "can't dedicate our lives to him. Look at us. When's the last time we've had a conversation that wasn't about the war, or Dumbledore, or him? Fourth year? We've given up a lot to be there for him. Remember how upset Mum was when she found out I had chucked my Prefect badge in Dumbledore's face last year? We've given up the possibility of normal lives by choosing to be there for him. While other people doubted and ridiculed him, stared at him like he was a Vampire, got out of leagues with him because of fear, what did we do? We stood by him. I understand that he has an incredible amount to deal with. We do too! All I'm asking of him is to not snap at us like he did yesterday. Until he comes to his senses, we need to leave him alone."
Hermione swallowed the piece of toast and looked at Ron who had turned around to his breakfast and began piling an enormous amount of eggs, sausages, pancakes, and French toast on his plate. She had nothing to say to him. Everything he had said was the perfect truth. Harry would brood in his room and maybe even ignore them for a few days or maybe a few weeks, but eventually, he would get lonely. He would come to talk to them.
There was one issue though. What would happen if he thought they abandoned him? She shook the thought from her head and hoped to Godric Gryffindor that Ron was right. If he wasn't, who knew what would happen.
A/N: So, that's the end of this one... I guess I'll post all I have which is like three more chapters quickly, and then I'll hope for reviews. Hehe
Chapter 2: A Bitter Treatment
The morning had come with birds chirping loudly, the sun rays reflecting brilliantly off of the window in many shades, and the sky as clear as the bowls of ice cream left for dessert after dinner. It was these kinds of atypical days that were cherished in these times of war that gave everyone hope for a fairytale ending. A subtle breeze grazed the grass and the trees of the grounds as a perfect touch to the warm autumn day.
Hermione yawned soundlessly while stretching her stiff limbs. She threw off the covers from her bed and got up. She stretched once more before taking a hand and touching her uncovered arm. She took a good look out the window before opening it up and walking out onto the balcony.
"Harry?" She asked in surprise. Her raven haired friend was leaning with his hands resting on the railing just the way Hermione had imagined herself doing when she came out.
He turned his head slowly and nodded to her in acknowledgment before returning to his previous stance. She had so much to say to him after he threw Ron out of their dormitory and shut his door in her face. She wanted to yell at him for being so rude, yet, she wanted to comfort him and tell him how he could always rely on her. She decided to keep silent and just keep him company while she stood against the window she had climbed out of and cross her arms. The cool morning air sent a shiver through her body.
Harry's tossed hair fluttered in the breeze as he looked out, watching the sunrise to the top of the sky slowly causing everything else to light up even more than it had before. She could hear his slow, rhythmic breathing in the quiet morning, and it relaxed her. The wind, however, blew even more and caused her to get quite cold in her shorts and tank top.
Harry noticed her discomfort before he even looked to her. She could have easily gotten a shirt from inside to pull over, but she was far too content in this peaceful morning that would be one of the last before the Final Battle. Harry slipped off his shirt and handed it to her. She noticed he had an undershirt type tank top underneath so she opted to take his shirt instead of getting her own. She slipped it over her head and instantly felt warmed.
"Thanks." She whispered in the silent morning. He nodded to her like he had before, not willing himself to speak.
Hermione once again took her position leaning against the window with her arms crossed while Harry took his position leaning on the railing. She examined him like she would an Ancient Rune's chart. Over the years he had grown up quite nicely. He still had the frame of the classic Seeker but had gained a few muscles from dueling, self defensives, and Quidditch. She wasn't too surprised when she saw that this summer he had opted to get rid of his glasses to magically better his vision.
He had slowly begun to shred everything he had from the past. He dismembered all of his possessions: his books, his notes, his old clothes, his Firebolt. Ron had managed to get the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauders Map from his clutches before he could chuck those. They would come in use. Harry had given Fred and George the money he had gotten from Sirius's will so they could use it for the joke shop. The twins had seemed unsure at first, but they had taken the money in the end.
She knew that he was so far gone, more than he ever had, after his only link to his parents besides Lupin had died. All signs of Sirius were now gone except for the mirror. How many times Harry would sit alone in a room, thinking no one noticed or cared, just sitting with the mirror. He would talk into it hoping that somehow his Godfather could hear him, thinking that some way he could get him to come back. Oh how much this boy in front of her had changed to become a man.
She let a silent tear slip from her eyes as a symbol of everything he had given up in his life whether it was his choice or not. He hadn't even known his parents, any of his family at all! She saw now why he loved this place so much. It wasn't his home just because it was away from the Dursleys. He loved this place because it was the last remaining link to everything he had sacrificed un-willfully.
"Oh, Harry." She sighed loudly as she stood without the support of the wall and walked next to where he was, "I'm so sorry."
"You're sorry for what exactly?" He bit back with hard venom in his voice, "There is nothing to be sorry for as you have done nothing." He quickly looked around and looked her bitterly. His eyes were burning with rage like they had so many times before in the past years. She would have loved for him to yell at her, to break things, even to hit her if it would get him somewhere. Instead he stepped into his own window and shut it tightly.
Somehow, she had ended up seemingly understanding him, yet, she managed to mess up the perfect opportunity to talk to him. She hit her head on the railing and groaned at the pain that came with it. How could she be so smart yet so stupid? She shook off the negative thoughts that followed and climbed back into her own window.
She strode into her closet. A sense of appreciation came over her for having so much extra space that she had not previously had. It was a Saturday which meant that she didn't have to wear those heavy black robes. She pulled off her clothes and Harry's shirt half-hazardly, glad that she had taken a shower last night. Pulling on a pair of khakis and a light blue top, Hermione picked up her discarded clothes and put them in a hamper by her bathroom door. She looked to her vanity and saw her brush sitting there. She picked it up and tried to desperately brush through her thick hair. She groaned and picked up her wand. She cast a quick spell the make her hair tamer. She then brushed through her hair again and tied it up in the back.
Picking up her wand from where she had set it down, she walked out through the door and into the common room. She saw Harry's door open. He must have left already. She slipped her wand in her back pocket and walked through the portrait hole. She was on the first part of the sixth floor corridor which meant that she only had to go a short distance to the staircase and upward to make it to Gryffindor tower. She arrived at the portrait in about five minutes.
"It's nice to see youngins awake so early in the morning. Password, dear?" The Fat Lady asked her with a sense of pride at having produced a Head Girl so responsible out of her own house.
"Grindylows." Hermione recited as the portrait swung open to reveal the passage so familiar to her.
She walked through the portrait and saw only four or five students awake. She wasn't surprised since it was a Saturday. She shrugged and walked up the left staircase. She passed eight rooms including six years and two bathrooms before she arrived at the last door to the seventh year boys' dormitory. She entered it quietly and saw 4 four poster beds. This was the first time she had been in this dormitory this year so she had no idea which one Ron's bed was.
She walked to the first trunk and saw the initials S.F. and passed. She walked around to the next one that was covered by clothing. She passed it and saw the initials N.L on the trunk. She knew that Dean would have picked a bed next to his best friend so that was between Seamus and Neville. She saw Ron's familiar trunk and walked to his bed quietly.
She could have woken him up with a tap, but he was liable to seal his curtains shut, roll over, and fall asleep as he was not a morning person. He would be grumpy one way or another if she somehow managed to keep him awake. A rude awakening was just what he needed for two reasons. He needed it so he could completely wake up, and he needed it so she could have a good laugh. She smiled and ripped his curtains apart before springing on him.
"Bloody hell!" He yelped louder than she was expecting. She slapped him on the head and put her hand to her lips.
She was still sitting on his waist when she saw three pairs of curtains rip open with their wands out and ready to duel. She blushed at having caused so much commotion and got off of him.
"Oi! Is everything alright over there? I thought we were under attack by Deatheaters or something." Neville exclaimed as his breath slowed down from what it was before. The other blokes quickly put their wands down and calmed down too.
"Sorry. You guys can go back to sleep. I'm just here to get Ron out of bed." She heard Seamus mumble something to Dean before depositing his wand under his mattress and closing his curtains. Dean followed in his actions. Neville shot one last look to them before putting his wand under his pillow and closing his curtains, "Come on."
"What time is it?" Ron asked after a long pause. Hermione shrugged and turned around as Ron got out of bed and presumably changed into a pair of pants and a shirt, "You can turn around now."
"We'll wake the others again." She whispered to him as she took him by his sleeve and dragged him outside and down the stairs to the common room, "You didn't have to yell so loudly!"
"I wasn't expecting to be woken up at…" He paused to look at a grandfather clock that sat in the almost empty common room, "6:45?! You're crazy. I'm supposed to be sleeping."
"Some of us like to get an early start." She shot back as she took a seat in the corner of the room, "It really frightens me when I see things like that."
"Like what?" Ron asked curiously while sitting down. He shot a dirty look to the younger pupils who were staring at them in wonder.
"Did you see how fast they woke up with their wands out ready to battle? I mean what if the Deatheaters somehow find a way to get onto Hogwarts grounds and into the castle. What happens if they take Dumbledore and all the teachers and then get through the portrait? What happens if them keeping their wands under their bloody mattresses and pillows actually becomes a necessity?" She asked rhetorically.
"It's just a precaution. Everyone from fourth year up has their wands close to them." Ron comforted.
"I know, but they don't know. They don't know to what extent the war is raging. People are being killed daily. It doesn't even make the front of the Daily Prophet anymore. It's as if they are what they are, just casualties, unknown wizards and witches and Muggles. We both know, " Hermione leant across her chair to where Ron was sitting and lowered her voice, "that the prophecy is going to be fulfilled this year. The end is coming near. What scares me most is the fact that if the prophecy is as it says…." She trailed off.
"Don't think like that. We'll all make it out. We won't lose Harry when we kill Vold-Voldemort." Ron said still having trouble saying his name.
" 'And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…' " She recited as a worried expression passed over her face, "I hope that it doesn't mean that neither can die while the other lives. Harry has to come out alive."
"Don't think like that." Ron demanded, "It'll all be over soon, and when it does, we'll all go out to celebrate. All of us. Me, you, Dumbledore, Harry, everyone. It'll all turn out alright."
They sat in an uncomfortable silence. She glanced at the younger students giggling over something that probably didn't even matter. How carefree and optimistic they could be in such times she didn't understand. They would be protected under Dumbledore's watch.
"Let's go get something to eat at breakfast." Ron suggested after a good fifteen or twenty minutes of silence. She nodded in agreement.
When they arrived in the Great Hall, she was not surprised to see Harry not present. Hermione had told Ron of what happened in the morning.
"He's being a jerk right now. He kicked me out of the your common room for Merlin's sake! What he wants is for us to come to him, but we can't. Every time he has one of his 'fits' he wants us to come to him so he can blow off some steam. What we need to do is let him come to us." Ron said angrily. He sat down at the empty Gryffindor table.
"If we do that, he'll withdraw into depression." Hermione argued while sitting next to Ron. She swung one leg around so she was facing him on the bench. Hermione picked up a piece of toast and bit on it.
"What he needs to do is get off his HIGH HORSE AND REALIZE THAT WE CARE ABOUT HIM!" Ron bellowed the last part. The teachers and few students from other houses that were early looked at him. He didn't even bother to acknowledge McGonagall's softened expression or Dumbledore's twinkling eyes.
"We can't let him shut down." Hermione said calmly. She put a hand on his shoulder, and he turned around to face her. The hall was deadly quiet and she didn't want their conversation to be overheard.
"This is killing me." He said quietly, "I can't just think about what Harry wants or what Harry needs all the time. We're all caught up right in the middle of the war. You and I are in just as much danger as he is…" He trailed off and put his head in his hands.
"He's lost so much, Ron. We--" She was cut off by him taking her hand and stuff the rest of the toast in her mouth.
"I understand that. He's lost everything, but look at all he's gained. All I'm trying to say is that we," He stopped to motion back and forth between them, glad that conversation had started back up and the hall wasn't silent, "can't dedicate our lives to him. Look at us. When's the last time we've had a conversation that wasn't about the war, or Dumbledore, or him? Fourth year? We've given up a lot to be there for him. Remember how upset Mum was when she found out I had chucked my Prefect badge in Dumbledore's face last year? We've given up the possibility of normal lives by choosing to be there for him. While other people doubted and ridiculed him, stared at him like he was a Vampire, got out of leagues with him because of fear, what did we do? We stood by him. I understand that he has an incredible amount to deal with. We do too! All I'm asking of him is to not snap at us like he did yesterday. Until he comes to his senses, we need to leave him alone."
Hermione swallowed the piece of toast and looked at Ron who had turned around to his breakfast and began piling an enormous amount of eggs, sausages, pancakes, and French toast on his plate. She had nothing to say to him. Everything he had said was the perfect truth. Harry would brood in his room and maybe even ignore them for a few days or maybe a few weeks, but eventually, he would get lonely. He would come to talk to them.
There was one issue though. What would happen if he thought they abandoned him? She shook the thought from her head and hoped to Godric Gryffindor that Ron was right. If he wasn't, who knew what would happen.
A/N: So, that's the end of this one... I guess I'll post all I have which is like three more chapters quickly, and then I'll hope for reviews. Hehe